A mountain rescuer has said a woman who sparked a major air and land search was “lucky” to find shelter from sub-zero temperatures and winds topping 100mph.
Justina Kolberg, from Edinburgh, set off to scale the 4,295ft Ben Macdui in the Cairngorms on Wednesday.
But after she failed to return to Aviemore, the alarm was raised.
More than 50 volunteers fom the Cairngorm, Aberdeen and Braemar mountain rescue teams headed out to find her, with the coastguard helicopter from Inverness also joining the search from above.
The Cairngorm MRT team found her today, “safe and well”.
But team leader Iain Cornfoot, said she was very lucky to have found overnight shelter as the conditions deteriorated.
‘She had a miserable night’
“It had been blustery conditions and she managed to make her way to a bothy on the Cairngorm plateau,” he said.
“She did well to do that. Wind speeds at the summit reached 115mph and there were regular gusts of 100mph.
“It was a cold night for her and when we found her she was cold. The temperature this morning was -2C and with the wind chill -15C.
“But it was the wind that was the problem. She was probably not well equipped for the conditions.
“She was lucky to find the bothy – there was also mist and the conditions certainly caught her out and she got a bit confused where she was. So she did well to reach the bothy.”
Ms Kolberg, 32, managed to find a survival blanket and used other old blankets in the bothy to try and stay warm through the night.
Mr Cornfoot added: “She had a pretty miserable night, but we warmed her up and walked her off the mountain and she was otherwise OK.”
Be prepared
Cairngorm MRT is currently working with Glenmore Lodge, Mountain Training Scotland, Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland and Snowsport Scotland to ensure climbers know the dangers of the mountains during winter.
Sources include:
Mountaineering Scotland’s ThinkWINTER checklist
Scottish Avalanche Information Service’s avalanche awareness guidance
Avalanche forecasts
Mountain Weather Information Service mountain specific forecasts
Met Office mountain specific forecasts