A Scottish snowboarder survived a blizzard by cuddling his dog

A snow boarder survived being stranded on top of a mountain in the Highlands by hugging his dog for warmth.

The boarder from Edinburgh and his Labrador cross dog were rescued in the Cairngorms at the weekend, after being found keeping warm in a bivvy bag.

Stuck in a 40mph blizzard

The man, in his 30s, dialled 999 after becoming disorientated in bad weather around 3,500ft (1,067m) up on Cairngorm in the Highlands at 5.45pm on Saturday evening.

Twenty-three members of the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team (CMRT) battled through 40mph winds and heavy snow to reach the scene and reached him at around 8pm.

The rescuers accessed the stranded snowboarder using skis and a grid reference from the man’s phone signal. They walked the man and his pet back down the mountain to safety, with neither needing medical treatment.

Willie Anderson, CMRT team leader, said, "The man was well equipped but the weather was poor and he was a bit overwhelmed.”

‘The dog helped keep him warm’

"It was really bad weather but we got to him. He was very cold, probably in the early stages of hypothermia,” Anderson went on.

"The dog helped keep him warm, the dog was absolutely fine.

"It was good that we got to him because he would have been in very poor condition by morning, there was a wind child of around minus 20C and it was a blizzard."

The man was said to be well equipped and had checked information about avalanche risks.

Last week a dog was rescued after spending 48 hours lost in the Cairngorms.

The Inverness Coastguard helicopter spotted it on a narrow ledge with a 200ft (61m) drop below and winched the animal to safety.

The helicopter crew spotted the dog by chance while they were out on a training exercise in the area on Wednesday.