A Sea Point accountant believes he survived a six-hour ordeal lost on Table Mountain in a storm on Sunday night thanks only to his cellphone.
Ivor Fletcher, who went climbing alone on the mountain, was lost, wet and cold and wasn't sure how long he could last in the wintry night.
But with a fully charged cellphone in hand and a mountain rescue team on the line, Fletcher had hope.
"I don't know what I would have done without the cell. I was dying from cold but being in constant contact with Kevin Tromp of Wilderness Search and Rescue kept my mind going and certainly saved me," a relieved Fletcher said.
It was a beautiful afternoon when Fletcher set out for a walk above Kirstenbosch at about 3pm on Sunday. He was wearing shorts and boots but his upper body was warmly clad.
On the top of the mountain he bumped into a couple of Scottish holidaymakers who were lost near Kasteelspoort and he directed them down the mountain after lecturing them for being poorly equipped, never dreaming he would soon be stuck.
Although he stuck to the footpaths, Fletcher, blaming "grossly inadequate" signage, got lost. "I ended up walking in a big circle for about two-and-a-half hours."
The mist came down and the light started to fade so that Fletcher could see only two to three metres ahead.
"It was not long before dark so I knew I had to call for help," Fletcher said.
Then the night shut in and the weather turned ugly, with howling winds and pouring rain.
The leader of the rescue party, Kevin Tromp, took up the story: "There were 25 of us, divided into four groups, setting off from Constantia Nek about 6.30pm.
"We walked up and down the network of paths near the water ranger's hut and the Hely Hutchinson dam on the back table, talking to him by phone frequently and shining our flash lights around.
"The cellphone definitely helped save his life. He could explain to us where he thought he was and we could give him advice," Tromp said.
Fletcher said he had never been "so happy in my life" to see torchlight in the dark when one of the search groups approached him.
He said Tromp and his teams were "absolutely
professional" and he owed his life to them - and his trusty cellphone.
The Wilderness Search and Rescue party found him on a footpath in the Valley of Isolation at about 9.30pm and guided him to safety.
Fletcher, an experienced hiker, acknowledged he had broken the rule of never hiking alone. He said people should always walk in company, take warm clothes including long pants even if the weather was good when they set out, and stick to known routes and paths.
"Never forget a beanie to keep your head warm, gloves, water and food, a torch and, of course, a fully charged
cellphone!"