A man who was one of three hikers who died together walking the Aonach Eagach in Glen Coe last weekend has been named by his family as Graham Cox.
A spokesperson for the family described the 60-year-old as “a much-loved husband, father, son and brother … He is remembered by all as the kindest, loveliest man. The family is devastated by his loss and request privacy at this time.”
Cox died alongside a 64-year-old woman and a 39-year-old man, who is understood to have been their guide. They have not yet been named at the request of their families.
Their bodies were recovered on Sunday in a challenging operation involving groups of volunteers from the Glencoe mountain rescue team along with the Inverness coastguard search and rescue helicopter, after the trio were reported overdue from the ridge on Saturday night.
During the week, members of the tight-knit local climbing community described their shock at the tragic accident. One said: “It brings it home because it’s one of our own.”
The guide has been described as highly experienced and very good at his job.
The three individuals who died are thought to have fallen while roped together for a process called rope scrambling, a common method for traversing the narrow and jagged ridge employed with less experienced hikers.
Roped scrambling involves two scenarios. First, “taking the rope for a walk” happens on easier terrain, where the climbers are still attached but moving together and the rope is slack, with no useful function.
Then on more difficult terrain, the guide is secured to an anchor point and deploys the rope tightly, so that if one person slips, he can arrest their fall quickly.
There is an inherent risk in roping people together. If one person were to fall when the rope was slack, for example, they could pull the other two down with them. Such occurrences are rare but possible.
Crossing Aonach Eagach – which means “notched ridge” in Scots Gaelic – can take up to nine hours and it climbs to a height of 968 metres (3,175ft). Local guides recommend that hikers approach it after some experience of scrambling – using your hands to keep balance on rocky terrain – and down-climbing – as the lengthy ridge has as many down sections as ups.
The Glencoe mountain rescue team leader, Brian Bathurst, said the tragic accident had had “an impact on the local climbing community, and further afield”.
He told BBC Radio Scotland on Tuesday that the route was popular, which most traversed safely, but it included some “steep, exciting scrambles”.
He added: “The weather is changeable and it certainly can be misty and wet. A lot of the rock is also worn away so it is slippery when wet. The ridge does not offer any safe exits so once you are committed you have to either carry on or go back the way you came.”
The rescuers involved in the “incredibly difficult callout” – many of whom were volunteers – were praised on Friday.
A joint statement on behalf of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors, Mountain Training, Mountaineering Scotland and the British Mountaineering Council said: “We were deeply saddened to learn about the tragic accident that took place in Glen Coe, which resulted in the untimely loss of three lives.
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families and friends of the individuals who were tragically taken from us in this devastating incident.
“Please know that our thoughts are with all those who have been affected by this heartbreaking event. We would also like to recognise and thank the efforts of the volunteers of Glencoe mountain rescue team, the RAF mountain rescue team and the coastguard for what would have been an incredibly difficult callout.”
