The reason why three people plunged hundreds of feet to their deaths from a killer ridge in Glen Coe may be revealed in a Scottish court.
Expert climbers and mountain rescuers are expected to give evidence at the legally compulsory Fatal Accident Inquiry at nearby Fort William Sheriff Court at a date to be decided.
Mountain guide and instructor 39-year-old Dave Fowler was one of the roped trio who died as he lead two client climbers along the narrow Aonach Eagach Ridge just over a week ago when they tragically fell.
Health and safety officials are already investigating the deaths.
Inquiry into Glen Coe deaths
Under Scottish law an FAI is mandatory,” if a person dies in Scotland as a result of an accident in Scotland in the course of the person’s employment or occupation”.
The instructor moved from Wales to Scotland in 2015 and was a director of locally-based West Coast Mountain Guides.
The inquiry into this most recent tragedy, which may take a year or more to come to court, might lift the lid on the mystery of what went wrong on the Aonach Eagach
ridge which caused the three to die.
The alarm was raised last Saturday night just after 9m, when the guide and his two clients, failed to return from the six-mile-long traverse of the ridge, parts of which are flanked by sheer drops. of several hundred feet.
The mountain guide was with a yet unnamed 64-year-old woman and Graham Cox, 60, from Southport, Merseyside.
With darkness falling, two members of Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team climbed up to investigate and discovered the three bodies.
Due to the lack of daylight and rocky terrain, the three were not recovered by the rescue team, aided by a Prestwick-based Coastguard helicopter, until the next day.
West Coast Mountain Guides
A post on West Coast Mountain Guides website has said the company is unable to take bookings due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
The message reads: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, West Coast Mountain Guides is unable to take any new bookings at this current time, we apologise for any inconvenience this causes.
“We will be in contact with all of our customers who have an existing booking with us in due course.”
