Caver rescued from one of Scotland's most complex underground mazes
Mountain rescue volunteers helped the caver to safety
A caver has been rescued from one of the most “complex subterranean mazes” in Scotland.
The alarm was raised after the man became stuck in the Allt nan Uamh Stream Cave in Assynt, Sutherland.
Police were called after the experience caver was unable to get to the surface, with Assynt Mountain Rescue Team then deployed to evacuate the man.
The mountain rescue team said that the call was of “immediate concern” given the nature of the underground environment and the” potentially complex and time consuming operation” likely required.
A spokesman said: “It was therefore something of a relief to find out that the individual who was stuck was well equipped and uninjured.
“There are a large number of caves in the Assynt area and it is for this reason our volunteers train in cave rescue techniques.”
As volunteers arrived, they by chance met a member of the Scottish Cave Rescue Organisation, who was at Allt nan Uamh for an afternoon of caving.
The spokesman added: “Collaboratively a plan to rescue the stuck caver was hatched, and with the use of a flexible ladder and simple rope system the individual was safely extracted from within the cave system.”
Assynt Mountain Rescue Team warned that caving in Scotland required specialised preparation due to the cold, wet and often remote conditions.
A spokesman said that people should never go caving alone, but ideally with at least two others.
The Scottish Cave and Mine Database described Allt nan Uamh Stream Cave as “probably the best known sporting non-tourist cave in Scotland”.
The record added: “This cave packs into a a small area probably the most complex subterranean maze in Scotland.
“While it has been well-surveyed and explored, it is certain that much still remains to be discovered. Extensive areas of larger passage with a network of side passages provide more strenuous caving without any real chance of getting totally lost. “
The Inchnadamph area's system of caves was formed 200,000 years ago before the landscape was changed by the last ice age, which ended about 15,000 years ago.
The stream cave sits close to Bone Cave, where evidence of Arctic animals - including the bone of a polar bear - have been found. Traces that the cave, which sits high up in a limestone clifee, was used by hunters around 8,000 years ago.
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