Fifth Death In Two Months In 'Gorms

A climber died after falling from a route in the Cairngorms last week, the fifth to die in the same area in two months. Local experts are blaming sparse snow cover possibly due to climate change.

The man reportedly fell 200 metres from Aladdin's Mirror while soloing in Coire a t-Sneachda in the northern Cairngorms, one of the most popular and accessible winter climbing venues in the eastern highlands. Sadly he was pronounced dead on arrival at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

He was the fifth climber to die in the area in the past two months, two others have died in falls while climbing on the crag, while two students perished in December while attempting to walk out in blizzard conditions.

The latest incident prompted Cairngorm MRT leader John Allan to comment:

"This is very unusual - it has to be the worst ... at this time of year there is a lot less snow and ice and the less snow and ice, the harder the climbing. A lot of accidents have been on what we would normally call easier routes but they are not easy because conditions are poor and they require greater skill and knowledge."

The BBC also reports that local experts are speculating that climate change has made climbing conditions more difficult with 'new types of snow and ice' creating challenges along with the increased popularity of mixed climbing, which sometimes is effectively simply climbing snowed-up rock routes using axes and crampons.

The incidents underline just how dangerous winter mountaineering can be. If you're inexperienced, you should definitely consider professional instruction, check the regular avalanche forecasts at www.sais.go.uk and don't be afraid to back off if you're unsure of your ability to tackle a particular route.

Even experienced rock climbers need to be aware that the difficulty of winter routes varies massively with conditions. What could be a straightforward grade II snow climb when banked out could be a much more difficult proposition in thinner conditions.