Avalanches stop rescue teams after climbers vanish on Ben Nevis
TWO climbers have gone missing on a Valentine’s Day trip to Ben Nevis amid fears they been caught in an avalanche.
Experienced mountaineers Rachel Slater, 24, and Tim Newton, 27, have not been seen since Sunday morning.
Their tent was discovered by police on the north side of the mountain after Miss Slater did not arrive at work on Monday.
Yesterday a 39-strong rescue team called off the search after five hours when conditions became treacherous, with two team members caught in an avalanche.
John Stevenson, leader of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team (LMRT), said with huge amounts of snow expected it could be some time before the search is resumed. He added: ‘As time goes on hopes are diminishing. We just hope they have dug themselves in somewhere, but the conditions are among the worst we have experienced for many a year.
‘The wind was gusting up to 90mph, the snow and spindrift was everywhere and the risk of avalanche was considerable. We had to pull out, it was too dangerous.
‘We will never stop looking for Tim and Rachel but it is not looking good.’
Miller Harris, LMRT secretary, said it was a ‘possibility’ the climbers were caught in an avalanche. He added: ‘The weather is extreme. The conditions are very variable, these people were very competent climbers. Anything could have happened.’
The Scottish Avalanche Information Service had described the avalanche risk at the weekend as ‘considerable’.
Last night gusts of up to 100mph and temperatures of minus 4c were predicted to hit the Ben. With no option but to wait for a break in the weather, the couple’s family were left with little information.
Miss Slater, who is originally from Sheffield, works as an
‘As time goes on, hope is diminishing’
environmental consultant for Mineral Planning Group, near Bradford, Yorkshire.
In an online blog post she has talked of spending much of her childhood climbing with her parents. In 2005, she and her f amily moved to Canada, before Miss Slater returned to the UK in 2009 to study at Manchester University.
Her aunt Jackie Cahill said: ‘All we can do is wait for news. It is shocking.’
The 54-year-old, who lives in Australia and is visiting family in the UK, has been in phone contact with Miss Slater’s family in Canada, who are desperately awaiting news.
Speaking from the Isle of Man, she said: ‘Rachel and Tim had gone to Ben Nevis together for the weekend. I believe it was a Valentine’s trip. I assume they got together through their love of climbing.’
Mr Newton, who also lives in Bradford, is studying at Leeds University. Like his girlfriend, he is an experienced climber.
His father, Chris Newton, 66, of Stapleton, Leicestershire, said: ‘ They left for Ben Nevis on Friday for the weekend.
‘Tim phoned me from Glasgow and said they were well on their way and said how excited they were about climbing.
‘ He had been working extremely hard at university and felt he needed a break.’
Mr Newton said he was confident his son knows what he is doing on the mountains.
He added: ‘It is not a question of a person pulling on a
‘Considerable risk of avalanche’
pair of boots then going out. Tim has done winter survivals, slept in snow holes and all that sort of thing. He has been to Ben Nevis numerous times.’
It is believed the couple are on the North Face. Their tent was found near a mountaineers’ shelter, the Charles Inglis Clark (CIC) Memorial Hut. Miss Slater’s car has also been recovered from the area.
On Monday Lochaber Moun- tain Rescue Team and a Coastguard helicopter searched the summit plateau, Gardyloo Gully and Smith’s Route until 8.30pm.
Police Scotland issued an image of the couple yesterday in full climbing gear and asked anyone who saw them on Ben Nevis to get in touch.
Reported possible sightings meant yesterday’s search, aided by rescue dogs, focused on the Carn Dearg, Lochan Meall An T-Suidhe and Coire Leis areas.
Climber Patrick Roman saw t he couple on Saturday morning about midday, the day before they went missing.
He wrote on a climbing forum: ‘I was outside the CIC on Saturday morning. There were two people matching the image in the photo. He was wearing a red jacket and she a green and turquoise jacket.’
Police Scotland renewed its call for people who saw the couple to get i n touch. A spokesman said: ‘The response to the previous appeal has been greatly appreciated.’