The two climbers who fell to their deaths in Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands on Saturday have been named as 34-year-old Simon Davidson from Edinburgh and 23-year-old Joe Smith, who lived in Kinlochleven but was originally from Lancashire.
Police Scotland confirmed that the families of both men had been informed.
Police were originally alerted to concerns for the safety of the climbers on the 1,106m peak Stob Coire nam Beith on Saturday afternoon. Two bodies were found after HM Coastguard and Glencoe mountain rescue team joined the search – the climbers were understood to have fallen some distance.
Davidson and Smith were believed to be friends who had been climbing together recreationally. There has been no suggestion that the pair were ill-equipped or inexperienced, although climbers and hill walkers were cautioned about the “considerable risk” of avalanche following heavy snowfall in the area.
Davidson was a highly experienced mountaineer and winter sportsman, running the Garbh Mountain Adventures travel agency in Ben Nevis. He had worked as a climbing instructor, ski instructor and mountain guide for over a decade, and also worked on the Nevis range patrol.
A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal, the Scottish public prosecutor.
