Tryfan, scene of Monday's incident. Photo: Neil Cowburn

Snowdonia’s mountain rescuers’ busy end to 2009 continued with a spate of callouts to walkers in distress.

A man from Stockport, Greater Manchester, suffered head and leg injuries after attempting to slide down a large ice field while descending Tryfan, in the Ogwen Valley. The 23-year-old slid 45m (150ft) and gashed his leg badly in the fall. A woman who was with him slid 15m (50ft) and suffered slight injuries.

Chris Lloyd of the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation said the two were very lucky. He pointed out that they did not have ice-axes and crampons, which are considered essential for the north Wales mountains in winter conditions.

The man was airlifted by RAF Sea King helicopter to Glan Clwyd Hospital in Rhyl after the incident on Monday. The woman walker was also taken to hospital with a suspected broken ankle.

Weather conditions were described as awful.

Earlier in the day, a team from the OVMRO went to the aid of a hillwalker in his 40s who had injured his ankle while practising his ice-axe arrest technique on Y Garn. He was taken by rescuers to a Sea King helicopter from RAF Valley. He was flown to the Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor for treatment.

And yesterday evening, the Ogwen Valley team was called to a pair of hillwalkers who became lost and benighted on Glyder Fawr.

Yesterday’s incident brought the team’s 2009 callout total to 133, compared to just 76 the previous year. The flurry of rescues by the OVMRO, Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team and other MRTs in the area came despite a concerted MountainSafe campaign warning hillwalkers and climbers to go properly equipped with correct clothing, crampons, ice-axe and torches while winter conditions prevail.