The mother of a mountaineer who died alongside a friend while climbing in Glencoe has said she is “heartbroken”.
Simon Davidson, 34, was killed in a suspected avalanche alongside Joe Smith on the Stob Coire nam Beith mountain on Saturday.
In a poignant post on her son’s social media web page, Esther Davidson said he had died doing what he loved and that he had valued the friendship of those who knew him.
She was reported to have said: “Thank you to all Simon’s friends and family – your tributes to him are such a comfort to me at this time when I feel heartbroken at his loss.
“Thank you too for all the lovely photos and video you have posted. They have given me a treasured insight into that part of his life where I could not follow and only got brief snatches of from him.
“I know he loved the mountains but he also really valued your friendship and all you shared together in the mountains. As many of you have said, he died doing what he loved.
“Carry on climbing and carry his memory to the highest places.”
Originally from Edinburgh, the former Craigmount High pupil was an experienced mountain climber, ski instructor and outdoor activity leader.
His friend Mr Smith, from Kinlochleven, was a member of the Glencoe mountain rescue team – which had the harrowing task of recovering their colleague’s body from the mountain.
It was the first time the Glencoe team has been called out to respond to a fatal accident involving one of their own.
The pair fell “some distance” on Stob Coire nam Beith on Saturday, and were discovered by two other climbers on Saturday afternoon, who raised the alarm.
They were found by another climbing party on Stob Coire nam Beith about 4.30pm on Saturday.
The weather in the area was described as “a typical winter day – snowing with wind on top”.
The Scottish Avalanche Information Service labelled the risk in Glencoe on Saturday as “considerable”, a warning that remains in place.