Man Dies in Avalanche on Ben Nevis

1st January 2023

He was climbing with a partner when they were hit by an avalanche. The second man is in a serious condition in hospital in Scotland. NEW

The accident happened Friday afternoon and details are now being released.

The 49-year-old man, who has not been named, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other man is 42-years-old and is being treated at Belford Hospital in Fort William.

Their next of kin have been informed.

“Around 3.25pm on Friday, 30 December, 2022, we received a report of two people falling in an avalanche at Ben Nevis,” said a Police Scotland spokesperson.

“The Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team were dispatched and a 49-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. A 42-year-old man was taken to Belford Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.”

They fell over 600m when a cornice collapsed starting the avalanche.

Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team, which was dispatched with a helicopter, said the slide was about 600m.

Around 40 rescuers from Lochaber and Glencoe mountain rescue teams were involved in the operation.

The pair was in a group of four on Number Two Gully, and the other two raised the alarm.

Ben Nevis is 1,345m high and is the UK’s highest mountain.

It is the first such avalanche death in Scotland in nearly three years.