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A helicopter crew have made a dramatic rescue in heavy sleet and darkness to save two men trapped on a mountainside. The RAF team made five attempts to land and pick up the climbers, who were sheltering by a cairn on Gribin ridge in Snowdonia at 2000 GMT on Saturday. Rescuers were heading to them on foot when a break in the weather allowed the helicopter to pick up the London pair. They were well-equipped, but teams said they set off too late, leading to the third helicopter rescue of the day. A campaign called MountainSafe was launched last week urging walkers to make sure they are properly dressed and equipped before setting out, especially over the holiday season. Shortly afterwards there was criticism of two sets of walkers who had to be rescued after trying to climb Snowdon in poor weather while wearing tracksuits and trainers. The latest rescues saw the two men ringing for help on a mobile phone on the evening of Boxing Day. Chris Lloyd, of Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team, said the pair, both in their 20s, had chosen to climb a snow-filled gully on Glyder Fawr. He said they had good equipment but lacked experience and had set off too late, at about lunchtime. He said: "By the time they had completed the gully, they were in cloud and darkness and were wandering around in circles." By this time, weather conditions were said to be "atrocious," with heavy sleet, strong winds and low cloud. The men found a cairn on the Gribin ridge and called for help. Sqd Ldr Glenn Holmes, who was on board the 22 Squadron Sea King helicopter as it tried to land alongside the men, said: "It was awful. "We made five or six attempts to get into where they were. Each time we would find the cloud base was too low and the winds too rough. We would fly away for five or 10 minutes. "Eventually we called in the rescue team. They were about a mile way from them when we found a big enough window to scoot in and grab the people. "The cloud came down and engulfed us. We had to fly into the cloud, up and out to a safe level away from the mountains." The men were dropped at the Ogwen Valley team's headquarters and the helicopter returned to pick up the rescue team. Mr Lloyd said the climbers were grateful for the rescue. He said: "They possibly bit off more than they could chew. "They shouldn't have set off as late as they did. They should have set off much earlier, especially when weather conditions were known to be deteriorating. "They were advised of the error of their ways by the team leader but it's all part of the learning curve. You have to start somewhere." The alert was the 128th time the Ogwen Valley team was called out this year, twice the number of call-outs in 2008. A couple of hours before this rescue, the RAF helicopter picked up a 46-year-old man from Cambridgeshire who found himself on the Devils Kitchen above the Ogwen Valley, without a torch. Two women, one aged 50 and her 21-year-old daughter, both from Oxfordshire, were airlifted after becoming stuck about 1,500 ft (457m) up Carnedd Dafydd, a peak above the Ogwen Valley, on Saturday afternoon. The Ogwen Valley team also took in a dog which they believe is a hound separated from a local hunt.