Rock climber 'lucky to be alive' after 60ft fall

An experienced rock climber said he is lucky to be alive after plunging 60ft during a free solo climb with no ropes or harness.

Father-of-four Denis Tangney said he had a miraculous escape when he slipped on a damp ledge and landed on his heels, smashing both ankles.

The drama unfolded on Sunday when the 53-year-old, from Tralee, Co Kerry, was scaling a cliff face 60ft high above Poirse Gully in the Gap of Dunloe.

"I was free soloing without a rope so I knew the consequences if I fell before I went up there," Mr Tangney said from his hospital bed.

"I knew that if I fell I would probably die. It was miraculous.

"When you are soloing you don't get a second chance."

Mr Tangney, a rock climber for 20 years, had scaled Poirse Gully about 50 times before building the confidence to go solo, without a rope, for a third time.

However as he climbed the crux - the most difficult and technical part of the route - he realised the rock was damp.

"The move is called a rock over, where you put the toe of your foot across and up high to about chest level on a very small hold," he said.

"You have nothing for your hand to hold on to and you keep your nose as close to the rock and push up on your toe. It's all about balance."

Mr Tangney revealed he was just two inches from grabbing a hold above him when his foot slipped off.

"I said 'you are dead, it will be over in about three seconds'," he continued.

As he fell backwards towards Poirse Gully he went through a gap and, at about 40ft, grabbed the lip of an overhang with the tops of his fingers - saving his own life.

"I was hanging by my fingertips for dear life," he continued.

"That was the miraculous thing. It stopped the fall temporarily and I straightened by body up and my fingers slipped off."

Mr Tangney landed upright on sharp rocks and boulders below, shattering both heels.

"The pain was excruciating. It felt like somebody had taken a sledge hammer and come down hard on both feet," he continued.

"I keeled over straight away and banged my nose off the rock. My nose bled. I swallowed it (the blood) and spat it out and thought I had internal injuries."

Mr Tangney, a former member of Kerry Mountain Rescue, and his wife Mary who was nearby called rescuers from his mobile phone.

They carried him down the steep gully on a stretcher to a level area where the Coast Guard rescue helicopter transferred him to Kerry General hospital for surgery. He expects it will be a year before he is fully recovered.

"If I hadn't straightened up I would have come down at an angle and died," the climber added.

"It wasn't done consciously. But when things like this happen something happens within you and survival kicks in."