Hypothermia on Ben Nevis and rockfall in the Cuillin claim lives

It has been a grim week on the Scottish hills, with two fatalities in the space of just a couple of days. First, on Sunday (29 May), a 22-year-old French student, whose name has yet to be released, died on Ben Nevis after becoming ill at about 850 metres, roughly 300m above the halfway lochan and still 500m below the summit.

The man’s walking partner alerted rescue services at about 7:30pm – but despite the rapid arrival of Lochaber mountain rescue team (MRT), RAF Kinloss MRT and the Stornoway coastguard helicopter, the man was severely hypothermic and died later that evening at Belford Hospital in Fort William. While it might be seen as late spring, even early summer, at lower levels, it has been an unusually cold and windy May and conditions on the hill have been difficult. “It’s pretty much full-on winter up on the Ben [Nevis] just now,” said Lochaber MRT leader John Stevenson next day. “It’s pouring with rain and snow is falling on the summit. There is snow all year round on Ben Nevis – even if it’s a sunny day down at the bottom. It’s important that people intending to walk up the mountain check the weather, be fully prepared with the right clothing, and know when to turn back.” Then, on Tuesday afternoon, Tessa Cousins – a South African aged 56 – was killed by rockfall on Skye while belaying her climbing partner on the third pitch of Cioch Direct – a classic four-pitch Severe route on the huge Sron na Ciche face above Coire Lagan. The lead climber dislodged a section of rock while placing protection. He himself fell around 25m and sustained injuries including a broken leg, while an adjacent pair of climbers were also hit, one (Carole Standing) sustaining chest and spinal injuries, the other a broken shoulder and a damaged hand. A third pair of climbers was also hit but without serious injury. The man from the second pair was able to walk down to Glen Brittle to summon help from Skye MRT, assisted by coastguard and RAF helicopters – an effort later commended by Gerry Akroyd, the leader of Skye MRT. “He walked off down the hill for help,” Akroyd said. “He must have been some kind of iron man to do that with his injuries.” Akroyd was also quoted on grough as saying witnesses to the rockfall had described it as “looking like a boulder avalanche”. From her hospital bed in Glasgow, Standing has also added that there “is more loose rock” and care needs to be taken by anyone climbing on the face over the next while. Commenting on UKClimbing.com on Wednesday evening, experienced Cuillin guide Mike Lates likewise advised climbers to take care with regard to instability in the Cioch area. “Following the tragic accident yesterday,” Lates said, “Skye MRT have warned climbers to be very careful if climbing on the Lower Cioch Buttress routes as debris from the accident was very widespread. My suggestion would be to avoid routes left of Cioch West around to Bastinado for quite some time. “Some folk will climb these classic lines, so be very wary of anything coming from above as you approach. The boulder field does naturally ‘squeeze’ the easiest line in underneath these routes, so some route choice will be needed after crossing the outflow from the Amphitheatre.” It should be noted that in both these tragic incidents the parties had suitable kit and clothing for the situation. After the Ben Nevis fatality, John Stevenson of Lochaber MRT said that the French walker and his companion had been “generally well equipped”, while the Skye incident affected experienced climbers on a long-established route. There will always be risk due to fierce weather on the Ben and the potential for rockfall on the Cuillin. – Here is the Cape Times report on the Cuillin incident.

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