Mountain climber dies and second rescued after avalanche on Ben Nevis

A climber has died and another taken to hospital after an avalanche on Ben Nevis.

Emergency services were alerted to the incident around 3.35pm on Friday, December 30.

Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team (LMRT) were despatched to assist along with a search and rescue helicopter, however a 48-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.

A second man, aged 40, was transferred to Belford Hospital in Fort William with non-life threatening injuries after sliding around 600m down the mountain.

Police said the families of the two men have been made aware of the incident and asked for their privacy at this time.

In a statement posted on Facebook, LMRT said: “With limited initial information Lochaber MRT, assisted by Glencoe MRT and R151, went to the area of No.2 Gully where the two casualties were located. Sadly one had sustained fatal injuries and the other was seriously injured after a slide of 600 metres (approximately).

“With the weather creating some challenging conditions the helicopter was limited to the assistance it could offer. This meant that we had an extended extrication of the casualties and eight hours after the initial call we delivered the casualty to the Belford Hospital for further assessment and treatment.

“At this time, our thoughts are with the families of both involved.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: [We can] confirm that a 48-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene and a 40-year-old man was taken to hospital with non life threatening injuries.”