Avalanche kills hill-walker in Cairngorms

The party of 24 Scouts, all from Kent, were in the mountains despite a warning from SportScotland Avalanche Information Service yesterday morning of a "considerable" risk of avalanches in the area.
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Off-duty members of the Kinder Mountain Rescue Team, based at the Peak District in Derbyshire, saw the snow slide and raised the alarm shortly before 3pm. Mountain rescue teams from Lochaber and RAF Kinloss helped to find Mr Young, who was taken by helicopter to Belford Hospital in Fort William.

It is believed that Mr Young may have triggered the avalanche when he fell through snow that was overhanging a ridge.

Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) co-ordinator Mark Diggins warned that there were many cornices in the Cairngorms and Creag Meagaidh.
He said yesterday (Tuesday): "The cornice is a foot of snow which is created by wind and creates a false edge. There are a lot of these cornices around at the moment, and there have been three accidents in this area recently because of them. We need to make people mindful that the cornice is a false edge."

Mr Diggins said that climbers often unwittingly rested on cornices.

He added that conditions were good in the hills, but people had to be properly armed and check the conditions before setting out, and change their routes if there was a significant risk.

Creag Meagaidh, a popular walking and climbing spot, is a 3,710ft bare plateau surrounded by spectacular cliffs.