Two hikers rescued after trying to climb Britain's second tallest mountain in the dark amid -15C temperatures while wearing jogging bottoms and trainers
The pair in their 20s had set-off at 6pm on Tuesday to climb up 4295-foot-high Ben Macdui in the Cairngorms in the Scottish Highlands.
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By OLIVIA CHRISTIE, NEWS REPORTER
Published: 09:58 GMT, 1 January 2026 | Updated: 13:06 GMT, 1 January 2026
Two hikers were rescued off Britain's second highest mountain in minus 15C temperatures wearing just jogging bottoms and trainers.
The pair in their 20s had set-off at 6pm on Tuesday to climb up 4295-foot-high Ben Macdui in the Cairngorms in the Scottish Highlands.
But two-and-a-half hours later the hikers became stuck - with one suffering from hypothermia.
Thirteen members of Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team went to their aid and found the two men in 'a precarious state'.
'They wouldn't have survived the night with what they were wearing,' said team leader Iain Cornfoot.
'One was suffering from hypothermia. He was in a bad way. The other was also very cold.'
It comes as Britain is in the grips of an Arctic blast with temperatures in large swathes of the country plunging well below zero.
A rare cold health alert was issued yesterday for the whole of England, warning that the icy weather might lead to an increase in deaths.
Two hikers were rescued off Britain's second highest mountain in minus 15C temperatures wearing just jogging bottoms and trainers
The pair in their 20s had set-off at 6pm on Tuesday to climb up 4295-foot-high Ben Macdui in the Cairngorms in the Scottish Highlands
Large areas of the UK are covered by a snow and ice warning on Friday
Mr Cornfoot said the two hikers were found three metres apart and 1,050 metres up the mountain.
He said: 'It was minus 15C with the wind chill. One was also in a very precarious position.
'If he had slipped, he would have gone a long way and would have suffered serious injuries.
'We have no idea what they were trying to do. They had left Edinburgh at noon and then started to climb Ben Macdui at 6pm in those conditions and with that equipment, or lack of it.
'They were incredibly ill-equipped. They became cragfast in the Goat Track area of Coire an t-Sneachda.
'The pair had set off intending to climb Ben Macdui, but without crampons or an ice axe they quickly found themselves unable to continue on steep ground in the winter conditions.
'It was very icy. It was a good job they stopped where they did. If they had gone further up in the dark and wandered about it would not have had a good outcome.
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