Air rescue mission saves ‘lucky’ mountain climbers

Jan 8 2009 by Carla Callaghan, Hamilton Advertiser

TWO Lanarkshire men were this week airlifted from a mountainside after rescue teams were alerted by an email sent to them by a worried friend.

Dad-of-two Peter Warren, from Uddingston, and Tom Sneddon, of Hamilton, were rescued from 4295ft-high Ben Macdui in the Cairngorms during the early hours of Monday.

A friend raised the alarm by sending an email to Cairngorm Mountain Rescue. He had become concerned after failing to hear from them. The two had realised they were unable to get off the mountain on Sunday evening after an incorrect map reading in deteriorating weather conditions.

Peter and Tom endured a night in which temperatures plunged to minus eight centigrade and a wind chill of minus 20 centigrade was recorded.

They wrapped up in waterproof bivvy bags and moved around every two hours to stave off hypothermia.

After the blizzards cleared at 4am, the Sea King helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth eventually located the men.

The RAF team used thermal imaging and night vision in the two-hour search in which they covered 100 square miles of mountain.

Mr Warren, a 35-year-old plasterer, said: “On the mountain itself, it was just a whiteout and we couldn’t see 20 feet in front of us.

“When it got to 9pm we had to bivvy down for the night as we couldn’t go any further.”

“We found a path and came to a river, but we needed to get across the river to join the path again, so we thought we would leave it until the morning, because if we got wet at that time of night and it’s freezing, there was a good chance of getting hypothermia.”

He added: “It was a relief seeing the helicopter coming down and it was nice to get into the warm.”

Asked if he will venture back to the Cairngorms, Mr Warren said: “Yes, definitely I would do it again, my wife might have something to say about it though.”

Willie Anderson, team leader of Cairngorms Mountain Rescue, said: “It was just pure luck that I checked my email literally five minutes after it was sent.

“We were concerned because their friend said they didn’t have good gear. I thought these two were in big trouble but as it transpired they did have good kit; they had bivvy bags, etc, which made all the difference.”

He added: “I wasn’t confident that the men would be found safe and well. It was such a cold night and I thought they were more inexperienced than they actually were. I was pleased when they were found safe and well.”

Aviemore Community Safety Officer, Keith Hunter, said: “We are delighted that the two men were eventually found safe and well.

“Although both were well equipped and had some walking/climbing experience, this should serve as a warning to all persons visiting the hills that weather conditions can change very quickly and can catch out the most experienced walkers.”