Huge avalanches claim lives of three mountaineers

THREE climbers have died after they were caught in two separateavalanches on Scottish mountains yesterday.

Two were swept to their deaths as they climbed in a five-strongparty, and were caught in a moving wall of snow several hundredmetres in length which hurtled down the Coire na Ciste area of BenNevis.

Their bodies were found by rescuers buried under tons of snow,having been thrown 400 metres down the mountainside.

A third man was carried several hundred feet down the LiathachRidge in Torridon in Wester Ross. He was found alive by a companionsitting on top of the snow and appeared at first to have sufferedonly a broken arm.

However, he later died in hospital from internal injuries.

In a third incident, another man was being treated for a headinjury after surviving an avalanche on Beinn an Dothaidh in Argyll.

The alarm was raised on Ben Nevis at 10:50am by another climberwho watched in horror as the men were caught in the moving slab ofsnow.

Some members of Lochaber mountain rescue team walked into thecorrie to begin the search while others were airlifted further upthe mountain by a helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth.

They were later joined by a team from RAF Leuchars, who were onexercise near Newtonmore, and search and rescue dogs.

Both bodies were discovered in an area known as No 3 Gully on thenorth face of the mountain.

One body was found in the debris about 12:50pm by rescuers usingsnow probes and a second was discovered about 90 minutes later, alsoburied in deep snow.

The names of the climbers had not been released last night whilenext of kin were being told. Northern Constabulary said a reportwould be submitted to the procurator fiscal.

One of the dead was from the Wiltshire area and the other fromWales. The survivors were still being interviewed last night.

Chief Inspector John Chisholm, of Northern Constabulary, said:"They were all well-equipped, highly experienced and European-accredited climbers. But it appears they were in the wrong place atthe wrong time."

He said a search of the area was carried out in case others werecaught up in the avalanche but no-one else was reported missing.

"Hundreds of people have been on the mountains in the last fewdays and thankfully we have had only one report of an avalanche.

"There was the possibility of more casualties but fortunatelynone occurred."

John Stevenson, leader of Lochaber mountain rescue team, said themen were near the top of the gully when they were struck by the wallof snow.

"They were caught in a slab avalanche which took them down thehill quite a distance and buried them at the bottom."

He said it was not a particularly risky route. "It shouldn't havebeen but we have quite a bit of snow about and the wind tends toshift it quite a bit. Unfortunately, they were just caught in thewrong place at the wrong time.

"These things do happen and I think these boys were just veryunlucky.

"You can see in a few places where the snow tends to build up,you get a very white, smooth finish to it, and these are the kind ofareas you would stay away from."

He said strong winds made conditions difficult for rescuers: "Itwas quite windy and there was always the risk of other slabs comingdown so you have to be very careful when putting people out there."

Avalanche experts said the cause of the avalanche remained amystery.

The Sportscotland Avalanche Information Service's (SAIS) reportfor Lochaber from 6pm on Tuesday to 6pm last night put the risk ofavalanches between 200m and 900m as low. Between 900m and 1,340m therisk was moderate, with natural avalanches "unlikely" and human-triggered avalanches "possible".

Mark Diggins, spokesman for SAIS, said: "This is a tragedy andit's a bit of a mystery. Until we go in to investigate, we cannotsay what happened and how they got avalanched in that location."

He said the area where the incident occurred was on a north-easterly slope.

Fresh snow and strong winds had created more hazardous areas butgenerally on south, west and north-westerly aspects, and not oneasterly faces.

"This avalanche occurred on an east or northern-easterly aspect.But maybe there was an anomaly that created a patch or an area ofunstable snow.

"We are going to send some people to investigate and hopefullyhave some answers soon. We don't know the circumstances of thisincident but we need to learn from it."

SAIS has also been monitoring surface hoar, a phenomenon rare inScotland but seen recently, mainly in the Cairngorms.

Mr Diggins said: "We have had an extremely cold and calm spell.What normally happens is you get a process of freezing and thawingand a consolidation of the snow pack.

