Body of walker recovered after Glencoe mountain fall

Published on 10/03/2013 00:00

THE body of a walker who fell over 600ft to his death on a Scottish mountain was recovered yesterday close to the spot where four climbers perished less than two months ago.

The 39-year-old man, who has not been named, is the 12th fatality on the Scottish hills this year.

Glencoe Mountain Rescue team and a RAF helicopter from Lossiemouth were involved in the search for the climber on Bidean Nam Bian in Glencoe on Friday evening but had to return yesterday to retrieve the body because of “exceptionally difficult” weather conditions.

The man was among a group of five descending near the summit of Bidean Nam Bian – Glencoe’s highest peak – when the accident happened.

John Grieve, leader of Glencoe Mountain Rescue, said: “There was a party of five trying to descend when one of them fell. He tried to use his axe to hang on but the snow is like concrete at the moment and where he fell soon gets vertical. He had no chance of surviving that fall.

“We located him on Friday and it turned out to be a fatality. But because of the conditions on the mountain, it was very windy and we were on steep ice. I worried about the safety of the team and called off the recovery. It was just too dangerous to continue.”

On 19 January, four climbers died in an avalanche on 3,773ft Bidean Nam Bian.

Yesterday, walkers and climbers were being warned to expect “full-on” winter conditions in the hills and mountains over the next few days. The Sportscotland Avalanche Information Service highlighted the return of severe winter weather following a recent spell of sunshine and little wind.