Unprepared duo rescued from snowy Cairngorms

Concerns over spate of ‘needless rescues’ due to hikers being poorly equipped

Two badly equipped and “very lucky” walkers were led to safety in the Cairngorms after rescuers battled heavy snow showers to reach them.

The hikers had no torch, no compass, no backpack, no map and unsuitable light clothing.

“If they had stayed out overnight they would have been in a very poor state. They would have struggled to have survived.

“It was snowing heavy at times and the temperature was down to -3C overnight,” said Iain Cornfoot, deputy leader of Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team.

“They were very lucky we got to them when we did. Winter is really settling in on the hills now. We want people to enjoy the mountains but to be properly prepared.

“We are concerned – it is pretty frustrating because these are needless rescues.”

It was the third pair of poorly equipped hikers that Cairngorm MRT have saved since Wednesday.

In the latest call-out team members had just finished training when the alarm was raised around 5pm on Sunday.

They had been returning from a failed ascent of Ben Macdui, which at 4,295 feet is the UK’s second highest mountain, but got lost.

The French men, in their 20s, phoned for help at about 3,000 feet up and surrounded by cloud.

“They were in cloud all the time,” said Mr Cornfoot.

“Unfortunately the walkers’ light gym clothing, lack of a map and compass, and lack of a torch were no match for the early snow, rising wind and gathering darkness. It was a really bitterly cold night with heavy snow showers.

“Luckily for them, the rapid availability of the team, not yet home from training, and a good location via their phone meant that they were found and escorted to safety quickly.

“We got to them about 6.10pm and off the hill around 9.30pm. They were cold but otherwise OK.”

On Thursday two lost walkers, navigating by a dying mobile phone and without a torch or compass, were found by rescuers after a nighttime operation in poor weather on the Cairngorm Plateau.

The man and woman in their 20s had also been returning from Ben Macdui.

The team said the couple had been “navigationally challenged and caught out on the plateau in the dark”.

And on Wednesday another pair of walkers were rescued by the team in the same area.

No matter how many warnings are issued by the authorities, the sheer idiocy of some on Scotland’s treacherous mountains continues unabated. The latest lucky pair to be plucked to safety were a pair of walkers “equipped” with nothing more than mobile phones.

They had even eschewed winter jackets before taking to the hills, putting themselves and many others in danger.

It is sheer, dumb luck that they were not stuck on the side of 4,295 foot Ben Macdui overnight.

They could easily have died.

Theirs was the third such rescue by Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team in the space of five days.

Winter never truly leaves Scotland’s high places but is ready to close in with typical fury in the coming days, heightening the potential deadliness of the peaks for months to come.

Such conditions, of course, place the mountains among Scotland’s prime attractions, bringing climbers, walkers and skiers from across the world.

According to VisitScotland, snow sports are worth an estimated £37 million to the economy.

But they are also deadly – 10 people died in Scotland’s hills in the first three months of this year alone.

People taking to the hills have a wealth of information about conditions, although there is no substitute for common sense – it is time people started listening.