A woman whose body was found after a fall on a 3,284ft Snowdonia peak had a very high level of amphetamine in her blood, an inquest heard on Thursday.

Claire Patricia Beer, aged 43, of Midland Place, Llansamlet, Swansea, unemployed at the time of her death last May, had been by herself on Glyder Fawr when she died.

A pathologist agreed with North West Wales senior coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones at Caernarfon that Mrs Beer may have been using the drug as a stimulant “for better performance.”

Mr Pritchard Jones said she had gone scrambling on her own. “This carries the risk if anything goes wrong, there’s nobody there to assist and summon help.”

The coroner said she fell in the area of Seniors Ridge. “Exactly what the cause of the fall was we can’t really say,” he explained.

A coastguard helicopter from Caernarfon found her.

Mr Pritchard Jones said he was inclined to find her head injury was due to a fall from a height. But he said :”What I can’t ignore is the toxicology. Amphetamine was found in Mrs Beer’s blood at an extremely high level and, in itself, could have explained the haemorrhage in the brain.”

The coroner declared: "I am concerned not just with the high level of amphetamine, that amphetamine was used by Mrs Beer and the possibility other people may be using it as well.

“Amphetamine has the street name of ‘speed’ which says what the effect of this drug is.

“It would have increased her performance and ability here to do more than she would normally have. But it brings about a degree of recklessness and a reduced awareness of risks.

“My message is amphetamine may improve your performance but also makes it a lot more likely you will suffer an accident which could cause your death.”

He recorded a conclusion of accidental death.

John Hulse, of the Ogwen Valley mountain rescue team, said it appeared Mrs Beer had lost the scramble route. He said it was “quite rare” to see people in the area where she was found.

Mr Hulse said :”I am really surprised to hear the toxicology. In my experience people in these sports take mental accuracy extremely carefully because these are challenging areas. We have to be focussed on risk.”

Peter Goldsmith, a mountaineering instructor, told the inquest that Mrs Beer was “one of the most enthusiastic students” he had come across in terms of her desire to progress. But she was “wanting to climb before she could walk” and hadn’t taken a route he had suggested.

He said a “problem” had been that she was heavily reliant on digital mapping on her mobile phone and would run out of battery. She’d sent him a screenshot of her map position close to where she died but only had five per cent battery power.

“The last message she said “I am only 500 metres from the summit’.”

He alerted mountain rescuers when she failed to meet him later to drive her back to Betws y Coed.