Cluanie, who found the men on Crib Goch

Cluanie, who found the men on Crib Goch

Two men were found by a search dog after surviving the night on a mountain ridge.

The pair got stuck on Crib Goch on the Snowdon range, but were praised by rescuers for waiting until daybreak to call for help.

Llanberis Mountain Rescue team was alerted at 7.05am today, Friday, and went to the men’s aid. Search and Rescue Dogs Association Wales member Helen Howe and her dog Cluanie joined the search for the pair, one of whom also had a split boot sole, adding to his problems.

A Sarda Wales spokesperson said: “They headed across to the North Ridge from the Rock Step area of Crib Goch, with Richard [Beech] also from Sarda Wales, and let Cluanie search from there.

“The dog headed off on the ridge and went first into Cwm Glas and worked upwards. In strong winds, rain and very thick cloud the dog then worked up the ridge and came back and indicated her find to Helen.

“The boys had been able to give an approximate location but in the end they were higher than they thought and the dog saved a great deal of time in some pretty foul conditions.”

The pair were praised for by the rescuers for going well equipped on the popular scrambling route, which is used as a route towards the summit of 1,085m (3,560ft) Snowdon.

Crib Goch with Snowdon in the background. Photo: John Lynch CC-BY-SA-2.0

Crib Goch with Snowdon in the background. Photo: John Lynch CC-BY-SA-2.0

The spokesperson said: “All credit must be given to the guys rescued as they had survived the night, had bivvi bags and a stove, and only called the team out once it was light and they thought the team would be up.

“One of them had a totally destroyed boot which the sole had come away from and had to be repaired. Helen and three other members of the Llanberis Team then helped the guys down safely off the mountain.”

Sarda dog handlers are volunteer mountain rescue team members who undergo further training with their animals to qualify for search and rescue missions using their four-legged assistants.

Crib Goch is a grade-one scramble, rising at its highest to 923m (3,028ft)

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