A climber who got lost at the top of Ben Nevis was found today after spending all night on the mountain in blizzard conditions.
The man, who was in his forties and from England, got into difficulties due to weather conditions, low cloud cover and the lack of daylight. Police were contacted at 7.53pm last night and he spoke to Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team on the phone.
After getting lost again on his way down today, he was eventually located by the team and lifted to the bottom of the hill by Rescue 177.
Team Leader John Stevenson said: “A man got stuck on the summit of the Ben last night. We left him there over night. Once we established where he was, we knew he was pretty safe, and was well equipped and in his bivvy bag. We wouldn’t have found him at night. It was easier to leave him out and go for him in the morning.
“During the night he went into the summit shelter. He was quite happy to navigate himself off the summit in the morning and we were happy to let him do that and meet him coming down.
“That was the plan but while navigating off the top he got lost and went into Coire Eoghainn, which is the wrong way.
“We lost contact by phone, we had no idea where he was. As we were coming down we spotted him trying to make his way down. All turned out OK. He was cold and tired but fine.
“His kit was fine, his navigation needs brushing up.”
Mr Stevenson added: “Conditions were really bad. Visibility was down to two feet, it was total whiteout, you couldn’t see anything.”
A police spokesman said: “At approximately 7.53pm police received a report of a male climber who had come into difficulty whilst out climbing on Ben Nevis. Due to weather conditions, low cloud cover, and the lack of daylight, the man was spoken to by Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team who assessed his situation and supplies, and were content that he would be safe on the hill overnight within an emergency shelter.
“Lochaber MRT traced the man on the hill today at around 2.28pm where he was found to be safe and well.”