A group of nine walkers had to be helped off Crib Goch by mountain rescue teams yesterday evening, after they'd bitten off more than they could chew in poor weather.

The party from Southport had been part of a group of 17. The rest got down under their own steam, but nine were left stuck on the summit.

A SAR helicopter attended the scene in the afternoon, but was unable to reach the party due to lowering cloud and deteriorating weather. Members of Llanberis MRT and Aberglaslyn MRT turned out in very heavy rain, and rigged safety ropes to help the nine stranded walkers down.

Phil Benbow from the Llanberis team told the BBC: 'Thirteen were inexperienced walkers.'

'They felt Crib Goch would be a challenge for them and it was certainly more than that. It was absolutely the wrong choice.'

Meanwhile elsewhere on the mountain two teenagers were helped by a member of the public, having got separated from their school group at the top of Snowdon.

'They were prepared for a nice summer day' said Phil Benbow.

'Both jobs were unnecessary with pre-planning and thought. Our message to people is think about what you are going to do.'

It's been reported that the party of nine were on a charity challenge. If so this might tend to vindicate recent warnings by the Snowdonia MountainSafe Partnership for such groups to be better prepared (see UKH news here).