Climber with Broken Leg Rescues Himself off Spanish Peak

Climbers can be a pretty tough bunch, as 44-year-old British climber Sean Moore proved this past Sunday. Moore headed up to solo climb 11,243-foot (3,482-meter) Mulhacén, the highest mountain in continental Spain, in the Sierra Nevada above Granada.

While climbing, he fell and broke his leg and was marooned for two freezing nights below the snow-covered summit. When Moore failed to show up at the hotel in Pradallano on Sunday evening, his wife alerted authorities who sent out rescuers for two days in high winds and blowing snow. They failed to find Mr. Moore.

Meanwhile Sean Moore self-evacuated, dragging himself and his broken leg down the mountain. After stumbling into a bar, astonished locals alerted the Civil Guard. He was transported to Hospital Clinico in Granada and treated for his broken leg. A Civil Guard source said, "It's incredible that he survived two nights on the mountain. The conditions were horrendous."

They also warned, "We urge people never to go climbing alone, it's not a sensible thing to do." As if most climbers have that much sense anyway!

Read more at Daily Mail Online.

Facts about Mulhacén:

• Elevation: 11,243-foot (3,482-meter)
  
• Highest mountain in continental Spain and the Iberian Peninsula.
  
• Third most prominent peak in Europe after Mont Blanc and Mount Etna and 64th most prominent peak in the world.
  
• Named for Abu l-Hasan Ali or Muley Hacén, a 15th century Muslim King of Granada who is supposedly buried at the foot of the mountain.

  Photograph above: Mulhacén , the highest mountain in mainland Spain, was the scene of Sean Moore's successful self-rescue. Photograph courtesy Andulsia.com