"What we've had recently is almost the opposite of that becauseit's been so cold the snow has become sugar-like and has not bondedand consolidated."

WHY SO DEADLY?

CLIMBERS across the Highlands had been warned that unusually calmand extremely cold weather has raised the risk of avalanches.

Members of the Scottish Avalanche Information Service have beenmonitoring surface hoar, a phenomenon rarely seen in Scotland.

The snow crystals form a slippery layer when buried under snowand are the cause of many avalanches in the Alps and North America,according to SAIS.

Mark Diggins of SAIS said hoar surface had formed over about tendays of calm and extremely cold weather.

Normally, the crystals, which are created by vapour rising upfrom layers of deposited snow and then freezing on the surface, aredestroyed in a thaw or by high winds.

Mr Diggins said: "What we have got is an unusual climate becauseof this prolonged cold spell.

"This has been throwing up some unusual things, one of them beinghoar surface.

"The crystals can be quite dangerous if buried by further fallsof snow as they form a very, very weak layer. The crystals are a bitlike soap flakes and create a very slippery layer."

SAIS teams have been checking for hoar surface during routineassessments of avalanche risks in the northern and southernCairngorms, Lochaber, Creag Meagaidh and Glencoe.

The SAIS posts reports and forecasts online.

Huge avalanches claim lives of three mountaineers

THREE climbers have died after they were caught in two separateavalanches on Scottish mountains yesterday.

Two were swept to their deaths as they climbed in a five-strongparty, and were caught in a moving wall of snow several hundredmetres in length which hurtled down the Coire na Ciste area of BenNevis.

Their bodies were found by rescuers buried under tons of snow,having been thrown 400 metres down the mountainside.

A third man was carried several hundred feet down the LiathachRidge in Torridon in Wester Ross. He was found alive by a companionsitting on top of the snow and appeared at first to have sufferedonly a broken arm.

However, he later died in hospital from internal injuries.

In a third incident, another man was being treated for a headinjury after surviving an avalanche on Beinn an Dothaidh in Argyll.

The alarm was raised on Ben Nevis at 10:50am by another climberwho watched in horror as the men were caught in the moving slab ofsnow.

Some members of Lochaber mountain rescue team walked into thecorrie to begin the search while others were airlifted further upthe mountain by a helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth.

They were later joined by a team from RAF Leuchars, who were onexercise near Newtonmore, and search and rescue dogs.

Both bodies were discovered in an area known as No 3 Gully on thenorth face of the mountain.

One body was found in the debris about 12:50pm by rescuers usingsnow probes and a second was discovered about 90 minutes later, alsoburied in deep snow.

The names of the climbers had not been released last night whilenext of kin were being told. Northern Constabulary said a reportwould be submitted to the procurator fiscal.

One of the dead was from the Wiltshire area and the other fromWales. The survivors were still being interviewed last night.

Chief Inspector John Chisholm, of Northern Constabulary, said:"They were all well-equipped, highly experienced and European-accredited climbers. But it appears they were in the wrong place atthe wrong time."

He said a search of the area was carried out in case others werecaught up in the avalanche but no-one else was reported missing.

"Hundreds of people have been on the mountains in the last fewdays and thankfully we have had only one report of an avalanche.

"There was the possibility of more casualties but fortunatelynone occurred."

John Stevenson, leader of Lochaber mountain rescue team, said themen were near the top of the gully when they were struck by the wallof snow.

"They were caught in a slab avalanche which took them down thehill quite a distance and buried them at the bottom."

He said it was not a particularly risky route. "It shouldn't havebeen but we have quite a bit of snow about and the wind tends toshift it quite a bit. Unfortunately, they were just caught in thewrong place at the wrong time.

"These things do happen and I think these boys were just veryunlucky.

"You can see in a few places where the snow tends to build up,you get a very white, smooth finish to it, and these are the kind ofareas you would stay away from."

