View across the Outer Harbour of Stornoway

Wednesday 23 September 2009

Wednesday 23 September

Not too bad a day, but it's getting increasingly windy. The sun does come out, in amongst the odd shower. The radar and satellite imagery shows a squall line passing through, but the Atlantic further out is packed with more downpours.

It was the weather that appears to have contributed to a tragedy in the Torridon area of northwestern Scotland on Sunday. A family group was out walking the mountain range of Beinn Eighe [pronounce: Ben Eye] when the clouds came down. Rather than continue with the walk to the second of the range's two Munros (peaks of 3,000 feet or higher), they decided on an emergency descent into Glen Dubh, which separates Beinn Eighe from its southwestern neighbour, Liathach [omit the tha in the pronounciation]. On the way down, one person, a man aged 76, fell 10 metres, injuring his head. Although he continued with the descent, the group soon found themselves stuck on a ledge (cragfast was the term used in local news reports). One managed to get off the hill and summon the emergency services at 7 am on Monday morning. They found that the 76-year old had deceased. The two other members of the family were taken off the mountain and taken to a nearby hotel.
I would like to extend my sympathies towards the relatives of the deceased.