A North Wales Police inquest has revealed that a crucial 999 call made by two men who subsequently died on Yr Wyddfa was not handled with the urgency it required. The 19 and 20-year-old men attempted to call for help, but the incident was not escalated to mountain rescue teams as it should have been, according to Det Con James Lloyd from North Wales Police's professional standards department.
During the hearing, Lloyd stated that despite attempts by the control room to re-establish contact with the caller, the information was not passed on to mountain rescuers in a timely manner for them to assess the situation. He acknowledged that there has been "learning" for the force and its staff to ensure similar calls are relayed to mountain rescue services more promptly.
The bodies of the two men were discovered on February 19 after a search that began at first light. Mountain rescue teams, assisted by a search and rescue dog team and a coastguard helicopter, located the men after spotting a possible trail in the snow. Assistant coroner for North West Wales, Sarah Riley, confirmed that both men died of multiple traumatic injuries. The inquest was told the scene on the ridge was characterized by "full winter conditions."
Evidence presented suggested that while the men possessed spiked footwear, they lacked essential equipment such as crampons and ice axes. Signage at various points on the mountain range warns that certain routes, including Crib Goch, are designated as "extreme scrambles" and require experienced climbers. One of the deceased, identified as Long, had reportedly been walking in the Lake and Peak District but was new to Eryri.
The family of one of the deceased described the situation as "incompetence" during questioning. However, Lloyd maintained that the police force did not contribute to the deaths of the two men. The inquest is ongoing.