Pen yr Helgi Du. Photo: Philip Halling CC-BY-SA-2.0

An experienced mountaineer fell to his death while walking with a group on a Snowdonia mountain.

The 62-year-old from Somerset fell 30m (100ft) after slipping on the Carnedd Llewelyn range yesterday.

He suffered head injuries in the fall and was given first aid by members of his group, but died before reaching hospital.

The man was descending from Pen yr Helgi Du to the Bwlch Eryl Farchog when he slipped on a greasy rock and fell.

Ogwen Mountain Rescue Organisation was called out about noon yesterday and a Sea King search and rescue helicopter from RAF Valley on Anglesey flew to the scene, arriving at the site within 25 minutes.

Chris Lloyd of Ogwen Valley MRO said: “Just after midday the team received a call from North Wales Police stating that a man had taken a tumbling fall from the footpath near the top of Craig yr Ysfa and he was seriously injured.

“Because of the seriousness of the reported injuries and the location, the Sea King from RAF Valley was requested. He flew straight to the incident site and in good weather conditions was able to winch the casualty aboard and fly him to hospital at Bangor.

“Sadly, this man died; his injuries were not survivable.

“The casualty was a very experienced mountain climber. He has climbed all over the world and spent some time in the Himalayas. He was one of nine from a climbing club who were in north Wales for the weekend.

“They had stayed in a hut in the Ogwen Valley and walked up Pen yr Helgi Du. They descended onto the narrow pass of Bwlch Eryl Farchog and started ascending the ridge above Craig yr Isfa en route to Carnedd Llewelyn.

“There was some low cloud at the time of the accident, so his fall wasn’t witnessed, only heard. As soon as the party realised someone had slipped off the narrow part of the ridge, two members scrambled down the 30m or so.

“The casualty was conscious but injured. They shouted for a party member to telephone 999 for mountain rescue. The two gave first aid and had to give cardio-pulmonary resuscitation as the casualty’s condition deteriorated and until the arrival of the winchman.

“Following the very quick casualty evacuation, the party started to return to Ffynnon Llugwy where they were met by members of the Ogwen MRT who brought them to Bryn Poeth at the foot of Tryfan.

“During that time police arrived at Oggie Base to inform us that the casualty had not survived, so we prepared for giving the sad news to the party. The eight were comforted for the remainder of the afternoon while the police took statements and arranged for two of the party to go to the hospital to identify their friend.”

The walker is believed to be an accomplished climber and mountaineer, with first ascents in the Himalaya and successful expeditions to Antarctica.

Pen yr Helgi Du is an 833m (2,733ft) outlier of Carnedd Llewelyn.

• Mr Lloyd said during the incident, the team was called for a mountain biker who had fallen off his bike in the Penmachno forest and broken his arm in two places.

The 40-year-old man from the Birmingham area was treated and walked to an air ambulance which was able to land nearby.