A mountaintop date ended in tragedy when a woman was killed by a falling rock during a climbing expedition with a man she met online.
She and her companion were about to embark on what rescuers described as a “moderate” ascent in the Cairngorms when she died in the freak accident.
Emergency services were called to the Pygmy Ridge in Coire an t-Sneachda, but it is understood the woman died instantly on Tuesday.
She and a companion were with two other couples who had met through the Outdoor Duo website, and had been paired off before they started to scale the ridge.
Two of the couples were on the ridge when the rocks started falling. They were unhurt, but the woman who died was hit by a huge boulder.
Other members of the party scrambled down the mountain and tried to revive her.
Three weeks ago, climbers using parts of the corrie were warned that torrential rain and wind from the tail end of Hurricane Bertha had dislodged and loosened rocks.
Willie Anderson, leader of the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team, said: “It was the size of the rock which hit her that caused what we believe was instant death and emergency teams were unable to do anything.
“Our usual helicopter back-up, Rescue 137 from RAF Lossiemouth, was tasked elsewhere, so Rescue 177 was scrambled from HMS Gannet at Prestwick to assist.
“It was an extremely technical process to bring her off the mountain.”
The six climbers, who are understood to be from England, were members of online dating site Outdoor Duo, which describes itself as a “meeting place for active outdoor people”.
A police spokesman said last night: “The woman will not be identified until all next of kin have been informed. A report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.”