Three climbers were left stranded last night after becoming lost in the Cairngorms, requiring assistance from mountain rescue in a seven-hour operation.
Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team (CMRT) were dispatched at around 5.30pm on Wednesday to assist three climbers who had become stuck.
On a trip from a climbing school in England, the trio of one man and two women had been traversing the hills near Coire an Lochan when they went off-route.
CMRT leader Iain Cornfoot said the trio could have found got lost due to the snow conditions, which he says made it “difficult to find the route back”.
Stuck on a crag and without ropes or climbing equipment, the climbers could not move and were there for five hours until CMRT arrived.
A crew of 22 members made their way up into the hills to assist the trio, setting up a rigging system to lower one team member nearly 200ft down.
Climbers stuck for five hours in steep snow
In a video posted to social media, CMRT members can be seen pulling together to hoist the climbers, with the team working in “poor visibility, driving snow and severe wind chill”.
By the time all three climbers were hauled up to safety, they were “very cold” due to the blizzard-like conditions.
CMRT members helped them get warm before the group proceeded down the hills and back to the base arriving at around 1am, seven and half hours after they set off.
Mr Cornfoot warns that snow conditions are “lean” meaning there isn’t a lot of snow cover on the mountains.
This could be hazardous for people not familiar with the routes.
It is the second call-out for the CMRT this week after the team rescued three people on February 20, who had become stuck on a crag near Coire an t-Sneachda.
Conversation