A 'drunk' man who tried to climb Mount Snowdon was saved by the colour of the tracksuit he was wearing.
Emergency services rushed to Cader Idris in Snowdonia National Park, North Wales, on Sunday, July 34, following reports of a man in his 20s being "intoxicated and unconscious". The man, who was part of a team of eight, was left on the mountain while the rest went to raise the alarm, Aberdyfi Search and Rescue Team said.
After speaking with the group, who were described as "potentially intoxicated", it was revealed another one of their friends was missing on the mountain.
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Aberdyfi Search and Rescue Team said in a statement: "Through further conversations with the party, 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. Crucially, it also transpired that another member of the party was also missing on the mountain.
"In unseasonably poor weather, volunteers were dispatched up the hill to begin searching the area in question, and key equipment was carried up the mountain as it arrived. 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."
The friends didn't know where the second man was as he was separated from his friends, and volunteers searched for hours before eventually spotting him down a gully, due to his light-coloured tracksuit.
Aberdyfi Search and Rescue Team said: "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 (search) 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."
The man was airlifted by the Coastguard to Ysbyty Gwynedd, where he was treated. It took almost six hours and 17 volunteers for the search team to get both men to safety, with the operation coming to an end at around 8.45pm.
Graham O'Hanlon, who attended the incident, said: "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."
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