A member of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team will take part in the Ben Nevis Race at the weekend to raise money for new navigation equipment for his colleagues.
The team’s decision to buy eight new GPS units followed a particularly difficult rescue during the avalanche season last winter in which members lost their only map of the area.
The incident in February of this year involved a solo climber, who escaped injury after falling around 130ft through a cornice at Beinn Eibhinn beside Aonach Beag.
In an online appeal for sponsorship, Martin McDermott said: “After a couple of decades looking after the runners, I decided to enter the race as a runner.”
He added: “Last winter, I was involved in a rescue looking for a climber who went through a cornice.
“I was lucky enough to be with some of the greats on the team and, despite falling through cornices and avalanches, we rescued the climber.
“The weather was awful and we lost the only map of the area.
“Luckily one of us had a mapping GPS, which got us all down the hill. Because of this, the team has bought eight GPS units at a considerable cost.”
Mr McDermott explained that the reason they only had one map between them was because they were sent out of their normal area and the map was lost because it was “jettisoned in favour of a ice axe arrest”.
He added that he had been training “on and off” for a year for the event, which takes place on Saturday.
Following the rescue on Beinn Eibhinn, team leader John Stevenson said: “The conditions were very bad. It was a total whiteout with a lot of deep, heavy snow.
“The team was having real problems. A couple went through the cornice and one guy was avalanched. They were fine because they were roped up.
“You get a wee scare when it happens, but they just kept going until they eventually located the man.
“They pulled him up to the top and it took a while to navigate off the hill.”
Mountain rescue team secretary Miller Harris today said only having one map between them had been “a mistake”.
He said: “The lesson has been learnt. They were doing everything correctly, but they really should have each had their own map.”
Mr Harris added that GPS was a useful tool, but should never be used as the sole form of navigation in the mountains. Each walker or climber should also carry a map and compass and know how to use them.
Anyone wishing to make a donation can do so on the team’s website at www.lochabermrt.co.uk