Janet Leitch, Mountain Rescue on the Kumano Kodo (JULY THEME: 'DRAMA')
On the Kohechi Route, and only a kilometre from his destination, a fall down the mountain meant that Neil and I had to be helicoptered to hospital 25 mins away. We had to cancel the second route we were planning and head home early. Nine months later, having had 6 stitches in his head, 1 crushed vertebrae, and 4 cracked ribs, he has recovered well.
Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.