Teenager's close call on Mt Toolbrunup

A Perth teenager had a hair-raising brush with death in the Stirling Ranges yesterday after tumbling 10m down the side of a mountain before coming to a stop at the edge of a vertical drop.

The 14-year-old had been climbing the 1052m Mt Toolbrunup with two friends and their father and was just 40m from the summit when the incident occurred about 3.15pm.

The man called emergency services on his mobile phone after the boy suffered injuries to his knee, with the RAC rescue helicopter arriving at 4.40pm.

Sergeant Mike Russell of Gnowangerup Police said the man and his two sons, aged 14 and 17, managed to trek back down the mountain while the helicopter evacuated the injured teenager.

Early reports the boy suffered a bee sting proved inaccurate.

“The boy was cut up quite badly, he’d fallen and rolled about 10m,” Sgt Russell said.

“Apparently he stopped just shy of a vertical drop based on what the helicopter pilots were saying where they found him.

“It could have been a lot worse.”

Sgt Russell said Toolbrunup was a heavy climb and stressed the importance of good preparation when hiking in the Stirlings.

“Some people regard Toolbrunup to be harder than Bluff Knoll,” he said.

“Good preparation literally can mean the difference between life and death.”

Sgt Russell did not criticise the group’s preparation and said the father had climbed the peak several times.