The woman was found clinging to Adam and Eve on Tryfan's summit. Photo: Jeremy Bolwell CC-BY-SA-2.0

Poorly equipped and ill prepared walkers kept mountain rescuers busy over the weekend in Snowdonia.

One woman had to be rescued from Tryfan in high winds as she clung to the twin Adam and Eve rocks on its 918 m (3,010ft) summit.

She was with a group of two men and four women in their 20s from London who needed the help of Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation members on Friday.

The team was called out about 2pm after police received a 999 call.

Ogwen Valley MRO member Chris Lloyd said: “The group had come to Snowdonia for a hillwalking weekend.

“Despite the poor forecast warning of strong winds, the lightly dressed and poorly equipped party set off up the North Ridge of Tryfan.

“In deteriorating weather, they slowly progressed as far as the North Tower when they realised that the challenge was too great for them in these conditions. One girl did manage to make it to the summit where she clung onto Adam or Eve to await rescue.

“Two hill parties were deployed. The summit girl was soon located and assisted from the mountain arriving at the sanctuary of Oggie base well in advance of her colleagues, who were only two-thirds up the mountain.

“The second hill party located the five at the foot of the North Tower. Their slow descent required additional lighting to be carried up on to the mountain as dusk arrived. No one in the party of five had a torch, or map or compass.

“The rescue party eventually arrived at Oggie Base well after 6.30pm. After being refuelled with hot tea, they were advised of their inadequacies for the scramble up the notorious North Ridge of Tryfan in these conditions.”

The Ogwen Valley team’s 50th annual meeting took place on Saturday, with members of the neighbouring North East Wales Search and Rescue providing cover during the evening.

Mr Lloyd said: “Sometime during the speeches, the sound of SMS callout messages could be heard from those who had failed to switch their phones to silent. Fortunately, we could all remain at the dinner while four members of Newsar went to rescue three young men in distress.

“The three had set off from the northern end of the Carneddau range with the intention of walking to Ogwen where they had parked a second car. The lads had encountered strong winds as they traversed the ridge.

“By Carnedd Llewelyn, they decided to drop to the leeward side, Cwm Eigiau, to get out of the wind. Using their map, they made their way over the ridge to the Llyn Cowlyd dam.

“Unfortunately, the opted for the path on the southern shore of the lake as opposed to the popular path on the north shore. As light faded – no torches – the path became less obvious as it has suffered a few landslips over the years.

“Finally, they decided to retreat back to the dam and called for help at about 8pm.

“The three Newsar team members drove from Oggie Base to pick the three lads up. The three were in good spirits despite their ordeal but realised that denim jeans and the lack of torches contributed to this incident.”

• The 150 people gathered after the Ogwen Valley team’s formal meeting in Llandudno heard that visiting walkers were not the only ones who could find themselves ill equipped on the mountain.

Ron James, a founder of the team, told of an early incident in the history of the mountain rescuers. Mr Lloyd said: “He related how he had been flown to a rescue on Craig yr Isfa at short notice in an RAF Whirlwind.

“Having completed the lower and winch, the helicopter could only lift the casualty, leaving Ron at the back of the remote Cwm Eigiau, dressed in his boots and lounge suit.

Roger Jones was among those who received long-service awards

“Sir Chris Bonington, who knows Ron from climbing in the 1950s in Ogwen spoke of his mountaineering experiences and close encounters.

“He was able to declare that despite over 65 years of mountaineering throughout the world, he have never had to be assisted by mountain rescue.”

The team’s 50th anniversary was marked by a three-tier cake decorated with the team badge and a profile of the East Face of Tryfan, including a rescuer and casualty.

Mr Lloyd said: “Despite admiring the magnificence of the cake with its skilled decoration, short work was made of consuming it.”

Mike France, chairman of Mountain Rescue England and Wales, presented long-service certificates to team members Kevin de Silva for 25 years, and 50 years’ service certificates to Roger Jones, KC Gordon and Neil Adam.

The meeting also provided the chance to present the team’s annual awards for those who have had mishaps over the year. The awards included the white stick for navigational errors, the golden spanner for a spanner in the works and the 4×4 award for a driving mishap.

Finally, the Joe Hero gong, a 12-inch diameter disc of one-inch aluminium on steel chain, was accepted by Roger Jones’s wife, Jill, on behalf of all the wives, partners and families who have to endure sharing their lives with a mountain rescue team member.