A man has died after falling more than 650ft from a mountain in the Highlands – the sixth walker to lose his life on Scotland’s deadly hills this winter.
Police said a body had been found on Saturday on 3159ft high Sgurr Thuilm, a munro to the north of Glenfinnan.
The man has not yet been formally identified and a report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.
John Stevenson, leader of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team (MRT), said the man had tripped and just “slid” to his death.
He added: “He was with a companion and either tripped or slipped over 200 metres (656ft).
“Unfortunately the ice is bullet hard at the moment so he probably could not hang on or get anything like an axe to grip the ice to stop his fall. He sadly just slid to his death. There’s little he could have done in the conditions.”
Three members of Lochaber MRT were winched by a coastguard rescue helicopter to recover the body after the call out around noon.
Separately, police confirmed that a body had been found in the search for Jim Stalker, 55, who has been missing since February 11.
Postman Mr Stalker, a member of Lochaber Athletic Club, fell through a cornice – an overhanging edge of snow – on 3,451ft high Beinn a’Chaorainn, near Glen Spean.
His fall was witnessed by a woman companion in her 20s who made her way off the mountain in a blizzard.
The keen hill runner was found on the mountain on Saturday by 38 members of Lochaber, Tayside and RAF mountain Rescue Teams assisted by the coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Inverness.
Mr Stevenson said Mr Stalker – known as Jim the Postie – was buried under 7ft of hard snow.
Mr Stalker had fallen about 492ft from near the summit into a gully. Mountain rescue teams had previously found his pole and knew which area Mr Stalker was in.
Mr Stevenson added: “We would like to express our condolences to Jim’s family and the other families who have all lost loved ones lately.
“It has been a bad winter for fatalities but you get winters like that. None of the people who have died did anything particularly wrong. They just got caught out.
“The mountains always have risks and the sport associated with them has risks. It is about being prepared.
“We are still experiencing full winter conditions on Ben Nevis and the wider Lochaber area and they are challenging.”
Mr Stevenson urged climbers and walkers to the area to always check weather forecasts, avalanche reports and plan routes, as well as carry a full compliment of winter equipment, clothing, navigation and safety aids.
Lochaber MRT also rescued another hillwalker with an ankle injury on Ben Nevis – the UK’s highest mountain – on Saturday.
