A teenager who fell down a 30ft waterfall on England's highest mountain has miraculously escaped death.
Ben Longton, 18, feared he would 'die if he fell asleep' after being trapped alone in a snowy canyon for nine hours following his 32ft (10m) fall on Scafell Pike. The farm worker had neared the top of the 3,209ft (978m) peak in the Lake District on March 1 this year in fine weather but faced a freak blizzard on his descent.
As he headed down paths covered by roughly 12 inches (30cm) of snow with his dogs, Dug and Bella, he fell down a waterfall. However, Ben managed to pull himself out of the plunge pool with a broken right leg but was still stuff in a 6ft (1.8m) wide ravine and no phone signal.
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As nighttime came in with sub-zero temperatures, Ben prepared himself for the worst while suffering from strange hallucinations. He said: "From about 8pm to 2am I just thought I was dead. I just thought, 'I am going to fall asleep and die here' because it was better than freezing."
"I was lying there and I kept closing my eyes to try and sleep, and I was imaging some guy with some stairs up the gill just saying, 'C'mon then, just walk up these.'".
"I'd open my eyes and then there would just be a massive wall, and I'd think, 'Ah, it's not there'."
Ben's father raised the alarm with Cumbria Police when his son didn't return home, prompting Wasdale Mountain Rescue to initiate a night-time search. In an extraordinary turn of events, Ben was located after he blew his dog whistle in response to the rescue team's calls, drawing their attention several hours into the operation.
Following his rescue, Ben was airlifted by a Coastguard helicopter and taken to Preston Hospital, where he underwent a three-week recovery period.
Expressing his gratitude, Ben has aspirations to one day join the mountain rescue team, saying: "I'm very grateful. There's nothing I could do without them at the end of the day. Maybe one day I might join the mountain rescue team."
Despite the ordeal, Ben remains undeterred and plans to tackle the mountain again, reflecting: "It's not going to change anything it's just one mistake that could have been avoided".
A spokesperson for Wasdale Mountain Rescue expressed joy at Ben's recovery but noted the troubling frequency of such accidents, stating: "We are so pleased for Ben that he is making such a good recovery, but he was exceptionally lucky to survive."
The spokesperson also highlighted the risks involved in rescues, especially given the challenging access to the location, and mentioned ongoing efforts with the National Trust to mitigate these dangers: "Ben's accident came only a day after the previous one in the same location."
"These incidents pose a grave danger for the casualties and the rescuers because of the difficulties in accessing the location. We are working with the National Trust who own the land, to find ways of reducing such incidents."
Ben, from Lancaster, shared his harrowing ordeal of setting out to climb Scafell Pike with his pets, one year old Labrador Retriever Bella and two year old Cocker Spaniel Dug. Their journey took a dramatic turn as weather conditions deteriorated during their ascent.
Ben revealed: "I got the dogs that I had to sit down at the top... But when I was on the steep bit, I slipped and fell into the plunge pool."
As they neared the summit, what started as a pleasant morning quickly descended into a blanket of snow engulfing the mountainside. Faced with 'white-out' conditions, Ben had to continuously check his phone for navigation as knee-deep snow hampered their progress.
The situation escalated further when attempting to descend in these adverse conditions. Around 5pm, while trying to navigate down the side of a waterfall, he lost his footing and plunged into its icy pool below.
Recalling the chilling event, Ben said: "I put pressure on my right leg and then halfway up my femur, it just bent backwards. It was painful but it was more numb from all the cold. I didn't really feel anything."
Left stranded due to no mobile signal, he dragged himself around 20m across the stream down the snow until reaching another waterfall. Finding himself unable to proceed further, he admitted: "I had no signal, so I dragged myself about 20m across the stream down the snow until there was another waterfall, and I just realised that I had to stop there."
Despite his best efforts to raise an emergency call on his phone, the lack of network signal made it futile. Alone and abandoned in the bleak landscape, he ceased checking his phone after his pleas for help echoed in vain in the deserted wilderness.
His subsequent remarks hinted at a sombre acceptance of his dire situation: "I stopped checking my phone because my hands were frozen. I could barely touch it. I was like, 'I can't do much now, nobody is walking down any more.'".
Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team was called out just after 8pm to search for Ben, and they were soon joined by reinforcements from RAF Leeming, RAF Valley, the Coast Guard, and other specialist search groups.
In a dramatic turn of events around 2am, as rescuers approached a treacherous gully known as Piers Gill, roughly a mile from the summit, Ben signalled his location by blowing his whistle in response to their calls.
Reflecting on the moment, Ben said: "I saw the flashlight at the top and I had my dog whistle, so I just blew on that until they put the light on me and I realised they had found me."
Ben remained stranded on the ridge for several more hours until rescuers could safely reach him. With daylight providing better visibility, he was eventually winched to safety.
His loyal dogs, who had stayed at the top of the waterfall during the ordeal, were also rescued by members of Wasdale and Duddon & Furness Mountain Rescue teams.
Following the rescue, Ben was airlifted to Preston Hospital where it was discovered he had suffered a quadruple fracture to his right femur and severe hypothermia. Despite initial concerns that he might suffer cardiac arrest, Ben's condition stabilised, allowing him to be discharged after a three-week hospital stay.
Now back at home, Ben is recuperating but is expected to make a full recovery.
The Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team, instrumental in saving Ben, consists of dedicated volunteers ready to respond to emergencies every day of the year.
The team relies heavily on donations to ensure the safety of walkers and are currently accepting contributions. Donations can be made through their JustGiving page.
Alternatively, a direct donation of £10 can be made by texting WMRT13 £10 to 70070.
