The funeral of a Highland-born hillwalker who died on a Wester Ross mountain will take place next week – with donations going to rescuers – while his brother remains missing on the peak.
The body of Alan Gibson, 56, was discovered in freezing, snowy conditions in the Achnashellach area of Strathcarron at the weekend.
Searches for his brother, Neil 63, were called off earlier this week because of the weather.
The brothers, who both originally hail from Nairn, set off at 7.45am last Thursday.
The pair, both experienced hillwalkers and Munro-baggers, also had Neil’s black pointer dog Archie with them, and he is also still missing.
The brothers are sons of former Nairn Old Parish Church minister, Rev Cameron Gibson.
Rev Alison Mehigan, the current Parish minister, said: “The late Rev Cameron Gibson was the much loved and respected Minister of Nairn Old Parish Church from 1968 to 1980 and therefore his wife and four sons were, and continued to be, very much part of our church family.
“The loss of Alan and Neil, two former sons of the manse, is hard for all to bear.
“It is no less than I would have expected from the congregation and indeed the wider community of Nairn that the Gibson family have been supported through love and prayers as well as through practical deeds.”
A committal service for Alan, who most recently lived in County Durham, will take place at Inverness Crematorium next Friday.
It will be followed by a celebration of Alan’s life at a service at Nairn Old Parish Church.
The father-of-two is the youngest of four sons to the late Rev Gibson and his widow Janet, who still lives in the Highlands.
Donations are requested to go to Torridon Mountain Rescue Team , who were involved in the search operation, the Search and Rescue Dog Association (Sarda), who were also called out, as well as the Trees for Life charity.
The search for Neil Gibson, who still lived in Nairn, was called off earlier this week because of the deteriorating weather in the area.
Searches have been postponed until there has been some “serious snow melt”.
