Rock climber rescued after 15m fall from world-class Grampians Peaks Trail

A Victorian rock climber is recovering in hospital after tumbling approximately 15m down a cliff face in the state’s west.

Emergency services were called to the Grampians Peak Trail about 2.30pm on January 3 after another climber was able to raise the alarm.

Five hours later, the 37-year-old Ballarat man was flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition with serious upper and lower body injuries, according to an Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said it was believed the man was rock climbing in the Grampians National Park, near Horsham, when he fell.

“A fellow rock climber managed to climb to safety to raise the alarm,” she said.

“Police Search and Rescue assisted numerous agencies in successfully rescuing the man just before 7.30pm.”

A Victoria State Emergency Service spokesman said it took emergency services nearly an hour to reach the man who had fallen from a climbing site at Hollow Mountain in Laharum.

“It took crews an estimated one hour to reach the climber, who was eventually winched out by helicopter and transported to Melbourne,” he said.

“The large-scale operation is just another example of Victoria’s emergency services working together – as one.”

Opened in November 2021, the Grampians Peak Trail is a 100km “world-class natural and cultural walking experience” which runs the length of the national park from Mount Zero, near Horsham, to Mount Abrupt, near the town of Dunkeld.

The $33.2 million project takes 13 days to complete and, for most of its length, is a grade 4 walk with steep climbs and descents.

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