Climbers heading to a mountain area which claimed five lives in the space of two months last winter are being warned by experts to take extra care and make sure they are prepared.
VICTORIA MITCHELL
Climbers heading to a mountain area which claimed five lives in the space of two months last winter are being warned by experts to take extra care and make sure they are prepared.
Coire an t-Sneachda in the Cairngorms is regarded as one of the best climbing spots in the UK, with a large north-facing hollow luring enthusiasts.
Hundreds head there every year to conquer the large gulley, but changeable weather with winds of up to 120mph make it highly dangerous if climbers are not properly equipped or are inexperienced. The area is often referred to as Britain's last wilderness and Arctic-type weather can blast through without much warning.
Between November 2006 and January 2007, five people lost their lives in Coire an t-Sneachda, which means corrie of the snows, and another was badly injured in March.
Aberdeen University student Richard Hardy, 18, from Milton in Hampshire, and graduate Graeme Cooper, 23, from Aberdeen, died in November 2006. They were just minutes from safety but succumbed to hypothermia.
In December 2006, Neil Bachelor, 26, from Inverness, perished in a climbing accident. Bristol University mechanical engineering student Hugh Pitcairn, 20, died on January 10 last year, while climbing Crotched Gully.
On January 19 a fifth climber, Mike Rough, 48, from Devon, who had been climbing alone, was found dead at the bottom a rocky feature called Aladdin's Mirror.
In January 2003 two climbers were caught up and injured in an avalanche at 3000ft on the Coire.
Tim Walker, principal of Glenmore Lodge near Aviemore, the Scottish National Outdoor Training Centre, said Coire an t-Sneachda was popular because of its accessibility and the range of routes to suit all levels of climber.
He said the deaths last winter had shocked the climbing community in Scotland.
He added: "It's fair to say that the mountaineering world was shocked. There wasn't a single overriding factor but a number of the fatalities were younger. As a result we have redoubled our efforts in trying to deliver training, especially to younger people.
"We are not denying that mountaineering has its hazards but recent research shows that you'd have to spend time on a mountain every day for 125 years before you'd need the services of a mountain rescue team.
"However, anyone heading out should take regard of the weather forecasts as well as the snow and avalanche information service. They should be well equipped, plan a route suitable to their experience and be prepared to turn back."
Research shows that that 6.5 million days are spent in Scotland's mountains each year. The sportscotland report, carried out using figures from the Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland, was commissioned to try to reduce the number of accidents. The main cause was given as poor navigation while inadequate planning and poor equipment also featured.
Flight Lieutenant Steve Hodgson, an RAF Sea King pilot with 22 years' experience of mountain rescues, said: "The area is a magnet for climbers. One of the things about mountain rescues is that no two approaches are the same.
"Coire an t-Sneachda can be a challenge with wind coming from all directions. The difficulty it presents is its shape and all the high ground.
"It means as soon as you get a strong wind it can change direction, that's what makes it dangerous. If we are waiting to hover and winch somebody that can be a problem."
In February 2006 the crew of the Sea King almost needed rescuing after the pilot had to make an emergency landing during a blizzard while attempting to rescue an injured climber. The helicopter had been approaching Coire an t-Sneachda when it was buffeted by 60mph winds. The winch-man noticed the rotor blades were starting to ice up.
No-one was injured and the crew walked down the mountain while the climber was rescued by teams on foot. The helicopter had to be defrosted before it was able to fly back to RAF Kinloss.
To the rescue
Search and rescue dogs can mean the difference between life and death when someone goes missing on a Scottish mountain.
A network of dogs operate throughout the country and no matter where an incident happens a dog can be there in under two hours.
Sarda (Search and Rescue Dog Association) dogs are normal household pets who have been trained to find people using scent in the air. They can detect people from half-a-mile away and are often used in blizzard conditions where visibility is poor. Last year Sarda dogs located two fatalities in Coire an t-Sneachda.
