Picture: Master Aircrew Paul Heyward, Crown Copyright/MOD 2011
The dramatic pictures of this rescue, that took place in mid-winter in Scotland, more or less tell it all. Climbers were stranded and injured under cold conditions. One (Daniel Rafferty, 19) had already fallen to his death.
The Royal Airforce flight sergeant, Mark Lean, knew nothing about climbing. Yet when he was winched down to the narrow ridge where the accident had taken place he had to unclip to help the climbers. He was recently given an award for his bravery.