Bluff Knoll in WA can be a treacherous climb in poor weather. Source: BriMiDra, Wikimedia Commons
Four teenagers have been rescued from Bluff Knoll in the south of Western Australia after climbing the mountain in poor weather conditions.
The teenagers were rescued by an RAC rescue helicopter and flown to Stirling Range National Park car park where they were assessed by a St John’s ambulance crew.
St John said two of the teenagers were suffering from mild hypothermia.
The other two teens were not injured, and none of them require hospitalisation.
The four teens were reportedly near the top of Bluff Knoll in the Stirling Range National Park, 400km south-east of Perth.
St John’s Ambulance along with police and about 30 to 40 SES volunteers all attended the scene.
A police spokesperson confirmed at around 1:30pm that the teens had been rescued.
The teens had called for help on Saturday night, but weather conditions were too dangerous for a rescue attempt, so the teens had to stay overnight on the mountain.
Bluff Knoll is one of the Great Southern region’s most popular tourist attractions, with many climbing the mountain to see snowfall.
The mountain has a 1098 metre peak, and many who have climbed it have required rescuing due to the often-treacherous weather conditions.
Sergeant Thomas Grieve, Gnowangerup police station’s officer in charge, told the ABC back in June that people should not climb Bluff Knoll when bad weather is forecasted.
“I don’t think [it’s safe to climb] when the weather is poor, if the weather is going to be cold, windy, wet I don’t think it’s safe,” Sergeant Grieve previously said.
Grieve said that people travelling to the mountain are often unaware of how severe the weather can get.
“That results in people coming to Bluff Knoll to climb it who are unprepared for the weather conditions.
“If it’s snowing it could be zero or below zero.”
Grieve also said that it takes dozens of volunteers to carry out a rescue on the mountain, and that rescue by air requires clear weather.
“The SES volunteers are so important … rescues can take up to eight hours by foot,” he said.
Grieve also said that people should climb the mountain in clear weather conditions, so they have a better view from the summit.
