AN ‘EXCEPTIONAL and very special young man’ from Wigton tragically died after accidentally falling into a gorge while hiking in the Scottish highlands during a storm, an inquest has heard.

Richard Armstrong, 42, of Kirkland Meadows, was taking part in a two-day winter skills course in Glen Nevis, near Fort William, when he lost his footing and plunged around 30 metres into a gorge, suffering catastrophic head and chest injuries ‘incompatible with life’.

The incident occurred on day two of the course at around 1pm on Sunday, February 16, 2020, while Storm Dennis battered much of the UK, though mainly the south and west.

Mr Armstrong, an industrial chemist, was one of two participants led by experienced mountaineering instructor, David Buckett, who on the day in question, was taking the group up Stob Ban.

The inquest heard that the group were at around 992 metres high, nearing the end of their ascent, and traversing a stretch of snow-covered path with a steep slope to the right of around 30 metres, with a vertical drop beneath.

The hikers had donned crampons around 15-20 minutes earlier, according to Mr Buckett.

It was the first time that Mr Armstrong had walked in crampons, so Mr Buckett led the way, so the pair could follow in his footsteps.

He said that he paused to turn around to check on the group, and witnessed Mr Armstrong ‘overbalance’ and plunge head-first down the slope and disappear over the edge.

He said despite shouting at Mr Armstrong to ‘get your axe in’, he made no effort to stop himself.

During a three-hour questioning by chief coroner for Cumbria Ms Kirsty Gomersal, Mr Buckett said: “That’s one of the biggest elements that I’ve tried to answer the question in my head, and I’ll never come to an answer.

“He was looking up the slope, but there was no attempt to do anything at all. 

“I felt, from a selfish point of view, if he had done something to get his axe into the snow, that might have slowed him down enough.”

19 members of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team battled extreme conditions to recover Mr Armstrong, who was declared dead at 6.30pm.

Mr Buckett said that Mr Armstrong had been on a number of walks in the Lake District, on the Wainwrights over several years, and wanted to start walking in the Munros, and was restricted by the winter months.

He wanted to ‘extend his walking calendar’.

Mr Buckett stated that he checked the weather forecasts in detail, and that while he was aware that Storm Dennis was affecting much of the UK, the conditions were ‘not significantly different to a normal Scottish winter’.

He stated that the forecast was wet all day Saturday with around 50mph winds at 900m altitude.

Mr Buckett said the group drove to Glencoe late Saturday morning after ensuring everyone had the correct kit and provisions.

He said he had no concerns about Mr Armstrong’s competence or fitness on Saturday, and that he had ‘good footwork’.

Mr Buckett taught the ‘ice-axe arrest’ skill to the group, a method of braking using an ice axe if one is sliding down a snow-slope.

Health and Safety Executive report

A report was submitted to the court by Mr Birkitt from the Health and Safety Executive to assist Ms Gomersal to reach a conclusion.

One of the two main concerns that Mr Birkitt had raised about the course is that Mr Buckett did not teach the pair how to perform a head-first ice axe arrest, but that even if he had known how to do this, he would probably not have been able to stop himself in time.

Mr Buckett said that the snow was ‘too wet and slushy’ to realistically practice or teach the skill, something that the Association of Mountaineering Instructors concurred with in a submission to Mr Birkitt’s investigation.

Another concern was that there were alternative routes that could have provided greater security given the conditions.

Mr Buckett said that these alternatives would either have been too exposed to high winds, or would have meant having to cross rivers, which would be too hazardous as they were swollen at the time.

He judged that the location of the valley leading up Stob Ban afforded greater shelter and did not include any river crossings.

Mr Buckett stated that Mr Armstrong did not seem to be struggling at any point on the Sunday, and stated that he ‘liked’ wearing the crampons, immediately prior to the incident.

He stated that he had no concerns about traversing this section as it was a ‘simple section’, was relatively flat and smooth, and they had already tackled ‘much trickier’ sections previously.

'It appears he merely overbalanced'

Ms Gomersal concluded: “Mr Buckett had done a dynamic risk assessment, and his choice of route was determined by some shelter from the wind. 

“The selection of the valley was in the main, a reasonable choice.  

“No mountain walk is ever free of risk, especially in winter. 

“Mr Buckett is an experienced hill walker with a number of qualifications.  

“He had been leading courses for six to eight years at the time of Richard’s death. 

“Richard had recently rested and had eaten. He had not passed out in the past and there was no gust of wind to blow him over. 

“There were no equipment issues based on the evidence and the postmortem revealed no medical incident that could have caused Richard to slip.

“Based on the evidence, it appears Richard merely overbalanced. 

“In my judgement, there is no evidence that anything Mr Buckett did or didn’t do meets the threshold of being more than minimally contributive to Richard’s incident.” 

Ms Gomersal passed a medical cause of death of head and chest injuries caused while hill walking.

'I am proud of him having been my son'

In a statement submitted by his mother, Joan Armstrong, she revealed that Cockermouth School has an annual award in memory of Mr Armstrong, for the student who has excelled the most in chemistry – an award which she is invited to the school to present. 

She said: “Although Richard was a modest person, I think he would be honoured that he is remembered at the school.” 

A statement submitted by his father, Charles Armstrong, said: “He displayed personal qualities of conscientiousness, dedication, determination, and ambition, together with a concern for other people.  

“He had many and varied interests, including travel, politics, green issues, reading, enjoyment of the countryside, hill-walking, and DIY.  

“Richard’s premature passing is very sad, as I’m sure he would have had many good, rewarding years to come.  

“I am proud of him having been my son.”