A tragic climber who died on Snowdon while training for Ironman endurance races had recently become a father to a baby boy named after the brother who perished alongside him.

On Monday night the victims of the horrific freak mountaineering accident were named locally as "smashing lads" Christopher McCallion, 29, and his older brother James, 35, both of Bristol.

They died after slipping and falling up to 300m from an accident blackspot at a craggy area on the mountain's west side, Clogwyn Coch, at the weekend.

Devastated relatives said the double tragedy had left the family reeling and both brothers' wives were being comforted by friends and family.

Christopher's father-in-law John Cox, 70, of Severn Beach, in South Gloucestershire, said: "They're both in tears and utterly devastated. I'm keeping them under my wing and we're doing all we can to look after them at this tragic time.

"The family are all gathering here and we're having a family meeting. We're a very close family and friends have been very kind with their support.

"Chris and James were two smashing lads and let's hope something can be learned from this tragedy when we find out what happened."

The brothers' parents were yesterday travelling to North Wales for the grim process of identifying their sons.

Their bodies were taken to Bangor Hospital.

Mr Cox quashed reports the brothers were ill-equipped for the expedition: "They checked the weather conditions before they set off, but they were both very experienced climbers and sensible lads so we had no reason to worry.

"They were well-equipped with everything they needed and we had no fears that something like this could happen – it's a complete shock."

The men fell in an accident black spot

He said the McCallions were due back from the trip early on Sunday evening, but when they hadn't arrived by 9pm, their wives raised the alarm.

He said: "They drove up in their car and the first we heard was that they found two bodies on Monday.

"There were two other brothers and two friends who had to identify the bodies early yesterday morning and then tell us.

"We've been given all the information second hand from friends who were up on site there and relayed the information back to us."

Full-time triathlete Chris and his wife Katie-Ann, of Severn Beach, had become parents for the first time in September, following the birth of four-month-old son James Jr.

The brothers had embarked on a climbing trip to the highest peak in Wales on Friday, but became stranded as foul weather conditions and blizzards battered the mountain over the weekend. It is not known how long they lay dead before being found by a crew involving two mountain rescue teams and the RAF, nor if the snow fall overnight caused the accident.

A search party was launched at first light and finally located their bodies on Monday huddled next to each other as they battled to survive the "horrendous" conditions on the mountain side, which saw winds travelling at up to 80mph.

Yesterday Chris's widow Katie, was "too distraught" to comment.

Chris had recovered from a leg injury and was training alongside James to take part in marathons and the UK Ironman Triathlon later this year.

Locals said the conditions on Snowdon had been "horrendous".

Gwilym Parry, of Llanberis Tourist Information, said: "The conditions are horrendous up there at the minute and anybody going up there will need climbing axes and knives.

"Over the weekend it was horrendous and I would never have advised anybody to have gone up there.

"In all my life I've never known the wind and snow to whip like it has been over the last few days, so it would have been freezing up there."

Ian Henderson, secretary of Llanberis Mountain Rescue team, said: "This morning and overnight we have had strong winds from the east and a substantial snowfall so in the early part of the operation visibility was very poor.

"About 10.30am on Monday the weather cleared and enabled an RAF helicopter to come and lift the bodies off.

"The men fell in what is considered to be a known accident black spot because of the snow and ice forming across the slope.

"Strong winds gather speed and around that part there's a substantial craggy area.

"This is a great tragedy and our condolences go to the family."

He warned climbers without vast experience and the right equipment not to venture on to the mountain in the current conditions.

"If people are at all unsure they should stay away. More heavy snow is forecast on the mountain."

He added there was a risk of avalanche on the mountain's west side because of a vicious easterly wind.