Climbing Accident That Killed Two Suspected To Be Caused By Avalanche in Scottish Highlands
Glen Coe, Scotland – On Saturday, January 16, 2016 two climbers were found dead on 1106-meter high Stob Coire nam Beith in the Scottish Highlands of Glen Coe, Scotland. The climbers were Simon Davidson, 34, of Edinburgh and Joe Smith, 23, of Lancashire. They were both experienced climbers with the proper equipment.
Two other climbers found the pair at approximately 4:25 PM on Saturday. They alerted authorities and the Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team, police, and coast guard responded to the incident. A 16 member team climbed 2,300 vertical feet and retrieved the bodies at approximately 7:00 PM.
The pair was found roped together and it is estimated that they were killed instantly after falling “several hundred feet.” The climbers were found on top of the snow, but it is suspected that they were caught in an avalanche. The Scottish Avalanche Information Service rated the avalanche danger as “considerable” at the time of the incident. Multiple sources say that it was a typical winter day – “snowing with wind on top.”
We will try to update this post as more information becomes available.
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Read more about this climbing accident in the Scottish Highlands from these sources:
- BBC
- Scottish Avalanche Information Service
- The Guardian
- DailyMail.co.uk
- International Business Times
- News.stv.tv
- The National
- PressandJournal.co.uk
