MOUNTAIN rescue groups have resumed looking for lacking Brit hiker Esther Dingley as her devastated boyfriend continues to scour the Pyrenees in his personal effort to seek out her.
Specialist officers have been capable of comb the 8,796ft Pico Salvaguardia summit the place the Oxford graduate final made contact with associate Dan Colegate round 4pm on November 22.
Sergeant Jorge Lopez Ramos, whose Greim elite mountain search and rescue staff led the eight-day seek for Esther final yr, mentioned snow on the north face of the height on the French facet of the border meant work there needed to wait nonetheless.
He additionally mentioned officers had been relying on the potential of info from the hikers who throng the Pyrenees within the peak months of July and August in the event that they discovered nothing earlier.
Civil Guard officers who’ve been engaged on the bottom shall be supported by a helicopter from mid-June which have a everlasting base within the city of Benasque the place Esther had been stayed earlier than vanishing.
A Spanish courtroom probe opened after the Durham-born 37-year-old went lacking stays open.
Mr Lopez Ramos mentioned: “We’ve got spent a while going into the mountains and seeing what the snow is like and taking a look at locations the place we predict Esther may have had an accident.
“A helicopter has been aiding officers on the bottom however we haven’t discovered something.
“The south face of the Pico Salvaguardia can now be hiked to the summit with none downside. That’s one of many locations we’ve regarded as a result of that’s the place we all know Esther made her final contact together with her boyfriend.
“There’s nonetheless snow on the north facet close to the summit on what can be the French facet so nothing may be dominated on the market for the second.
“The snow there may take a month to soften nevertheless it’s unimaginable to provide a exact date.”
He added: “Our busiest interval of the yr when we now have to hold out most rescues is about to start and we gained’t be capable of seek for Esther systematically like we did at first.
“However we’ll have a helicopter once more right here from June 19 and we’ll use it to rule out areas.
“The summer season is the almost definitely time of the yr after we’ll get info that might assist us as a result of that’s when most individuals are strolling within the mountains.”
Police and mountain rescue groups mentioned Dan and Esther’s mom Ria had each been within the space not too long ago to debate the continued hunt for Esther and to look themselves.