English teacher, 55, fell to her death on Welsh mountain moments after telling friend how much she was ‘loving’ the climb up 3,261ft peak

• Samantha Orton, 55, died after a tragic mountain fall on Glyder Fach, Snowdonia
• The teacher died from cardiovascular shock from blood loss due to a leg injury
• Her friend Hannah Carrington was with her on the climb and heard her scream
• In a statement to the inquest, her father said ‘she died doing what she loved’ 

An English teacher fell to her death on a Welsh mountain moments after telling her friend how much she was ‘loving’ the climb up the 3,261ft peak, an inquest heard. 

Experienced climber Samantha Orton, 55, fell and suffered a fatal leg injury while leading a climb in Snowdonia.

An inquest into her death at Ruthin County Hall on Friday heard she was on the Chasm Route on Glyder Fach in the Ogwen Valley when she fell around three metres. 

Her friend Hannah Carrington was with her on the climb on June 2 – 85 miles from Mrs Orton’s home in Manchester. 

Ms Carrington heard her friend let out a ‘loud terrified scream’ followed by an ‘agonising cry as if she was in pain’.

Samantha Orton, 55, fell and suffered a fatal leg injury just minutes after saying she was ‘loving’ the climb and the views on one of Britain’s highest peaks

An inquest into her death at Ruthin County Hall on Friday heard she was on the Chasm Route on Glyder Fach in the Ogwen Valley when she fell around three metres (Pictured: Mrs Orton climbing in Costa Blanca)

Her friend Hannah Carrington was with her on the climb on June 2, 85 miles from Mrs Orton’s home in Manchester (Pictured: Mrs Orton climbing in Spain)

Mrs Orton had been leading the climb so Ms Carrington could not see what happened.

At approximately 2pm nearby climbers saw the teacher – who appeared to be unconscious – on a ledge.

The Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team, Welsh Ambulance Service and the Coastguard were all called out to the accident. 

Coming from Caernarfon, the Air Ambulance and Coastguard helicopter airlifted her from the mountain, according to Manchester Evening News.

She died shortly after at the mountain rescue base in Capel Curig shortly after 2:30pm.

The inquest heard the pair were experienced climbers who had carefully planned the route and were wearing appropriate safety equipment, including helmets and harnesses.

A post-mortem examination conducted by consultant pathologist Dr Mark Atkinson found Mrs Orton died from ‘cardiovascular shock from blood loss due to a leg injury as a result of a fall from height.’

In a statement to the Ruthin hearing, Mrs Orton’s father said that ‘she died doing what she loved.’

Giving a conclusion of accidental death, senior coroner John Gittins said: ‘This was an accident, pure and simple. There is no suggestion before me that this [is] anything more than a tragic accident.’

A post mortem conducted by consultant pathologist Dr Mark Atkinson found Mrs Orton died from ‘cardiovascular shock from blood loss due to a leg injury as a result of a fall from height’ (Pictured: Mrs Orton on the sea cliffs of Pembrokeshire)

In a statement to the Ruthin hearing, Mrs Orton’s father said that ‘she died doing what she loved’ (Pictured: Mrs Orton abseiling on Aonach Mor)

He said that ‘none of us know what is around the corner’, but in his job he gets to see people ‘living their dreams’, going on to add ‘she died doing what she loved in a place she was very fond of.’

Mrs Orton worked as an English teacher for 27 years ‘working with people from all over the world, many who had come here as refugees and were struggling to make a new life in the UK.’

Her friends have raised more than £5,000 for charities Right to Remain and the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Service.

Source: Read Full Article