By Steven Bell

A FORMER Dundee man who forged an international reputation as a climber and researcher has died after falling 60ft on a mountain in Tasmania.

Father-of-two and Mount Everest veteran Dr Kenneth McConnell (53) was abseiling on Mt Wellington on Saturday when the rock he was anchored to broke.

Despite a rescue operation which included another climber coming to his aid and a helicopter being scrambled, Dr McConnell died before help could reach him.

His 85-year-old father Kennedy said last night at his home in West Ferry that Dr McConnell was rated as one of the top 10 climbers in the world.

“He was on Mt Wellington just a few miles from Hobart, where he lived, with another climber and they were abseiling back down,” said Mr McConnell.

“The rock that he had his rope on broke and he fell about 60ft. The tragic irony is that he called Mt Wellington a molehill—he must have been to the Himalayas about 20 times.”

Emergency services were alerted at around 5.20 pm local time on Saturday after calls for help were heard from the Organ Pipes, a popular rock climbing site.

Police search and rescue, state emergency service volunteers and a rescue helicopter worked in what were described as “difficult” conditions. The doctor’s body was recovered at around 10 pm.

Hone Pita, a qualified rock climbing instructor, said he had been climbing at the Organ Pipes on Saturday afternoon when he heard a person yelling.

He said he climbed to the top of the pipes where he had a two-way radio in his bag and called for help.

Mr Pita said he ran up to the lookout on the mountain summit and guided police to the area where he had heard the yelling.

He gave a police officer a climbing harness which was used to lean over the edge of the cliffs to try to see and hear where the shouting had come from.

“It was very hard to identify them because there was lots of traffic and other noises,” he said.

Everything suddenly went quiet and they were about to give up the search at about 6.30 pm when they heard the man’s female climbing partner shout.

Mr Pita said two other climbers arrived and one went to the 45-year-old woman and helped her.

That climber, whom he only knew as Alan, also went to Dr McConnell to assess his condition but it was too late.

Mr Pita said Dr McConnell had fallen to a ledge and then fallen again.

He said Alan abseiled down from the Organ Pipes with the man’s climbing partner and the Westpac Rescue helicopter recovered Dr McConnell’s body about 10 pm.

Mr Pita praised the helicopter pilot and the crew member who was winched to the climber for their skill during the rescue in difficult conditions against the cliffs. He said rescuers did everything they could to save him.

Dr McConnell had only recently resumed climbing after suffering a serious neck injury in a road accident two years ago.

A former pupil of Dundee High School, Dr McConnell travelled to Australia in 1973 and began his medical career in Tasmania.

Mountaineering was his main pastime, but it became part of his work. His lectures on medical problems relating to extreme altitudes were renowned throughout Australia.

In 1996 Dr McConnell was also involved in an expedition to a remote glacier in Nepal to hunt for the yeti—the team found a cave but no yeti.

Dr McConnell participated in a number of international expeditions to the Himalayas, Karakorum and Andes ranges, climbing several of the highest peaks including Mt Everest.

He was also involved for four years in a major study of dementia at Flinders University and the Royal Hospital in Adelaide.

His father continued, “During his Himalayan trips, he observed that a high number of sherpas were suffering from dementia, and suspected that this may have been caused by their repeated exposure to high altitudes.

“Their symptoms were similar to those experienced by boxers who had suffered many blows to their heads and, in 2003, he was awarded a grant to study this problem in greater depth.

“Unfortunately, his untimely death has prevented his findings from being published.”

Dr McConnell was in charge of the A&E department at the Royal Hospital in Hobart, and also worked at a hospital in the town of Burnie.

The funeral of the doctor, who is survived by sons Ian (15) and Allan (10), will take place in Hobart.