A tragic day

If you've started your Sunday morning with a bowl of cornflakes and the papers then chances are that you've seen Glencoe making the headlines, and for all the wrong reasons. An avalanche in Coire na Tulaich on Buachaille Etive Mor struck a group of 9 climbers heading up the coire at around lunchtime yesterday, killing 3.


The reason for attending the avalanche rescue training course at Nevis Range last weekend was to prepare us with the necessary skills in the event of being called to an avalanche incident. Little did I realise that I'd be called on to use pretty much everything we covered over the weekend just 7 days later.

It was all a bit odd really. One minute you're trying to round up the kids for a walk before a coffee shop lunch, the next its drop everything and you're belting up the glen at breakneck speed with the adrenalin already pumping. And after an afternoon at the sharp end, its back home in time for tea and back to family life again. Did all that just really happen?

Mine is not to comment on the detail of the events, and certainly not to make any judgement about them. However, as the day would have it, I was 2nd on scene and quickly had to draw on a variety of skills - from making primary assessments, through to probing techniques, to casualty handling intended to give the very best chances of survival, to simply hoping that the cornices still hanging above us weren't going collapse again just yet.

Accidents do happen. And if you're going to have any chance of altering the odds of you being involved in them then I'd recommend some well timed training.

Keep an eye on weather and avalanche reports for Glencoe on the web. And why not attend one of the FREE Winter Experience Lectures at Clachaig Inn, which will include information on avalanches, on Tuesdays during February & March.