Scottish Mountain Rescue teams are dealing with about a third more callouts than before lockdown, with almost 700 people rescued last year.
More than half (56%) of calls were linked to mountaineering, totalling 319 incidents, figures showed.
Last year was described as a “record year” for callouts, across both Police Scotland and civilian teams.
A total of 677 people were assisted last year, and nine animals were rescued, including two dogs and seven sheep.
Teams attended 572 separate incidents in 2023, compared to 636 in 2022.
However, the number of separate team callouts was 870 in 2023, compared to 843 in 2022, which included linked callouts on different days.
Volunteers gave up 32,762 hours in 2023 to attend callouts across 278 days, compared to 29,804 hours volunteered in 2022.
The vast majority of hillwalking incidents (70%) occurred in the summer, and 156 callouts were in the Highlands and Islands, making it the significantly most dangerous region in Scotland.
The longest duration of a callout was 15 days, and there were four incidents which lasted for five days in 2023.
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A total of 41 deaths were recorded, including seven which occurred during mountaineering incidents.
The busiest day of 2023 was September 8 when 12 teams were called out.
A spokesperson for Scottish Mountain Rescue said: “This year’s annual review reflects another extremely busy year for teams, with callouts still around a third higher than pre-pandemic. All of this plus continued rising costs has had an impact on teams stretching their resources further.”
Bill Glennie, chair of Scottish Mountain Rescue said: “Our member mountain rescue teams have faced increased callouts in recent years, stretching their resources.
“We are facing a loss of funding as the UK Search and Rescue Training Fund, which previously funded a significant portion of team and national training, is phased out.
“The support that Scottish Mountain Rescue and our member teams receive financially is vital and is needed now more than ever.”
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