Woman, 28, fell 65ft to her death after 'slipping' from mountain ledge on scrambling expedition with friends
7 March 2025, 10:18
A woman fell 65ft to her death when her heel slipped from a ledge during a scrambling expedition with friends in Snowdonia, an inquest has heard.
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Maria Eftimova, 28, suffered fatal injuries on 22 February after falling from Tryfan Mountain in the Ogwen Valley.
Coroner Kate Roberston stated that despite rescue crews and paramedics attending the scene, Ms Eftimova died before she could be taken to hospital.
The inquest in Caernarfon was told that Ms Eftimova, who lived in St Helens, Merseyside, had been trying to reach a ledge when she fell and suffered severe head injuries.
Kate Robertson, the senior coroner for northwest Wales, said: “She was trying to reach a ledge to get a grip on the handhold and has gone to lift herself up.
“Her heel has slipped and she’s fallen from the ledge and it appears she’s fallen some distance.”
Friends said that Ms Eftimova, a structural engineer who was born in Bulgaria, was “ambitious, bright and cherished”.
She is said to have enjoyed climbing, snowboarding, surfing, walking in the mountains and ice climbing.
A friend who performed CPR on Eftimova posted a video of the group of friends attempting a “Mexican wave” on Tryfan shortly before her death.
Nargesse El Haiba wrote: “I have finally been brave enough to look at our final footage together.
“This will have been roughly 30 minutes before your tragic accident and you taking your last breaths in front of me.
“I started CPR as soon as Flo and I got you safe, but heaven had already claimed you as their angel.
“I have grieved you and cried so much that I can’t cry any more … I will never take the mountains for granted again.”
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Tryfan is one of the highest mountains in Eryri National Park and is often described as a peak that marks the line between hiking and mountaineering.
It is difficult to navigate in a traditional way given it has no marked footpaths to the summit, meaning it requires the use of hands and scrambling skills to reach the top.
It was used as a training ground to test oxygen equipment and safety techniques before the first successful climb of Everest, in 1953.
A fundraising appeal has collected more than £19,000 to help Ms Eftimova’s family in Bulgaria repatriate her body and give her a funeral.
Victoria Critchley, the fundraising organiser, said Ms Eftimova was an “ambitious, bright and cherished” woman “whose vibrant personality, energy and aura touched and uplifted all around her”.
She said that her friend “had a passion for engineering and a love for extreme sports”, adding: “Her biggest passion was snowboarding, which she was super excited for and looking forward to doing again on her upcoming trip to Austria. She had an insatiable thirst for life and exploring our world’s beauty.”
She said that Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue “did everything within their powers to save Maria” and her friends would be raising money for it.
