Two “incredibly stupid” hillwalkers were wearing trainers and jeans when they had to be rescued from the freezing summit of Ben Nevis.
The pair’s rescue came just days after one climber plunged to his death on Britain’s highest mountain and another survived the same 2,000ft fall.
On Monday two visitors from England phoned from the summit plateau that they were soaked, cold and lost.
Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team managed to pinpoint the men’s position on the 4,413ft peak, but fortunately three other hillwalkers came across the stricken walkers and took them to the emergency shelter on the summit.
“They were soaked to the skin, wet and freezing. They were wearing just trainers, jeans and some form of inadequate jacket. Their clothing was totally inadequate and useless for the conditions. They were incompetent, incredibly stupid and an accident waiting to happen on the country’s highest mountain in winter,” Donald Paterson, leader of Lochaber MRT, said.
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“They had come to Fort William expecting to buy suitable outdoor clothing to go up the Ben, but instead found all the outdoor clothing shops closed because of the bank holiday.
“However, they went ahead with the walk anyway. It was sheer good fortune that these other three, well-equipped, walkers came across them wandering about in gathering darkness on the plateau. They almost certainly saved them because these guys were putting their lives at risk.”
Meanwhile, more tributes have been paid to a climber who was killed in an avalanche on the mountain.
The 48-year-old man was with a fellow climber on Ben Nevis when they plunged nearly 2,000ft on the mountain’s north face. The other climber, who is 40, survived but suffered serious injuries.
Nearly 40 rescuers from Lochaber and Glencoe mountain rescue teams were sent after the alarm was raised at about 3.30pm on Friday.
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The pair were in a group of four on Number Two Gully, and the other two raised the alarm.
Paterson confirmed that both the dead man and the survivor’s families have been in touch to thank the rescue teams.
