The climber's relatives and a friend look at the scene on Ben Nevis. Photo: Lochaber MRT

Rescuers have taken relatives of one of the men who died in the avalanche on Ben Nevis last week to the site of the incident.

Some of the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team were also joined by a member of the Swiss Alpine Club who was a friend of the four climbers involved in the avalanche.

A member of the Scottish Avalanche Information Service also revisited the site. A member of the service was in the area at the time of the incident and raised the alarm.

The team also appealed to climbers who are in the area to be on the lookout for the ice-tools of the four men, which has still not been found. They are likely to be in the area below Number Five Gully and Moonlight Gully Buttress.

Most of the gear belonging to the climbers was found and will be returned to Switzerland and France shortly, but the tools are still missing.

A Lochaber MRT spokesperson said: “This equipment is symbolically very important for the families and if you do happen to be in area please have a look and it would be very much appreciated if they could be found and returned.”

The rescue team asked any climber who finds the ice-axes to return them to Fort William police station or the Lochaber MRT base.

The equipment the climbers brought to Scotland

They released a photograph of the gear the Swiss Alpine Club members brought to Scotland.

The spokesperson added: “On behalf of the families and friends we have been asked to pass on their gratitude for all the assistance and kindness they have received from all the people who have been involved in the incident.”

Four members of the Swiss club were avalanched in Number Five Gully on the North Face on 12 March. Two French nationals, aged 32 and 41 died on the mountain and a 43-year-old Swiss man also losing his life. A 30-year-old Swiss climber was airlifted to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.