Rescuers searching for a young couple missing on Ben Nevis in the Highlands for more than a week are appealing to other climbers to tell them about the routes they have tackled so that they can eliminate those parts of the mountain from their search.

With weather conditions improving significantly on Monday morning, Lochaber mountain rescue team (LMRT) plans to have search parties on the mountainside most days this week, but is asking other climbers to help them find Rachel Slater, 24, and Tim Newton, 27, who were last seen nine days ago .

In its most recent Facebook post, LMRT wrote: “The weather [this] week is looking a little bit better than last. The winds look like they will be moderating a bit as temperatures drop. Snow is forecast every day with periods of heavy snow adding to the existing snow pack. The team will try and get parties on the hill most days.”

“We would ask anyone who plans to climb on the Ben this week to post on our Facebook page the areas they were climbing and the routes done. This will help us eliminate parts of the mountain.”

Members of the Lochaber mountain rescue team board a search and rescue helicopter in the Creag Meagaidh area near Fort William last week. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

Over the weekend, treacherous weather conditions and plummeting temperatures continued to hamper the search for the couple, from Bradford in West Yorkshire, who are experienced climbers and are believed to have travelled to Ben Nevis for a Valentine’s Day trip.

LMRT managed to conduct ground searches on Saturday morning with 26 team members and a search dog, but made no positive sightings. The team also escorted two hillwalkers lost on the summit of Ben Nevis down to safety overnight on Saturday, where the temperature was recorded at -6C (21.2F), or -19C with the windchill factor.

On Sunday, one of the people to see the couple last described how the incident has galvanised the climbing community.



Patrick Roman, who saw the couple on the path from their camp by the Charles Inglis Clark memorial hut on the north side of Ben Nevis at 12.03pm on 13 February, said: “In 14 years of climbing, I’ve never come across this kind of response.”

Roman, who had been in contact with the Lochaber team, said LMRT was following a dedicated discussion thread on UKClimbing.com, where other climbers familiar with the ground were suggesting possible search areas.

“It has resonated a lot with the climbing community,” Roman said. “These were two young people – life partners, not just climbing partners – and people are genuinely trying to help. We are particularly bad in the UK at discussing accidents and trying to learn from them.”