A BRITISH climber has been killed and a pal injured after they were engulfed by an avalanche while scaling a frozen waterfall in Norway.
Tragedy struck the intrepid pair – who have not been identified – as they tackled the icy slope of frozen falls dubbed The Gausta Marathon.
A British climber has died scaling a frozen waterfall in Norway
A wall of ice and snow thundered onto them on Friday and rescue teams took seven hours to reach them.
An injured man in his 30’s was airlifted to hospital by helicopter but his injuries were not believed to be life threatening.
But his British companion suffered fatal injuries and his body was only recovered on Tuesday afternoon after mountain rescue teams were hit by appalling weather.
Local climbing guide Jørn Knustad said the Brit died on the lengthy, steep frozen falls mountain slopes in Vestfjorddalen on the north side of Gaustatoppen in Telemark last Friday.
He said: “The waterfall is about 17 rope lengths long and is the longest we have here. That is why it was originally named Gausta Marathon.
The survivor in his 30s was rescued on Saturday afternoon and flown to Ullevål Hospital after a descent which took teams “several hours”, officials said.
Knustad said the area where the pair claimed is not popular with trippers because the waterfalls there take a long time to climb.
He added: “It is unlikely that they were poorly trained – they would hardly have embarked on such a trip.
“A snow and ice avalanche is the cause of this incident.”
The Foreign Office have been approached for comment.
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
