A helicopter and 40 members of a mountain rescue team were deployed in blizzard conditions after a climber fractured his leg in the Cairngorms.

Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) was called in after the man fell 50ft while climbing with a friend on Aladdin's Mirror Direct, a Grade IV technical ice climb on Coire an t-Sneachda.

Leader Willie Anderson said: "We were contacted around 3pm on Tuesday to assist a climber who had fallen and sustained a leg fracture.

"Initially, we deployed a dozen team members to undertake the technical job of lowering the casualty to the coire floor and planned to evacuate him by helicopter.

"Bristow Helicopters did a great job of getting our guys into the coire despite lowering cloud and snow but it quickly became apparent that they would not be able to get in to retrieve the casualty due to worsening weather.

"At that point we called out all 40 team members as we knew we were in for a two-mile stretcher carry.

"We were also lucky to have five members of RAF Leeming MRT training in the area and they came to our assistance as well."

Mr Anderson said while blizzard conditions prevailed throughout the rescue, the snow was not accompanied by storm force winds, "which made for a nice change".

He added manhandling the stretcher across the snow covered boulder field was "as brutal as ever".

"The boulder field is a real challenge, involving heaving and hauling the stretcher whilst slipping and sliding about on snow covered rocks and boulders," Mr Anderson said.

"None of us relish that bit of the task, particularly as you are trying to make it as smooth as possible for the injured person.

"After all, it's all about the casualty, but there are some bashes and bruises being nursed by team members too this morning."

After making it off the coire, the injured climber was taken to hospital and the five-hour rescue concluded around 8pm.

The incident came two days after the team were out all night to assist two London-based climbers who became lost in a blizzard on the Cairngorm plateau.