'Tragic accident' killed Shropshire climber Robert Pritchard

A Shropshire climber who was swept 1,500ft to his death by a huge wave of snow on a "safe" mountain route in Scotland died in a "tragic accident", a sheriff has ruled.

Robert Pritchard, 37, plunged down a gully after being hit by a "slab avalanche" on Glencoe's Curved Ridge on February 24 last year.

Mr Pritchard, who had previously lived in Bicton and Pontesbury, near Shrewsbury, died in the fall along with Christopher Walker, 29, his climbing instructor.

A fatal accident inquiry heard how Mr Pritchard's climbing party had, in a tragic twist of fate, changed routes in a bid to avoid avalanches.

But they were struck on a route considered by mountaineer experts as "safe" on Buachaille Etive Mor.

In a written determination published today, Sheriff Douglas Small said: "I am satisfied (they) were swept to their deaths by a small slab avalanche. I am satisfied that the avalanche was completely unpredictable and that the circumstances of this accident were highly unusual. I consider that this was a tragic accident which could not have been foreseen."

A two-day inquiry was held at Fort William Sheriff Court in November.

It was told Mr Walker was a freelance instructor employed by Sheffield-based Jagged Globe and had taken Mr Pritchard and another client for a winter climb of the notorious Curved Ridge on February 24.

Survivor Ritchie Birkett, a 29-year-old software developer, described how he saw the pair desperately plunging their ice picks into the snow in a bid to stop being dragged to their deaths.

Sheriff Small, in his findings, said: "I do not consider that the organisation or supervision of the intermediate course on that day can in any way be criticised.

"I am satisfied that climbers participating in the course were properly assessed and scrutinised before being accepted on to the course."