UPDATE: Rescuers respond to two avalanches in quick succession in Northern Cairngorms

Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team members had to respond to two avalanches in quick succession in the Northern Cairngorms earlier today.

One mountaineer, believed to be in her 60s, was out climbing with a male companion when she was hit and carried around 100 metres down slope into exposed rocks.

She suffered what are understood to be potentially serious injuries in the incident which occurred in the Aladdin’s Mirror area in Coire an t-Sneachda at around 11.30am.

The man received minor injuries. They were stretchered off the hill by rescue team members and taken to hospital by air ambulance.

The woman’s condition is not known.

The Cairngorm volunteer team members had just been stood down from attending an earlier avalanche at around 10am in the same vicinity of the Northern Cairngorms.

Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team leader Iain Cornfoot said on the more serious incident: “RAF Valley members were training in the vicinity and offered initial help and medical assistance and stretchered the casualty out.”

In the earlier incident, three individuals were climbing Jacob’s Ladder when they got avalanched and one of the party was taken around 100 metres by the snow slide into rocks.

Mr Cornfoot said: “They were all able to walk out with assistance before we were able to reach them. One of the party was taken to hospital for treatment.”

Twelve Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team members took part in the call-outs.

Mr Cornfoot noted of the current conditions: “They are small avalanches but the snow that is there is very reactive and can be triggered really easily…

“There can still be high consequences when they do happen.”

The team leader has urged hill-goers to check the SAIS forecasts and also if they are caught up in an avalanche to call police and ask for mountain rescue - and not the ambulance service which was the case with one of today’s incidents.

A Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team spokesperson said: “Both incidents resulted in multi-agency responses.

“We would like to thanks RAF Valley and RAF Lossiemouth who gave medical attention and began the evacuation of the injured climbers before being joined by CMRT.

“As always Cairngorm Mountain resort provided assistance throughout the rescues.”

These latest incidents come after two climbers in the Cairngorms were injured at the weekend after being hit by snow and ice from a cornice collapse.

Mr Cornfoot said that the pair were unfortunately ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’.

He said that such an occurrence with a hit from above by a collapsing cornice was rare.

He observed yesterday: “There have been a number of avalanches incidents recently - they are not so much large avalanches but they are being triggered in areas such as the top of gullies and from fragile cornices.”

The volunteers of the rescue team rely on public donations to fund the life-saving work they do.

For more information on the CMRT and to contribute visit their website - https://cmrt.org.uk

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