Two men rescued in five-hour operation after drunken party on mountain

Rescuers say poor choices by the group from the West Midlands on Cader Idris on Sunday could have cost at least one person his life. He had to be airlifted off the mountain in horrendous weather after he was spotted lying in a gully thanks to his light track suit. Another was found intoxicated during the search.

The alarm was raised shortly before 3pm when Aberdyfi Search & Rescue Team received a report of an intoxicated and unconscious man on Cader Idris, which lies at the southern end of the Snowdonia National Park.

The man, in his 20s and one of a party of eight, had collapsed on the mountain and his party, also potentially intoxicated, had left him there to raise the alarm.

Team volunteers were able to obtain a rough description of the man's location, different from the original information but coinciding with reports of shouting heard by other walkers coming off the mountain. It also transpired that another member of the party was also missing on the mountain.

In rain and wind volunteers were dispatched up the hill to begin searching the area.

Team volunteer Graham O'Hanlon said: "The initial search parties quickly encountered the man reported as being unconscious, but now back on his feet, and he was escorted down off the mountain while the search for his companion continued.

"With little information to work with, and the initial searches of the most likely routes drawing a blank, the search started to open up into more remote areas of the mountain, and other assets such as search dogs were being requested.

"One of the search parties reported a distant light-coloured object in a gully to the south of the initial search area, and spotters working from the foot of the mountain confirmed that it appeared to be a person. The party made their way across difficult terrain to reach the man, who was alive but had sustained significant injuries in what looked like a tumbling fall."

Rescuers stabilised the man and the cloud base lifted enough for the Coastguard rescue helicopter to reach the location The injured man was airlifted to Gwynedd Hospital for further assessment and treatment.

"The men were not equipped for the poor weather on the mountain, or for finding their way around it, and they made some poor choices that nearly cost at least one man his life. But for the light colour of the man's tracksuit, we may not have spotted him in time," Mr O'Hanlon said.

He said a total of 17 tteam volunteers were involved in the search and rescue operation and everyone was safely down off the hill by 8.45pm.