Climbers caused a record number of avalanches in Scotland last winter, new figures show.

There were 205 avalanches between December 2015 and April 2016.

Forty-six were caused by people, the highest number since the Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) began reporting in 2009.

Three climbers were killed by human-triggered avalanches in less than a week in February.

Rachel Slater, 24, and Tim Newton, 27, died on Ben Nevis on February 13, while Dave Bankart was caught in an avalanche on Creag Meagaidh on February 17.

In its latest report, the SAIS said: "The total number of avalanche occurrences recorded the winter of 2015/16 was 205.

"Of this number, 159 were natural or cornice-released and 46 were incidents triggered by people.

"Some avalanche occurrences were minor, in that small releases occurred, but others were more significant and resulted in people being carried down by the avalanche.

"Three fatalities occurred following avalanche involvement and two other fatalities may have been attributed to avalanche activity but no conclusive evidence is available."

A total of 109 climbers were caught up in avalanches last winter, with 21 people carried down mountains by snow travelling at speeds of up to 80mph.