Two climbers left trapped up massive 200ft ‘Totem Pole’ rock tower in howling winds after their ropes got tangled
TWO climbers were left trapped at the top of a massive 200ft rock tower after their ropes got tangled by high winds.
The hapless hikers clung on for dear life through the night as multiple rescue missions by helicopter and boat failed to save them.
The pair of rock climbers had scrambled up a tall, slender pillar called the "Totem Pole", which rises from the sea at Cap Hauy on the Australian island of Tasmania.
Strong gusts of wind made the conditions difficult on Wednesday, but the ascent went smoothly - until got to the top.
The adventurers reached the small ledge just below the tip, which is the highest point it's possible to climb to.
The powerful winds had been jostling their equipment all the way up - and their ropes had become tied in knots, rendering them stuck.
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Realising their precarious situation, the pair put a call in to the Tasmanian mountain rescue at around 6pm.
Senior Constable Callum Herbert, from Police Search and Rescue, said: "The climbers reported that due to high winds their ropes had become entangled and they were unable to reach safety."
Rescue teams scrambled a mountain chopper to attempt an aerial evacuation, but the powerful wind gusts meant that had to be called off.
Constable Callum said: "Initial attempts to rescue the climbers by helicopter with deployment of a vertical rescue team was aborted due to high winds."
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Rescuers then tried to reach their targets with a police boat, but that too had to abandon the rescue due to a perilous swell in the waters around the pole.
The saviour mission eventually reached the duo at 11:30pm - and they then faced completing the tricky extraction by torchlight.
Each of the climbers was secured to rescue ropes, moved to cliffs on the mainland and hauled to safety, arriving back on terra firma as the dawn broke.
The only way off the pole is with a manoeuvre called the Tyrolean traverse, where climbers move through a void along a rope that is fixed to two points.
Police say the eventual rescue operation involved the Climbing Club of Tasmania's vertical rescue team as well as the ambulance service.
The constable said: "Members from the Climbing Club of Tasmania vertical rescue team conducted a complicated vertical rescue of the two climbers.
"This involved members of the club partially scaling the Totem Pole in wet, dark and windy conditions.
"The climbers were treated at the scene by a wilderness paramedic but aside from being hungry, tired and cold, they had no injuries.
"This was a particularly complicated rescue from a sheer-sided standing rock 60 metres in the air.
"It was done at night in cold, wet and windy conditions by a team of dedicated volunteers and they have ours and the climbers' heartfelt thanks."
The Totem Pole is a challenge that has enticed climbers to Tasmania for decades.
It's allure comes from its striking sheer vertical walls, and the fact it rises out of the sea.
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A horror accident happened in 1998, when a piece of rock the size of a TV broke off and hit the skull of British sports climber Paul Pritchard, 58.
Paul is now paralysed on one side of his body and suffers from memory problems.
