Rescue mountaineers are appealing to walkers to continue to prepare for winter conditions on Scotland’s peaks.
Oban Mountain Rescue Team is urging hikers to tread carefully, warning that weather conditions on the mountains can be vastly different to those on the ground.
Ice and snow still cover the ridges of peaks across the region following winter showers on high ground.
The warning by mountaineering experts was made as the clocks have gone forward, marking the start of British Summer Time,
It was followed by a vow of thanks from mountaineer Sean Munro, who suffered a dramatic fall on a West Coast mountain on Saturday.
‘Unbelievably lucky and grateful’
Mr Munro was scaling Ben Cruachan near Taynuilt when he plunged around 50ft down the mountainside, leaving him stranded and in significant pain.
Members of Oban Mountain Rescue Team raced to the 3,900ft mountain to assist him.
Coastguard helicopter Rescue 199 from Prestwick airlifted the team, alongside their doctor, to the scene before slowly winching them down to the rocky terrain blow.
After being medically assessed on the ground, mountaineers believed Mr Munro had sustained serious injuries.
He was placed on a stretcher and winched onboard the helicopter before being flown to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow for treatment.
Following a thorough assessment by physicians, he walked out of the hospital with no broken bones.
Commenting on the team’s social media post on Saturday, just hours after the rescue, the mountaineer thanked the team saying he felt extremely “lucky and grateful.”
Mr Munro wrote: “Thanks so much to these guys today and the guys that looked after me until they got there.
“Just walked out of Queen Elizabeth, nothing broken. Unbelievably lucky today and grateful.”
Preparing for winter mountain travel
Mountaineers are appealing to those wishing to scale the region’s peaks to prepare for every eventuality, including wintry conditions.
In a statement, they wrote: “Clocks spring forward tonight but winter icy snow still covers many ridge and summit paths in the highlands.
“If you are heading to the hills this week make sure you are still well-equipped and prepared for winter mountain travel and the cold weather.”
Members of Braemar Mountain Rescue Team experienced first-hand the contrast in conditions, trudging through the snow to rescue four walkers stranded in winter conditions.
The team quickly located the group, with one member of the party injured.
Once located on foot, the group were evacuated to a safe location and airlifted off by the mountain by the coastguard rescue helicopter.
Eight-hour Skye operation to rescue injured walker
On Sunday, 30 mountaineers from local rescue teams joined forces in a dramatic eight-hour rescue to assist a fallen walker in the Cuillins on Skye.
The male walker was scaling Bealach Coire an Lochain at around 3000ft when he suffered a leg injury.
Training nearby was Skye Mountain Rescue Team who swiftly answered the call.
Eight members of the team began the trek towards the casualty as high winds prevented assistance from the coastguard rescue helicopter.
A total of 11 members of Skye Mountain Rescue Team and nine mountaineers from Kintail Mountain Rescue Team scald the 2100ft peak to assist with the rescue operation.
The casualty was taken down the mountain by stretcher to around 820ft before being airlifted by the Inverness coastguard rescue helicopter to hospital.
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