THE bodies of two climbers were found on Lochnagar by rescue services

last night. They appeared to have fallen from the south-facing buttress

of the mountain.

Their discovery brings the total number of deaths on Scottish

mountains this year to 16, with six other climbers still missing

presumed dead.

Grampian Police said they had been unable to immediately identify the

men last night, as no climbers had been reported overdue in the area.

They were checking vehicles in nearby car parks for clues to their

identities.

''We can't tell at the moment how long they have been out there or who

they are,'' said a police spokesman. ''They have both been confirmed

dead and as soon as their identities are established next of kin will be

notified.''

The alarm was raised by a group of four climbers who discovered the

bodies roped together at the foot of Parallel Gully, one of the most

inaccessible parts of the mountain. They marked the position before

climbing out to alert rescue services.

A Sea King helicopter was scrambled from RAF Lossiemouth, and both the

Grampian Police and Braemar mountain rescue teams took part in the

operation to recover the bodies, which were airlifted to Braemar.

Weather conditions in the area were ''reasonable'' said the police.

''They were found by a group of four climbers who had no major weather

problems, and the helicopter was able to fly. So it appears to have been

OK,'' the spokesman added.

Among those still missing on the Scottish hills are a father, his

18-year-old son, and the son's friend, all from West Yorkshire. Mr Allan

Lang and his son Richard, from Dewsbury, and Mr Paul Bower, from

Wakefield, are feared to have died in an avalanche on Buachaille Etive

Mor three weeks ago.

Two men have been missing in the Cairngorm area for two weeks. Mr

Allan Mitchell, 22, of Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester, and Mr Graham

Holland, 22, of Rossendale, had been on a week-long climbing trip when

they disappeared in heavy blizzards.

Mr Mitchell, an experienced climber who worked in a mountaineering

shop in Keswick, had been pursuing an ambition to become an instructor

at the Glenmore Lodge Outdoor Pursuits Centre in the Cairngorms.

Another climber from the Manchester area fell through a snow cornice

in early February.

This year's tragic death toll includes Mr Roger Chippendale, who was

trapped on Lochnagar for 23 hours last month. Heroic attempts to reach

the injured man by mountain rescue teams and helicopter crews were

thwarted by 100mph winds, snow, and hill fog.

Mr Chippendale had fallen 200ft and become trapped on a ledge on the

north face of the 3700ft mountain.