Rescue on the Stairway

The recent, Oscar-nominated film 127 Hours starring James Franco tells the horrific, and uplifting, true story of the climber Aron Ralston, who found himself trapped under a rock in a canyon and had to cut off his own arm to save his life. Mr Ralston was trapped alone in Bluejohn Canyon, Utah with no mobile phone and no chance of being saved. He was left with the most extreme of dilemmas: lose a limb or lose his life.

Thankfully for Cameron Brooks, the value of friends in need became evident on a recent climbing trip, when he broke his right leg after losing his footing on the gravel path. As reported yesterday, the 43-year-old Australian hiker was stranded overnight on the slopes of Wadi Ghalilah in Ras al Khaimah, triggering a rescue mission that galvanised the UAE's mountaineering community.

"The thing that was amazing … is within a couple minutes of making a call, you had 20 people ready to go," said Pete Aldwinckle, a RAK-based rock climber who was there to help. "Everybody came out." After the assisted descent, Mr Brooks was taken to Dubai's Rashid Hospital.

The route that Mr Brooks was injured on - the Stairway to Heaven - is one of the most challenging climbs in the country and considered by many tour operators as too dangerous. But a community can do wonders. Mr Ralston deserves credit for the extraordinary will that saved his life; we expect Mr Brooks is just as happy to extend a handshake of thanks to his rescuers.