He said strong winds made conditions difficult for rescuers: "Itwas quite windy and there was always the risk of other slabs comingdown so you have to be very careful when putting people out there."

Avalanche experts said the cause of the avalanche remained amystery.

The Sportscotland Avalanche Information Service's (SAIS) reportfor Lochaber from 6pm on Tuesday to 6pm last night put the risk ofavalanches between 200m and 900m as low. Between 900m and 1,340m therisk was moderate, with natural avalanches "unlikely" and human-triggered avalanches "possible".

Mark Diggins, spokesman for SAIS, said: "This is a tragedy andit's a bit of a mystery. Until we go in to investigate, we cannotsay what happened and how they got avalanched in that location."

He said the area where the incident occurred was on a north-easterly slope.

Fresh snow and strong winds had created more hazardous areas butgenerally on south, west and north-westerly aspects, and not oneasterly faces.

"This avalanche occurred on an east or northern-easterly aspect.But maybe there was an anomaly that created a patch or an area ofunstable snow.

"We are going to send some people to investigate and hopefullyhave some answers soon. We don't know the circumstances of thisincident but we need to learn from it."

SAIS has also been monitoring surface hoar, a phenomenon rare inScotland but seen recently, mainly in the Cairngorms.

Mr Diggins said: "We have had an extremely cold and calm spell.What normally happens is you get a process of freezing and thawingand a consolidation of the snow pack.

"What we've had recently is almost the opposite of that becauseit's been so cold the snow has become sugar-like and has not bondedand consolidated."

WHY SO DEADLY?

CLIMBERS across the Highlands had been warned that unusually calmand extremely cold weather has raised the risk of avalanches.

Members of the Scottish Avalanche Information Service have beenmonitoring surface hoar, a phenomenon rarely seen in Scotland.

The snow crystals form a slippery layer when buried under snowand are the cause of many avalanches in the Alps and North America,according to SAIS.

Mark Diggins of SAIS said hoar surface had formed over about tendays of calm and extremely cold weather.

Normally, the crystals, which are created by vapour rising upfrom layers of deposited snow and then freezing on the surface, aredestroyed in a thaw or by high winds.

Mr Diggins said: "What we have got is an unusual climate becauseof this prolonged cold spell.

"This has been throwing up some unusual things, one of them beinghoar surface.

"The crystals can be quite dangerous if buried by further fallsof snow as they form a very, very weak layer. The crystals are a bitlike soap flakes and create a very slippery layer."

SAIS teams have been checking for hoar surface during routineassessments of avalanche risks in the northern and southernCairngorms, Lochaber, Creag Meagaidh and Glencoe.

The SAIS posts reports and forecasts online.

Huge avalanches claim lives of three mountaineers

THREE climbers have died after they were caught in two separateavalanches on Scottish mountains yesterday.

Two were swept to their deaths as they climbed in a five-strongparty, and were caught in a moving wall of snow several hundredmetres in length which hurtled down the Coire na Ciste area of BenNevis.

Their bodies were found by rescuers buried under tons of snow,having been thrown 400 metres down the mountainside.

A third man was carried several hundred feet down the LiathachRidge in Torridon in Wester Ross. He was found alive by a companionsitting on top of the snow and appeared at first to have sufferedonly a broken arm.

However, he later died in hospital from internal injuries.

In a third incident, another man was being treated for a headinjury after surviving an avalanche on Beinn an Dothaidh in Argyll.

The alarm was raised on Ben Nevis at 10:50am by another climberwho watched in horror as the men were caught in the moving slab ofsnow.

Some members of Lochaber mountain rescue team walked into thecorrie to begin the search while others were airlifted further upthe mountain by a helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth.

They were later joined by a team from RAF Leuchars, who were onexercise near Newtonmore, and search and rescue dogs.

Both bodies were discovered in an area known as No 3 Gully on thenorth face of the mountain.

One body was found in the debris about 12:50pm by rescuers usingsnow probes and a second was discovered about 90 minutes later, alsoburied in deep snow.

