Scotland’s first serious bite of winter has delivered a warning of the deadly danger facing hillwalkers after a lucky escape in the Angus glens.
In the early hours of Saturday, rescuers traced a man whose 999 call sparked a near nine-hour search in ”brutal” blizzard conditions.
At its height the Glen Doll operation involved some 20 police and civilian searchers battling whiteout storms with winds of up to 80mph.
It reached a successful conclusion when the 51-year-old was traced safe and well, before being airlifted to Ninewells Hospital by an RAF helicopter.
The man, who has not been named, was not injured in the ordeal and was released after being checked over.
Believed to be from south of the border, he raised the alarm using his own mobile phone after becoming disorientated in the hills after the clear and fine walking conditions earlier in the day deteriorated into atrocious winter weather.
The rescuers concentrated their efforts in an area the walker indicated he believed himself to be when he made the emergency call around 5.30pm on Friday.
It is understood, however, that contact was lost with the man during the night as the search teams combed the area just north-west of the Glen Doll ranger centre rescue post.
The walker was traced just after 2am, cold but safe, on a plateau in the area of Cairn Damff.
Tayside Police search and rescue unit and the civilian Tayside Mountain Rescue Team had endured conditions which one senior figure said were a timely reminder of the ferocious elements which winter walkers might encounter in the hills.
Mountain rescue leader Stuart Johnston said anyone going out in the winter should be certain that they have the skills and equipment to deal with potential disaster.