Tryfan. Photo: Alex Beamer

Mountain rescuers have criticised two women who told volunteers to ‘come and get them’ when they decided they were too tired to continue.

Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation was called about 9.50pm yesterday by the climbers who were on Tryfan.

The 43-year-old and her companion, 68, from Sussex were, according to their rescuers, lacking in navigational skills, fitness and stamina and pushed themselves beyond their capabilities.

The two made no attempt to make their own way off the 918m (3,010ft) mountain. Chris Lloyd of the mountain rescue team said: “They were not injured; they were not stuck at that time; the weather was fine and there was enough light for them to be able to make their own way down rather than call out the mountain rescue team at 10pm on a Saturday evening.”

Mr Lloyd said the pair had started up the mountain via Milestone Buttress at 11am and scrambled up steep rock. It was not clear whether they had reached the summit, but told rescuers they were too tired to make their descent.

“As they had little battery life on the mobile phone, we had to be quick to establish where they were,” he said.

“They could see a lake – Llyn Bochlwyd. The team leader instructed them to make their way to the summit – whichever one they might be on – and await team members.

“A party of four was deployed up the Western Gully. But when they met a mountain-leader group coming down after rockclimbing on the East Face, going to the summit and now descending the Western Gully without seeing they two, there was greater concern.

“The four MRT team members reached the summit and split into two pairs, one descending the North Ridge and one to investigate a light seen on the summit of Glyder Fach.”

Mr Lloyd said another party of two had been dispatched to check various lights in the Cwm Bochlwyd area, only to find a young couple in a tent there.

The spokesman continued: “Then just before midnight our spotter at Idwal car park spied a new light low down on the West Face in Y Gully.

“The Bochlwyd party and the North Ridge party were sent to investigate. The two descended Y Gully to find the ‘casualties’, who had rock climbed the side of Y Gully and were kitted with a new climbing rope and rack of gear.

“Despite the request to return to the summit, they had decided to descend the notorious Y Gully, which without good local knowledge can be a blind canyon.

“They had made a couple of abseils before stopping. They then used their only torch to shine as a beacon. They had made no attempt to attract the attention of parties coming up the mountain to search for them and hadn’t even blown their only whistle to indicate where they might be.”

The two team members then set up a final abseil to get the two down to solid ground where they were met by the other two rescuers.

“The four members then painstakingly escorted these two down the path, a walk that should take 20 minutes but took over an hour,” Mr Lloyd said. “The two ‘casualties’ were ill prepared, had shown no navigation skills, seemed beyond their ability, fitness and stamina and had just expected at 10pm on a fine Saturday evening for the mountain rescue team to ‘come and get them’.”

The rescue was the second of the weekend on Tryfan. On Friday, two women and their four-legged friends had to be airlifted from the mountain after getting stuck when low cloud and heavy rain enveloped the hill.

The women, aged 41 and 57, from Ross on Wye, called for help at 3.10pm when the forecast bad weather caught them, and their two jack russell terriers, out.

A Sea King helicopter from RAF Valley was called to help the search. Mr Lloyd said: “Initially the cloud was too low, but then the cloud lifted sufficiently for them to make a dash for the upper slopes finding the party somewhere on the South Ridge.

“The party was winched aboard and brought down to Oggi Base at Bryn Poeth.

“After hot drinks, the two were de-briefed. They acknowledged that they should have turned back, down the Western Gully, when the weather began to change or that they should have had more robust clothing and waterproofs.

“Within and hour of their arrival at Oggi base, the cloud had lifted completely and Tryfan was clear in the blue sky.”

The weekend rescues brought the OVMRO’s total callouts this year to 72.