Footage has been released of the dizzying heights that Scotland’s mountain rescuers reach.
Three high-profile searches have been carried out in the Highlands since January 1, with the latest incident seeing two climbers airlifted from Ben Nevis, the UK’s biggest mountain.
They contacted police after one of the pair injured an ankle in the Tower Ridge region at about 2.30pm on Wednesday.
Lochaber mountain rescue team were sent to help locate the climbers along with the UK Coastguard search-and-rescue helicopter based at Inverness.
They were individually winched up to the helicopter and passed to the care of paramedics in Fort William.
It comes after a couple and their dog spent a night in a bivvy bag in the Cairngorms when the weather closed in on their New Year’s Day walk.
Robert and Cathy Elmer, from Leicestershire, were reported missing on Sunday when they failed to return from their walk but they were found by mountain rescue teams on Monday afternoon.
The next day, two young mountaineers were praised as “heroes” for carrying a hypothermic walker to safety from Ben Macdui – Scotland’s second highest peak.
Rescuers said the two mountaineers passing by, a young man and woman who are a couple, found the walker “in a bad way”.
They then “half-carried” him for two to three kilometres, supporting him to walk until he could no longer bear his own weight.
After carrying the walker far enough to get a phone signal, they called mountain rescuers.
Cairngorm mountain rescue team leader Willie Anderson said the incident was a great example of mountaineers helping each other – but there have been warnings for people setting out to check detailed weather forecasts and carry all necessary equipment and supplies.
Shaun Roberts, of the mountain centre Glenmore Lodge, said anyone taking to the hills need to “ask questions of themselves” before setting off.
He said: “What’s really important about when people plan their day is the information that they put into the planning.
“We’re kind of blessed with a quality avalanche information service and also quality weather forecasts. They’re at our fingertips.
“Also, people need to ask some reasonable questions of themselves in terms of experience of the snow.
“Often, if there is doubt, that’s normally pretty much a red flag in terms of have you got the right information and do you have the right experience to interpret the information you’ve got.”
