The walkers went astray on Cadair Idris. Photo: NotFromUtrecht CC-BY-SA-3.0

A group of overseas visitors expressed their gratitude to members of the public who shared water with them when they got lost on a Snowdonia mountain.

The pair from the USA ran out of food and drink during their ‘adventure’ on Cadair Idris on Tuesday.

Aberdyfi Search and Rescue Team was called out about 4.30pm to help the man and woman, in their early 20s who became separated from the man’s father on the mountain and failed to find their way off the summit.

Graham O’Hanlon of Aberdyfi SRT said: “The pair had made an early start on the Minffordd path up the mountain and had reached the summit shortly after 11am with the man’s father.

“The father had returned by the same route to pick up the car, while the others intended to descend to Ty Nant via the pony path and meet him there.

“The pair made several attempts to find the pony path, but in the end had to return to the summit and retrace their steps down the Minffordd path. The situation was then compounded by the fact that the ‘missing’ pair and the father were now both at car parks on opposite sides of the mountain with no mobile coverage.”

Team volunteers checked the likely exit points from the mountains, and the missing woman was quickly found at Minffordd.

Her partner had been given a lift by a member of the public and was on his way to Ty Nant at the bottom of the pony path. Rescuers used their radios to overcome communication problems and the parties were made aware of the situation and quickly reunited.

Mr O’Hanlon was working nearby and quickly located the missing woman. He said: “The group had quite an adventure on the mountain all things considered, and the extended nature of their trip, and the heat of the day meant that they had run out of food and in particular, water.

“As visitors to the country, they were greatly impressed by the generosity of those on the hill who shared precious water supplies, and those both on and off the mountain who went out of their way to help resolve their predicament.

“All the team had to do was get them together, but their actual ‘rescue’ involved a large number of members of the public who all contributed to a good outcome.”