A survival enthusiast was rescued after being blown over by storms in the Cairngorms in what was described as a "serious" situation.
Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team were called to Coire Raibert in the Northern Cairngorms in what turned out to be a "brutal" eight hour rescue on Saturday.
The Inverness-based Coastguard search and rescue helicopter battled fierce storms but was unable to reach the injured man.
"The walker had been blown over by stormy winds, and had fallen some distance into a steep watercourse, sustaining a serious leg injury," said a spokesman for the team.
"The injured walker was high in the Cairngorms, on steep ground, soaking wet, and suffering from a serious injury. We needed to get him to safety quickly, but the weather was deteriorating rapidly and darkness was falling.
"The party were survival skills enthusiasts, and had done everything possible to look after themselves, but the situation was very serious
"The team requested assistance from the coastguard rescue helicopter, which battled the storm and low cloud to get a couple of teams close to the casualty, but the rest of the team had to battle their way over the summit of Cairngorm to reach the casualty.
"After a brutal stretcher carry of several miles, rescuers were able to reach the stretcher party with 4x4 vehicles high in the ski area.
"The helicopter did some remarkable flying to get close to the casualty, but in the end they too were defeated by the weather. The aircraft was really being battered by the turbulence, but the crew just kept at it, trying to assist us.
"After a prolonged eight hour rescue, the casualty was delivered to a waiting ambulance.
"A great outcome. The guys put in a tough shift last night, but it could have been a lot worse. It was a great example of team work with the helicopter."
Meanwhile a lost hiker was rescued from the shoreline on the Isle of Skye.
Kyle and Portree Coastguard rescue teams along with Kyle RNLI Lifeboat were tasked at around 8.30pm on Saturday to find a lost walker near Kinloch.
After more than two hours searching the woman was located in what Stornoway Coastguard said was a joint operation. She was transferred to the care of the Police.
Willie Anderson, team leader of Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team said, it was a "full on rescue."
The 18 team team members - including three doctors - took it in turns to stretcher the injured 49-year-old man from Glasgow more than two miles over rough terrain.
"He was with his brother who was from Fife and they were planning to spend the night on the hills as part of survival skills training," said Mr Anderson. "They were both in their 40s.
"The wind blew one of the brothers down the gully and he ended up in the river. We don't know exactly how far he fell but he had a nasty open fracture on his leg.
"There was no mobile phone signal where they were so his brother ran to somewhere where he could raise the alarm. He had managed to pull his brother out of the river.
"They were well equipped for their night out but the conditions caught them out. The wind was strong and then the mist and cloud came in.
"It was a difficult rescue but it is what we train for. We got back at 2am - it was a long job but a fantastic team effort. The team did a tremendous job."
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