The walker made a navigational error on Pen yr Ole Wen. Photo: Eric Jones CC-BY-SA-2.0

Rescuers in Snowdonia were involved in a mammoth 12-hour overnight operation to find a stranded walker and bring him to safety.

The solo walker, in his late 50s and from London, rang 999 after getting stuck on steep ground on Pen yr Ole Wen on Friday evening.

Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation was called out at 6.30pm to the 978m (3,209ft) peak after being alerted by North Wales Police.

Chris Lloyd of the mountain rescue team said it was dusk, with sporadic mists in the valley, low cloud covering the hills and a poor forecast.

He described Pen yr Ole Wen as ‘This great rocky lump at the southern tip of the Carneddau which drops steeply into the Ogwen Valley, which often catches out the unwary and they get daunted by the steep descent’.

He added: “So, only a small party was called for to locate and guide the lone walker down the hill.

“Further information was gained from the lone walker via his mobile phone. He had a GPS and was able to pinpoint his location, high up on the steep loose gullies above Braich Ty Du.

“Not even the goats go here, only the ravens and birds of prey.

“The small party of three was deployed from the A5 road, halfway down the Nant Ffrancon towards Bethesda, with a spotter parked in a car on the old road in the shadow of Foel-goch.

“Between the sporadic clouds of swirling mists, the spotter could see the faint light of a mobile phone screen through his binoculars. He directed the hasty party up the steep loose screes and heather-covered boulder fields to the foot of the gully.

“Meanwhile, a party of four was deployed carrying 250m of rope and rescue equipment. The hasty party could get within 30 vertical metres of the walker but the very poor rock conditions, the running water and darkness, prevented direct access.

“They moved to an adjacent line, but once again conditions prevented access. The second party of four decide to gain the ridge line by traversing this awful ground, wary of the high risk of a broken ankle or so.”

Mr Lloyd said they were followed by the hasty. “The whole group of seven then shanked up the north ridge of Pen yr Ole Wen high above the Nant Ffrancon,” he added.

“In a bitter breeze, attempts were made to descend well over 200m to locate the walker. Despite attempts to attract his attention with horns and shouting, there was no response from the walker.”

An RAF Sea King was thwarted in its search by bad weather

Mist had now closed in and the spotter could no longer see the man, so the team requested help from the Sea King helicopter from RAF Valley on Anglesey to try to spot him.

Mr Lloyd said: “There had been enough breaks in the cloud cover for this to be the good option.

“However, during the 30 minutes that they were in the area, the cloud closed in making any chance of getting close to the incident site impossible.

“So, lengthy descents down gully lines continued until a find was made at about 2 o’clock on Saturday morning.

“The two rescuers down the crag were able to assist the lone walker back up to the waiting five team members on the ridge. The man was cold and exhausted.

“He told how a navigation error, made towards the end of this north-south traverse of the Carneddau, encouraged him to cut down this loose gully. He had taken a 100ft slide, without injury.

“But now in cloud and dusk and without torch, he decided to seek assistance.

“After being refuelled, clad in Páramo smock and provided with head- and hand-torches, he was escorted down the long north ridge towards Bethesda, until we were able to cut down the Priests’ Path to Tŷ Gwyn farm on the A5 road.”

Two of the team’s Land Rovers picked up the party at the farm at 5am and took them back to the rescue base further up the valley for soup, tea, sausages, beans, toast and the warmth of the wood burner.

Mr Lloyd added: “Once the formalities were completed by 6am, it was realised that it was too late or too early for the walker to book into Idwal Cottage Youth Hostel, where he was meant to spend the Friday night, so he was provided with accommodation at Oggie Base.

“After a few hours of sleep, he set off for Pen y Pass via Capel Curig, along the Old Road, with the advice to call at a well known climbers’ shop in Capel Curig and purchase a good headtorch.

“And within an hour of his departure, the team members were called by North Wales Police to recover a body hanging from a tree near Penrhyn Castle, while other team members continued with their four-day swiftwater rescue technician training course.

“All in 24 hours of being a mountain rescue team member.”