A hillwalker plunged more than 600ft to his death yesterday on a Lochaber mountain.
The 51-year-old, who is believed to have been from the Aberdeen area, is understood to have died in the fall on Carn Mor Dearg Arete, a peak adjoining Ben Nevis.
Lochaber Mountain Rescue team was alerted at 10.30am by a mobile phone call from a fellow walker who was part of a three-man party.
Police were last night trying to contact the man’s next of kin.
He was airlifted from the ben by the Inverness-based Rescue 951 helicopter but was pronounced dead at the Belford Hospital in Fort William.
The Lochaber mountain rescue team’s deputy leader, Donald Paterson, said: “Four of our members went up, assisted by Rescue 951, to recover the body of a 51-year-old male who had sadly fallen about 656ft off the Carn Mor Dearg Arete.
“He was with a party of three. Tragically, it was just one of those trip and falls, and the fall was 200 metres down a rock face, unfortunately. It was steep, loose ground.”
The helicopter was on the mountain within 20 minutes, but was delayed briefly by low cloud cover.
It collected the mountain rescuers while the cloud cleared and then flew them to the spot where the man had fallen.
Weather conditions on the ben were good and the walkers were well equipped.
Mr Paterson added: “Already this year, there’s probably been over 3,000 folk walked round there and he’s just been the unlucky one.”
Carn Mor Dearg Arete is considered ideal terrain for experienced, fit mountain walkers who enjoy scrambling but are not necessarily climbers.
It offers a spectacular route to Ben Nevis incorporating two Munros.
It was the 92nd call-out for the Lochaber Mountain Rescue team this year. In 2014, the team responded to a total of 105 calls.