Mother and son stuck on Welsh mountain

Search and rescue volunteers were called out at 12.45am on Wednesday to rescue the 54-year-old woman and her 26-year-old son, both from Kent.

Graham O'Hanlon said the Aberdyfi Search & Rescue Team were told the two walkers, lost on Cader Idris, had set out earlier the previous day with the intention of traversing the mountain from Ty Nant via the summit and south ridge to Minffordd.

At some point after the summit they lost the south ridge path. They continued descending until the terrain became too difficult to continue.

"Speaking to a call-handler they described themselves as "unhurt, just lost," and were able to see what they believed to be the Tal y Llyn lake," Mr O'Hanlon said.

"A team vehicle was deployed to Tal y Llyn to show blue lights and look for a response on the hillside. A light was spotted on the hillside in Cwm Amarch and an estimated location was calculated. With this information established, a party of team volunteers was deployed up the steep slope to locate the casualties.

"The plan was to walk the pair back down the mountain, but the mother was unable to walk due to the aggravation of a pre-existing back problem. Given the steep nature of the terrain, assistance from the Coastguard helicopter, was needed to help with casualty evacuation. The pair were winched aboard the aircraft and flown to Ysbyty Gwynedd for further assessment and treatment.

"Everyone was safely off the hill by 6.30am."