Rescuers have criticised two “stupid” walkers who had to be taken off a Skye mountain in horrendous weather conditions.
The pair in their 20s called for help after getting lost more than 2,800feet up on Bla Bheinn – known as Blaven – on Skye.
They had decided to climb the 3,045ft high mountain carrying camping equipment and using just a Google map on a mobile phone.
The pair – who were visiting the area and not dressed for the conditions – sparked a 10-hour rescue operation involving 14 members of the Skye Mountain Rescue Team.
Team leader Gerry Ackroyd said they were “lucky not to have walked to their deaths” as the area contained several steep gullies.
“The weather was horrendous with gale force winds and horizontal rain. It was a long job in really poor conditions.
“One of them didn’t even have waterproof trousers. They both had inadequate gear and were drenched to the skin.
“They had no compass, no map and just relied on Google on a mobile phone.
“To their credit they did give us a basic latitude and longitude reading, but we had to search nearly every gully where they were on the south-west ridge. Some of those have drops of 50ft. They were lucky they did not walk to their deaths or serious injury. They had no ropes or any climbing gear and were just lost in the weather.”
Mr Ackroyd said that when some people decide to go climbing “commonsense goes out the window”.
“They read about the mountains and look at pictures taken on nice, sunny days and seem to think the weather is always like this.
“They don’t understand that there are no handrails, no painted marks for guidance and no tracks up here. I made our feelings clear to them. But it is becoming a recurring problem. People are coming here to tackle the mountains without having a clue.
“If you are going to come here to climb or walk, do your research.
“We are just getting fed-up rescuing silly, stupid people who don’t do their homework and come ill-prepared.”