A CLIMBER who miraculously survived a 500ft fall from a mountain says he cannot wait to get back out on the hills.

Scott Baxter plummeted down the side of Helvellyn in the Lake District as he tried to help a fellow walker in distress. He suffered bruising and three broken ribs and, amazingly, got up and walked away after the fall.

The 39-year-old, who is a member of Radcliffe Athletics Club, is recovering at home in Whitefield.

An experience climber and fell runner, Mr Baxter was out on a weekend climbing trip to Cumbria on January 26 with friends when they were approached by a young woman who ran over asking them to help her partner.

Mr Baxter said: We went to the edge of the fell and saw a walker who was in difficulty. So between me and my friends I said I could go down and then we could help him.”

Mr Baxter described how as he went over the edge to climb down, armed with gear including crampons and an axe, one of his crampons failed to catch in the mountainside, and he went “hurtling down” the cliff face.

He said: “I managed to right myself but I was still going relatively fast and my axe fell out of my hand. I managed to stop myself with my crampons, but I was aware that if I had put a crampon down at speed I would have catapulted off the hillside.

"I was relatively calm. It's not brave or heroic thing. I told myself 'I would be fine, and I would come to a stop in a minute. Until it happens you can never know how you'll react.

"As I came to a stop I heard everybody shouting: “Is he ok? Is he moving?”

"I tried to shout back, but I couldn't, I was very winded. So I just waved my arms to where to people were on Swirral Edge, and I could see them trying to get across to me.

“Three lads from Stoke tried to get to me and get an axe in my hands. But I was still in a relatively precarious position.”

The walkers managed to get Mr Baxter to Swirral Edge, which he describes as “a difficult slope to get across”, while his partner continued to shout from above, asking if he was ok.

He said: They got me to a safe position, then they had me sit down for a minute or two and checked if I was ok. I was able to walk after that. People said to call Mountain Rescue. But I said “No I’m fine”. But I think that was just the adrenaline kicking in. We tried to get off the mountain ourselves, so we climbed back up Swirral Edge, and when we got to the summit we tried to climb down.

“By then it was obvious I wasn’t ok and had broken ribs, and my partners thought I might have internal bleeding. Then we called Mountain Rescue.”

A team of 14/20 Mountain Rescue volunteers from the local Keswick section were deployed at 3.48pm, dispatching an air ambulance, and also requesting a winching helicopter from the Coastguard — in case Mr Baxter could not be reached by the first aircraft.

Mountain Rescue arrived in 12 minutes and, after being helicoptered off the mountain, Mr Baxter was taken to Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.

There he underwent treatment, as well as tests and scans to assess his injuries and see if he had any internal bleeding.

Despite the potentially fatal fall Mr Baxter escaped with broken ribs, surface wounds and bruising, as well as some injuries to his legs, and believes he “got away lightly”.

He also spoke of how he is eager to return to climbing. He said: “I have got three broken ribs, cuts and bruises everywhere, but for the most part I’m ok.

“I feel much better. I’m still in a lot of pain but I’m happy to be alive.

“I will be back on the hills when I’m recovered, which the doctor said would probably be about six to eight weeks. But I will be back out, if my wife will let me.

“I understand that over the next few weeks it’s probably going to hit me hard mentally. But I will have to deal with that.”

Mr Baxter praised the “incredibly quick” response of the Mountain Rescue, and is keen for them to receive recognition for their life saving actions and the incredible work the mostly volunteer service does.

He added: “I never thought I would have to ring them. I’m a very experienced climber. I’m just very pleased they were there.”

Despite his heroic actions and miraculous escape, Mr Baxter played down his bravery, saying there is a culture of mutual aid amongst the climbing community for people who are in distress.

He said: “I know all climbers probably would have done the same and helped the guy.

“It is a fairly common thing to be doing in the hills. We often help people that have got in to all manner of difficulties.”

He also has some advice for people taking on the great outdoors.

He said: The key thing is just to make sure that people are prepared and have the right things for in the hills.

“It’s not uncommon, when you are out in the hills, to have to help somebody, which I would do time and again. But if people are more prepared these things would happen less often.”