AN AVALANCHE has claimed the life of one climber and left another seriously injured on a Scottish mountain as an elderly rambler died of exposure on a freezing hillside.

In a day of tragedy in Scotland’s great outdoors, three separate groups of hillwakers and climbers fought for their lives in treacherous conditions as stretched emergency teams battled to save them.

A helicopter deployed to search for Yorkshire couple Rachel Slater, 24 and Tim Newton, 27 - who have been missing from the slopes of Ben Nevis since Sunday - was diverted 20 miles in a bid to rescue two climbers trapped in a avalanche in the Cairngorms.

The men were hit with a wall of snow and ice while scaling the one kilometre summit of Creag Meagaidh in Lochaber yesterday afternoon but were eventually rescued. Police later confirmed one had died from his injuries.

Mountain teams were able to speak to one of the men who confirmed nobody else had been buried with them.

Other climbers on the Lochaber mountain reported finding clothes and equipment that are believed to belong to the men in the aftermath of an avalanche.

Inspector Donald Campbell paid tribute to the teams involved in the dangerous rescue in the Cairngorms.

“Police Scotland would like to thank all rescue personnel involved in today’s rescue for the rapid response and determination displayed in very challenging conditions.

“Sadly, one man succumbed to his injuries and his climbing companion remains in hospital.”

The dramatic rescue in the Cairngorms came as news broke that one of three elderly hillwalkers who went missing while trekking in the Southern Uplands had died of exposure. His two friends are being treated in hospital for hypothermia.

Bobby Thomson, 64, George Crosbie, 73, and Jeffrey Stewart, 74, had told family they would be home by 3.30pm on Wednesday but relatives called police two hours later when they failed to return. Police did not immediately name the walker who died.

The men were found 2.5 miles east of Durisdeer in Dumfries and Galloway following a large-scale search involving police and mountain rescue teams. All three were airlifted to hospital.

Searches continue for experienced climbers Rachel Slater, 24 and Tim Newton, 27, but John Stevenson, leader of Lochaber mountain rescue team, said the ‘most likely’ explanation for the disappearance was that they had been caught up in a previous avalanche.

He added: “It is the number one theory we are working on. It is very possible.

“The conditions all weekend were very good and in a poor winter when they conditions are good, the mountain just gets hammered by climbers and walkers.”

“There were people all over it, yet nobody has definitely seen this pair. Obviously the longer we go on looking the more worried you become.”

The couple, who were experienced climbers, camped in a green tent behind the Charles Inglis Clark Memorial hut on the north side of Britain’s highest mountain at the weekend. They were seen there on Saturday.

The alarm was raised when they didn’t return on Monday. Their tent and their car were found later.

Two members of the rescue team were caught up in an avalanche during the search on Tuesday but survived unscathed.

However it meant that with fresh snow on the mountain, the rescue co-ordinators decided it was too risky to send teams back up yesterday morning. So they waited until the helicopter arrived in the afternoon.

A helicopter eventually managed to take off on Wednesday afternoon despite worsening conditions, but was instead diverted to the avalanche in North Lochaber.

Sixty seven mountain rescue personnel were involved in yesterday’s avalanche operation in Lochaber as well as a dog team and a coastguard rescue helicopter.

Willie Anderson leader of the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team, said “We were really there just to backup the Lochaber team who were airlifted in. But I think this should act as as a reminder just how dangerous avalanches can be.”

Ten days ago, a climber was airlifted to hospital after falling more than 1,000ft when he was caught in an avalanche on Creag Meagaidh. He was airlifted to Belford Hospital in Fort William while his climbing companion was able to climb down the route in Staghorn Gully and walk, with help from rescuers, from the mountain.

Popular with winter climbers, Creag Meagaidh is described on the WalkHighlands website as “a magnificent massif, a bare plateau fringed by some of the grandest cliffs in Scotland.”

According to the Scottish Avalanche Information Service the avalanche risk was considerable on Creag Meagaidh yesterday. It is the middle of five levels of hazard, but means: “Natural avalanches may occur - and a single person load is likely to trigger an avalanche on some slopes.”