Sheriff makes no recommendations following inquiry into deaths of instructor and two climbers in Glencoe

About this case:

• Citation:
  [2026] FAI 1
• Judgment:
  External link
• Court:
  Sheriff Court
• Judge:
  Sheriff Neil Wilson

David Fowler, Graham Cox, and Hazel Crombie all died on 5 August 2023 on the Aonach Eagach ridge, Glencoe, after they fell from height while roped together. An inquiry was required to be held into Mr Fowler’s death as he died in the course of his employment at West Coast Mountain Guides, a company he owned.

The inquiry was conducted by Sheriff Neil Wilson at Fort William Sheriff Court. Representatives appeared for the Crown, the British Mountain Guides, the Association of Mountaineering Instructors, and Mr Cox’s widow Collette Cox.

Slip could be fatal

On 5 August 2023, Mr Fowler, aged 39, agreed to meet Mr Cox, 60, and Mrs Crombie, 64, for a pre-booked excursion to traverse the length of the Aonach Eagach ridge from east to west. When Mr Fowler failed to return, the emergency services were alerted. Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team found the three deceased at approximately 2am the following day, still roped together, on the north side of the ridge below a point just west of the summit of Am Bodach.

The Aonach Eagach ridge was described by the West Coast Mountain Guides website as “possibly the most famous ridge challenge in mainland Britain” and described in the Scottish Mountaineering Club Guidebook as not being a particularly technical climb. However, the guidebook noted there were “long sections where a simple slip could be fatal”. Evidence was led from two expert witnesses, Ian Peter and Shaun Roberts, who said that the stated level of experience from both clients would not have given them any concerns prior to taking them along the ridge.

Both expert witnesses could find no fault with the equipment used by Mr Fowler and provided by him to Mr Cox and Mrs Crombie. While Mr Roberts stated he would have expected a higher quality of footwear than the general outdoor shoes worn by both clients, he said he would not have refused to take them along the ridge as a result. The weather that day was reported as light rain and variable light to moderate winds, which did not give the experts any concerns as to the advisability of the planned route.

Three possibilities were presented as likely to have caused the accident, all involving one of the parties falling and thus dislodging the others they were roped to. The Crown submitted that the accident was not an outcome that resulted from want of reasonable precautions, but served to reinforce the immutable fact that the inherent risks of mountaineering, however mitigated, could never be entirely eliminated.

Finite number of scenarios

In his determination, Sheriff Wilson noted that it would never be possible to say exactly what happened to the deceased on that day, saying: “Whilst seeking to decide upon the cause of the accident may involve a degree of conjecture, it does not follow that the possible causes are necessarily infinite. The Inquiry heard evidence from the two expert witnesses, both very experienced mountaineers, that there were three likely causes of the accident. All of these scenarios, it was agreed, could well lead to the other two members of the party being dislodged and all three thereafter falling.”

He continued: “In addition, variations of all three scenarios could have arisen if the party decided to retrace their route back up the steep section having successfully descended it. The logical and inevitable result of the finite number of scenarios presented by the experts is that, in terms of section 26(2)(d), the likely cause of the accident resulting in the deaths of David Iain Fowler, Graham Cox and Hazel Crombie was a slip or fall by one of the deceased, resulting in the others being dislodged and all three falling whilst roped together.”

Explaining why it was appropriate to make no findings under section 26(2)(e) and (f), Sheriff Wilson said: “In light of the evidence of both expert witnesses, I accepted that short pitching would have been the appropriate safety system to use for the tricky descent. There was clear and undisputed evidence that Mr Fowler was an experienced and competent guide who had taken clients along the Aonach Eagach ridge many times. I therefore felt it safe to assume that he knew the route well. Taking these factors together, whilst it would be conjecture to state that Mr Fowler did deploy short pitching as a safety measure on the tricky descent, I nonetheless was able to reach the conclusion that in all probability he did so.”

Drawing on his own experience as a member of a Mountain Rescue Team, the sheriff concluded: “When Mr Roberts, in his report, stated; ‘I believe this incident represents the most significant of its kind on UK mountains’, I have no reason to doubt him. However, I am well aware of the long tradition of unregulated and unguided access to the Scottish hills. The issues raised in this Inquiry are of significance to those offering mountain guiding services, but are not addressed to those who, independently and unguided, take to the hills of Scotland.”

The sheriff thereafter concluded the inquiry by offering condolences to the families of the deceased and offering thanks to the members of Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team for their efforts.