Woman fell to death while scrambling up mountain

Maria Eftimova, 28, from Bulgaria, died after falling while ascending Tryfan mountain on February 22

A 28-year-old woman fell to her death trying to pull herself up on to a ledge while scrambling up a mountain, an inquest has concluded.

Maria Rosanova Eftimova, a structural civil engineer, was scrambling on Tryfan in Eryri, also known as Snowdonia, on 22 February, when she died.

Ms Eftimova, from St Helens in Merseyside, fell about 65ft (20m) while ascending the 3,010 ft (918m) mountain and died by accident, the inquest in Caernarfon heard.

Friends have described her as a young woman whose "vibrant personality, energy and aura touched and uplifted all around her".

The inquest was told Ms Eftimova had set off Saturday morning at about 09:00 GMT as part of a group of about 18 people who had organised the trip.

They were heading to the north ridge of Tryfan on a trail with no marked footpaths and requires scrambling to reach the summit.

The group split into two just over half way up the mountain with most people taking an easier route.

Six or seven people, including Ms Eftimova, chose a harder route up the north face of the mountain.

Harry Jones, who was at the back of the group immediately behind her, described how she struggled to get a hand hold while trying to climb onto a ledge above.

"She started to pull herself up," he said in a statement, "but then I saw her flying over the top of my head down the mountainside".

Another member of the group, Neil Oakes, said he "saw Maria tumbling through the air below me in free fall".

"I was shouting 'no, no, no', and looked away.  When I looked back, I knew she'd hit a ledge below."

Maria Eftimova (second from left) was a keen mountaineer and snowboarder

Mountain rescue crews arrived quickly, but Ms Eftimova had died before she could be taken off the mountain.

A post-mortem examination showed she died from severe head injuries including a fractured skull.

Tributes from her father Rosen Eftimov described how she was born in Bulgaria but travelled to the UK for her university studies.

She worked for Costain as a civil engineer and became a British citizen in 2024.

Ms Eftimova was an experienced mountain climber, a keen snowboarder and had completed a glacier climbing course in Norway.

Her friend Victoria Critchley paid tribute to her earlier this year saying Ms Eftimova was "ambitious, bright and cherished, whose vibrant personality, energy and aura touched and uplifted all around her".

Coroner Kate Robertson recorded a conclusion of accidental death at the inquest in Caernarfon.

She also sent her condolences to Ms Eftimova's family and friends saying they had lost a "bright and conscientious young woman."