Hillwalkersrescued frommountaintop
Six hillwalkers had to be rescued from the top of a Perthshire Munro in the early hours of Monday morning.
The Tayside Mountain Rescue Team (TMRT) got a call at 3.30am from six men who were wild camping on the summit of Ben Chonzie, also known as Ben-y Hone, a popular peak near Crieff.
The group, on a trip from Glasgow, were wet and experiencing equipment failure while dealing with winds of 50-60mph. They had lost their way and had no navigational equipment to find their way down in darkness.
TMRT went up to meet them and escorted them down. Visibility was down to 20-30m and the men were cold, suffering from light exposure but uninjured.
Due to the environmental sensitivity of the mountain, TMRT did not bring vehicles up the Munro, but made the rescue to the 931m plateau on foot.
The hillwalkers were transferred to safety vehicles by 9.30am.
Stuart Johnstone, TMRT team leader said he was expecting many more callouts in the weeks ahead as restrictions lightened and people headed to Perthshire’s hills.
He said the public had been “very good about observing the message to stay home” in past months and not putting his team at risk, but now he understood rescue calls to the volunteers would increase. “We will do our best, but take care and plan your mountain adventures well,” he advised.