Two walkers missing in the Cairngorms were criticised by rescuers for “not having a scooby” after they were found in appalling conditions with winds gusting to 100mph.
The pair from the Glasgow area tried to navigate using an app on a mobile phone.
More than 30 members of Cairngorm, Braemar and Aberdeen mountain rescue teams spent over six hours searching for the walkers on Tuesday night.
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Cairngorm’s leader Willie Anderson said it was third rescue in weeks involving walkers lacking a map and compass.
He said: “They did not have a map, a compass, a head torch, only one had a back pack – they did not have a scooby.
“It doesn’t appear they have climbed a mountain before. They were very lucky – the winds were horrendous. We were on the verge of coming off the hill. They were completely and utterly unprepared.”
Braemar MRT found the lost walkers close to Linn of Dee in Aberdeenshire.
The two people had set off from the CairnGorm Mountain ski area near Aviemore hoping to reach 4295ft Ben Macdui, Britain’s second highest mountain, but turned around after encountering mist.
Mr Anderson said: “Our guys were out in winds of 70mph to plus 90mph, and there were earlier winds of 100mph.
“We had 18 people out and Braemar had 15 – it was some search. This pair turned back on the mountain but did a 180 degrees turn and started heading south again in the dark – and with no torch. They even saw the lights of Braemar MRT vehicles but managed to bypass them.
“When they were rescued and back at Braemar’s base they had to get a taxi to their car – which would have cost them about £200 I would think. That was an expensive lesson in being unprepared. They did not have a clue – they should not have been on the mountain, especially in those conditions.”
He said police were able to make contact with the walkers “intermittently” on their mobile phone – but descriptions of the landscape the walkers gave did not match anything that rescuers were familiar with.
The teams were called out at 3pm to locate the walkers – and began searching around 4.30pm. One of the hikers was in his 50s and the other in his 20s.
On September 30 two hikers with no torch, compass or map wearing gym gear were rescued in the Cairngorms.
Four days earlier two lost walkers, navigating by a dying mobile phone and without a torch or compass, were found by rescuers.
And also last month another pair of walkers were rescued by the team in the same area.
A spokesman for Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team added that they “don’t judge” and know that some people don’t realise what they are undertaking.
