WATCH: Two climbers injured after being hit by cornice collapse in Cairngorms
Two climbers in the Cairngorms were injured yesterday after being hit by snow and ice from a cornice collapse.
Cairngorms Mountain Rescue Team leader Iain 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.
Fifteen members of the Cairngorm volunteer team responded to help the two injured mountaineers in the Mess of Pottage area of Coire an t-Sneachda following the incident at around 3.30pm.
The man in his 20s and the woman in her 30s were carried around 50 metre by the snow and ice.
Mr Cornfoot said: “The injured pair were part of a party of three climbers and were not engaged in any climbing at the point the accident occurred.
“They were below the cornice and got hit after it hit the slope and were taken down through some of the exposed rocks in the vicinity.
“They suffered leg and back injuries.
“They had to be stretched and lowered down from their location by 300 metres to below the cloud level to HM Coastguard - Highland R151 from Inverness.”
The Cairngorm rescuers were assisted with the rescue by 12 member of RAF Valley who were training in the area.
A team spokesperson said: “The casualties were treated on-site, lowered to the coire floor and stretchered out to HM Coastguard rescue helicopter.”
“Thankfully RAF Valley MRT were training in the area and assisted throughout the rescue.”
The two climbers were airlifted to hospital in Glasgow for assessment and treatment of their injuries.
Their condition is not known at this time.
Mr Cornfoot said: “They were in the wrong place at the wrong time and the avalanche risk forecast was moderate at the time.
“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.
“They are strong enough to take people off their feet and can still cause serious injury when people are carried through rocks.
“In the past few days there have been three triggered avalanches in the Northern Cairngorms alone.”
Mr Cornfoot said there is often little warning: “This was particularly the case yesterday with the cornice collapse which was quite unusual.”
He also praised the team at Cairngorm Mountain for their invaluable assistance: “They were really good again with help with their personnel and vehicles to get all our team up.”
A cornice is a dangerous overhanging edge of accumulated and wind-blown snow that forms on mountains.
Cornices can be life-threatening as they are a hidden danger to hill-goes and can also cause avalanches and snow and ice falls as in this case.
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
Video courtesy of the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team.
