Snowdon. Photo: Steve Cadman

Rescuers today pleaded with walkers not to tackle the Snowdonia mountains unless they are properly equipped.

Seventeen people have had to be rescued from Snowdon since Christmas Day, and rescue teams say better planning and equipment could have prevented the would-be summiteers getting into difficulty. Many attempt the mountain in just trainers.

The latest emergency came when two men were left stranded 760m (2,495ft) up the mountain in the dark in bitterly cold conditions after their friends went off with their torch. 20 members of Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team were called out to the pair’s aid at 8.25pm last night, Monday.

The team’s secretary Ian Henderson warned of the hazards of Wales’s highest peak. He said: “It’s fabulous weather here at the moment, the sun’s shining and the mountains look beautiful.

“But once you get out of the sun, it can be -10C with the wind chill and there is snow.

“If people are well equipped and experienced, it is fine to go up Snowdon, but we’ve had to rescue people from high up who are wearing just trainers, jeans and fleeces.”

The two men had felt unable to carry on as it was dark and the other men, believed to be in their 40s, went on without them, taking the torch and equipment.

The two men in yesterday’s rescue were abandoned by their colleagues on Y Lliwedd, a ridge high up the mountain. The operation to get the men down took four hours and involved a helicopter and crew from RAF Valley on Anglesey. The rescue team came across the other two men, who said they had gone to get help.

Mr Henderson said: “People are putting themselves in danger.”