A 32-year-old British hiker was climbing the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere on January 24 when he fell and survived. He suffered severe injuries, including a fractured skull, and underwent amputation of his right leg.
The mountain climber fell while he was at the Condors Nest base camp at about 20,000 feet.
The injured man was evacuated by a helicopter after plunging from Mount Aconcagua, which reaches 22,837 feet above sea level.
Mount Aconcagua is near the Argentina-Chile border and is the highest mountain in the Americas. The mountain is one of the seven summits, a group of high peaks in each of the seven continents.
Mountain climbers have been challenged by the mountain for centuries, but it continues to be quite dangerous due to the possibility of altitude sickness and high winds.
Another mountain climber has been in the news for the past few weeks. Officials are still searching for British-born film actor Julian Sands, 65, since January 13, after he went on a hike on Mount Baldy, California. Authorities have no idea where he is but he is presumed dead. The actor is known for his role in “Room With a View.”
On January 24, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office gave a statement to the press and said that they had located another missing hiker alive in the same area where Sands went missing.
Jim Chung, 75, disappeared on January 22 while climbing Mount Baldy. Chung was injured in the leg and had other weather-related injuries but was able to walk.
Another mountain climber, Tim Thompson, 29, from Utah had what he called a near-death experience on December 28. He said he fell 40 feet off a climbing trail when he lost his footing after a chunk of ice came off the mountain. Thompson and a companion were ice climbing near Bridal Veil Falls. Thompson suffered broken bones in his back and arms.