Teachers among avalanche victims

The two teachers were described as 'well-equipped' by police

Two teachers were the victims of an avalanche which swept them to their deaths on Ben Nevis, it has emerged.

Rupert Rosedale, 37, from Wiltshire and 34-year-old William Wilkinson from Inverness were in a group of five tackling a gully on the mountain.

Mr Rosedale taught at Marlborough College. Mr Wilkinson was a geography teacher at Culloden Academy.

Another man, Chris Astill, 54, from Tideswell in Derbyshire, died in a separate avalanche at Torridon.

Mr Astill died in Raigmore Hospital in Inverness on Wednesday after being rescued by a coastguard helicopter from an avalanche on Liathach Ridge.

Earlier, the bodies of the two teachers had been discovered in Number Three Gully on the north face of Ben Nevis.

Ch Insp John Chisholm of Northern Constabulary said they were all well-equipped and European-accredited, but "it appears they were in the wrong place at the wrong time".

High risk

The SAIS said unusually calm and extremely cold weather had raised the risk of avalanches in Scotland's mountains.

The service have been monitoring surface hoar, a phenomenon rarely seen in Scotland.

The snow crystals form a slippery layer when buried under snow and are the cause of many avalanches in the Alps and North America.

The sportscotland Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) said the risk of avalanche continued to be high because of unusual snow and ice conditions.

The SAIS said there was a moderate or considerable risk in Glencoe and Lochaber, with a high risk in parts of the north and south Cairngorms and Creag Meagaidh.

The forecasts on its website cover the period until 1800 GMT on Thursday.