Experienced climber missing after falling from Skye’s Cuillin mountains

THE search for an injured hillwalker is to resume at first light, police said.

Rescuers were yesterday searching for an experienced mountain guide in the famous Cuillins range on the Isle of Skye.

Graham Paterson, 60, who operates Skye Hi with his wife Annie on the island, was reported to have fallen on Thursday afternoon.

It is understood he was climbing alone in the area of Glenbrittle when the alarm was raised by another climber.

Police, RAF personnel and two mountain rescue teams resumed searching the area yesterday morning.

No one from the family home at Carbost on the Isle of Skye would comment.

The couple operate Skye Hi Cuillin Mountain Guides from their home at the foot of the mountain range.

Mr Paterson has been guiding walks, scrambles and climbs in Scotland since 1995.

The report of his fall came in at 2:30pm on Thursday by another hillwalker in the Cuillins range.

A source from the emergency services said: “It was reported by someone who had seen him falling. He was not with anybody at the time.

“This guy was out on his own and the weather turned very severe in a matter of minutes.

“He was an experienced climber, but the conditions were pretty severe.

“The woman who reported the incident was not able to pinpoint the exact location because of the conditions at the time.

“That is why the search continues. We are covering a wide area.”

A Northern Constabulary spokesman said yesterday: “About 7:30am today the search was resumed in Glenbrittle, Cuillins, Isle of Skye for a male walker believed to be injured.

“The report came in at around 14:30 yesterday.

“Police, RAF, mountain rescue teams from Skye and Kintail and SARDA dogs are involved.”

The range is home to some of the most challenging peaks for hillwalkers in the UK, including the Inaccessible Pinnacle, the second highest summit in the Cuillins, which requires a rock-climb and an abseil to complete the ascent.