Two hillwalkers were swept 164ft after being hit by an avalanche in the Cairngorms.
A woman in her 30s and a man in her 20s were airlifted to a Glasgow hospital after a cornice collapsed in the Mess of Pottage area of Coire an t-Sneachda on Sunday afternoon.
The pair were at the base of the corrie when the overhanging mass of snow broke off, triggering an avalanche and knocking them off their feet.
Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team (CMRT) volunteers were called to the incident around 3pm while an HM Coastguard helicopter was also sent from Inverness.
17 volunteers took part in the five-hour rescue, which finished at around 8pm.
They were assisted by 12 members of the RAF Valley MRT, who were training in the area.
Cairngorm climbers swept down 164ft after cornice collapse
CMRT leader Iain Cornfoot told The P&J the pair were lucky to be alive.
He said: “Both casualties were cold so we had to rewarm them on site.
“We then lowered them 300 metres with ropes and stretchered out for 1.5km to the aircraft.
“They swept down through some pretty rocky terrain and there was potential for quite severe injuries, but they were lucky I think that they suffered relatively minor injuries.
“There is potential for fatalities, head injuries in these situations.”
Cornice collapses are ‘hard to predict’
Cornices are formed by wind-blown snow and can collapse under their weight, causing avalanches.
Mr Cornfoot said: “They can be really fragile; there was a lot of snow yesterday which built up on the cornices and then sometimes it can just release naturally.
“It’s very hard to predict but hikers should check the avalanche forecast and the weather forecast.
The CMRT leader also thanked Cairngorm Mountain Resort for their logistical help, adding: “They ferried two members up as high as they could with their vehicles.
“We always get amazing help from them.”
“And also thank you to the RAF Valley MRT members for helping us out after being all day in the mountains.”
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