The names of the climbers had not been released last night whilenext of kin were being told. Northern Constabulary said a reportwould be submitted to the procurator fiscal.

One of the dead was from the Wiltshire area and the other fromWales. The survivors were still being interviewed last night.

Chief Inspector John Chisholm, of Northern Constabulary, said:"They were all well-equipped, highly experienced and European-accredited climbers. But it appears they were in the wrong place atthe wrong time."

He said a search of the area was carried out in case others werecaught up in the avalanche but no-one else was reported missing.

"Hundreds of people have been on the mountains in the last fewdays and thankfully we have had only one report of an avalanche.

"There was the possibility of more casualties but fortunatelynone occurred."

John Stevenson, leader of Lochaber mountain rescue team, said themen were near the top of the gully when they were struck by the wallof snow.

"They were caught in a slab avalanche which took them down thehill quite a distance and buried them at the bottom."

He said it was not a particularly risky route. "It shouldn't havebeen but we have quite a bit of snow about and the wind tends toshift it quite a bit. Unfortunately, they were just caught in thewrong place at the wrong time.

"These things do happen and I think these boys were just veryunlucky.

"You can see in a few places where the snow tends to build up,you get a very white, smooth finish to it, and these are the kind ofareas you would stay away from."

He said strong winds made conditions difficult for rescuers: "Itwas quite windy and there was always the risk of other slabs comingdown so you have to be very careful when putting people out there."

Avalanche experts said the cause of the avalanche remained amystery.

The Sportscotland Avalanche Information Service's (SAIS) reportfor Lochaber from 6pm on Tuesday to 6pm last night put the risk ofavalanches between 200m and 900m as low. Between 900m and 1,340m therisk was moderate, with natural avalanches "unlikely" and human-triggered avalanches "possible".

Mark Diggins, spokesman for SAIS, said: "This is a tragedy andit's a bit of a mystery. Until we go in to investigate, we cannotsay what happened and how they got avalanched in that location."

He said the area where the incident occurred was on a north-easterly slope.

Fresh snow and strong winds had created more hazardous areas butgenerally on south, west and north-westerly aspects, and not oneasterly faces.

"This avalanche occurred on an east or northern-easterly aspect.But maybe there was an anomaly that created a patch or an area ofunstable snow.

"We are going to send some people to investigate and hopefullyhave some answers soon. We don't know the circumstances of thisincident but we need to learn from it."

SAIS has also been monitoring surface hoar, a phenomenon rare inScotland but seen recently, mainly in the Cairngorms.

Mr Diggins said: "We have had an extremely cold and calm spell.What normally happens is you get a process of freezing and thawingand a consolidation of the snow pack.

"What we've had recently is almost the opposite of that becauseit's been so cold the snow has become sugar-like and has not bondedand consolidated."

WHY SO DEADLY?

CLIMBERS across the Highlands had been warned that unusually calmand extremely cold weather has raised the risk of avalanches.

Members of the Scottish Avalanche Information Service have beenmonitoring surface hoar, a phenomenon rarely seen in Scotland.

The snow crystals form a slippery layer when buried under snowand are the cause of many avalanches in the Alps and North America,according to SAIS.

Mark Diggins of SAIS said hoar surface had formed over about tendays of calm and extremely cold weather.

Normally, the crystals, which are created by vapour rising upfrom layers of deposited snow and then freezing on the surface, aredestroyed in a thaw or by high winds.

Mr Diggins said: "What we have got is an unusual climate becauseof this prolonged cold spell.

"This has been throwing up some unusual things, one of them beinghoar surface.

"The crystals can be quite dangerous if buried by further fallsof snow as they form a very, very weak layer. The crystals are a bitlike soap flakes and create a very slippery layer."

SAIS teams have been checking for hoar surface during routineassessments of avalanche risks in the northern and southernCairngorms, Lochaber, Creag Meagaidh and Glencoe.

The SAIS posts reports and forecasts online.