ELITE mountain cops had to call in rescuers after they got stranded on a famous peak – sparking a 12-hour operation.
Four off-duty members of Police Scotland’s expert crew were climbing the Cuillin Ridge on Skye when they got into difficulty on Saturday night.
A Coastguard rescue helicopter and a local specialist search team from Stornoway were scrambled to the scene just after 8pm to assist the officers – who are believed to be based in Inverness.
The epic rescue mission started when the group made an emergency call for help at 6.45pm when they became ‘cragfast’ – stuck on a rockface.
But terrible weather conditions hampered the rescue and it’s believed it wasn’t until after 7am they were safely taken off the mountain.
Last night a source said it would be “embarrassing” for the cops who are part of the force’s elite search team.
They said: “It seems the officers were all off duty and decided to go for a climb in a remote area and became cragfast – this means they can’t climb up or scramble down.
“They managed to make a call to get help. The entire thing will be embarrassing for them especially as they are members of the Police Scotland mountain rescue team who would be called to assist people in difficulty in these areas.
“The conditions were atrocious with strong winds, heavy rain and it was getting dark.
“It would have taken the search team at least three hours to reach the area and assist them.
“The rescue operation was made more difficult when the helicopter had to turn back due to the conditions.”
The Cuillin Ridge line is known as the greatest mountaineering challenge in the British Isles and is 992m (3,255ft) at its highest point.
Last night a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We were made aware of a group of walkers in difficulty in the area of Sgùrr Dubh Mòr in the Cuillin on Skye shortly after 6.45pm on Saturday, 2 September.
“The group were assisted off the mountain by the Skye Mountain Rescue Team. No one was injured.”
A spokesperson for HM Coastguard said: “The HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Stornoway was sent to a report of four walkers stuck on the Cuillin, Isle of Skye.
“The alarm was raised at about 8.05pm. The helicopter was unable to assist due to weather conditions.”
In July, 80-year-old John Meechan, from Glenrothes, Fife died after falling at Coire a’ Bhasteir in the Cuillin range.
His climbing partner raised the alarm and the emergency services were called out but Mr Meechan was pronounced dead at the scene.
In 2014, daredevil stunt biker Danny MacAskill published a video of him cycling the notorious ridge.
In the film, which has had 79million views, MacAskill rides along and jumps between the crags of the mountain.
