A 20-year-old medicine student plunged over 500 feet to his death after becoming lost on Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in May, an inquest has heard. John Aravinth, from Horsham, West Sussex, was climbing the summit with his family when wind speeds reached 78mph, creating 'beyond atrocious' conditions.
The inquest in Caernarfon heard that Mr Aravinth's father and sister turned back due to dangerous weather, but the Edinburgh University student continued alone, confident he could reach the summit. Two hours later, he phoned his father saying he was lost, and made two dropped 999 calls. He was described as 'distressed' and requested mountain rescue.
Despite police attempts to contact him, there was no response. His body was later found by a coastguard helicopter crew at Cwm Glas, having fallen more than 150 metres. The inquest heard Mr Aravinth was 'extremely short-sighted' and had vision problems due to his glasses misting up.
Senior coroner Kate Robertson said it was likely he became disorientated and fell due to strong winds or loss of footing in treacherous weather. She added: 'John was clearly exceptionally bright. The world will be a poorer place without him.'
