Searches have resumed for mountaineer Robin Garton, who has been missing in Glencoe for almost seven months.
Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team leader Andy Nelson yesterday said weather conditions were now perfect for scouring the area again.
He said he and a few other members have been searching over the past few days and they were planning a full-scale call out for a larger organised search at the weekend.
The 69-year-old charity boss and experienced mountaineer from Devizes in Wiltshire was last seen on September 25 when he checked out of the Kings House Hotel at Glencoe in Lochaber with the intention of walking the Aonach Eagach Ridge.
Mr Garton was last seen walking towards the ridge and his black Volkswagen Passat estate was found a few miles further north at Achnambeithach, near the A82 Fort William to Glasgow road.
However, despite rescuers spending around 1,500 hours looking for him, no trace has been found.
Mr Nelson said: “It’s a good time of the year to start searching again because the snow is receding, but the vegetation hasn’t yet come up so we have a window of opportunity.
“The weather is great so visibility is good and the bracken is completely flattened following the winter and hasn’t yet started to spring up again giving us great visibility at lower altitudes, where the bracken is very thick in the summer.”
He added that he and a couple of team members had been searching around the Aonach Eagach Ridge, particular the lower reaches of Aonach Eagach that would have been very thickly covered in bracken in the autumn.
He said: “The snow is starting to thaw so we also want to take another look at the north face of Aonach Dubh.
“A lot of areas are clear now that we couldn’t see before.”
Mr Nelson pointed out that they had promised the family they would carry on looking for Mr Garton until he was found.
He said: “We’re determined to find Robin for the family and because it’s a job that is unfinished for us.
“This weekend we’re aiming to get a team call out to spread out over a larger area and do a more organised search, depending on the weather.”
Mr Garton’s family held a memorial service for him in his home town in December.
At that time, his son Will described not knowing his father’s whereabouts as “a living nightmare”.
He said: “The not knowing is the worst thing imaginable.”
