A man who had planned to propose to his girlfriend at the peak of Mount Snowdon lost the ring while making a rapid descent when the weather turned ugly.
Atick Miah, 47, from Attleborough, Norfolk, travelled five hours to climb the UK's highest peak and pop the big question to his girlfriend of eight years Tiana Mia, 36.
Tiana was completely unaware her boyfriend was carrying a white gold engagement ring - picked with the help of her three children - when they started their ascent on Valentine's Day, DailyPost reports.
He planned to propose when they reached the summit, but as they neared the peak the wind started to howl and Atick's plan unravelled.
Fearing the treacherous conditions ahead, Atick scrambled to make a rapid descent and get off the mountain.
But as he did, his backpack - with the £500 ring inside - snapped off.
The couple is now appealing to climbers and walkers to keep an eye out for the ring and is offering a small reward.
Until it’s found - which Atick admits is a long shot – the question he wanted to ask will be left hanging in the air.
“I still don’t know whether she’ll say yes or no,” sighed Atick, 47, who, like Tiana, is a personal trainer.
The couple set off up the Pyg Track from Pen y Pass car park at 2.30pm on Monday, having travelled five hours from Attleborough, Norfolk.
As they neared the summit, Atick began to tire and took shelter under a rock face.
Tiana pressed on, promising to return once she had reached the peak.
But following a misunderstanding with climbers on the way down, Atick began his own ascent to the summit.
He said: "By now the wind was blowing so much I could hardly stand.
“The light had gone and I couldn’t see anything, even with a torch.
“I had a signal on my phone, so I called Tiana. She said she would come to me, sliding on her bum down the steps as she couldn’t stand up.
“But she rang back saying the wind was too strong, it was too dangerous and she’d have to find another route down.”
They agreed to meet at Glaslyn, the lake they'd passed on the way up.
But Atick was soon lost - left floundering in pitch darkness in howling winds amid snow-capped rocks.
He slid down the mountain on his backside, not quite knowing where he was going.
At one point he fell down a small waterfall, landing in waist-high water.
His backpack straps snapped and, while Atick quickly retrieved the bag, he thinks this is where the engagement ring was lost.
Cold, wet and fearing the worst, he kept slipping and sliding downhill.
“I followed the line of the waterfall, thinking it must lead somewhere,” he said.
“I was sliding, slipping, falling down. I realised no one would find me.
“I knew I had to keep going. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Reaching a cliff, he followed its edge until, to his relief, he picked out a path. But he had no idea where it led.
“I was wet through, shaking with the cold. I tied a scarf over my head to keep warm,” he said.
“I ached all over and, when I tried to rest, I began cramping badly. I had nothing more to give.”
Miraculously, he saw a torch beam in the blackness and as it drew closer, Atick realised it was Tiana.
She had followed the Snowdon Mountain Railway track down the mountain to Llanberis, from where she took a taxi back up to Pen y Pass.
Worried for Atick, Tiana had struck out alone back up the mountain, walking around 25 minutes before she found him at around 9pm.
After helping Atick back down to Pen y Pass, she took him to hospital where he was diagnosed with hyperthermia and given cocodemol to ease his aches.
He added: "After four or five hours the pain became more manageable.
“My hands are still swollen from sliding down the mountain, but I’m feeling stronger now.
“Back at the hotel, there was a sense of relief – but also sadness that I never got the chance to ask the question.”
He confessed his plans to Tiana, who launched an appeal for the missing ring on Facebook ’s Snowdonia forums.
She wrote: “My partner was carrying a secret little yellow and black package, that fell out somewhere on the steepest part of the track, which contained a very special (chosen by my kids) engagement ring.
“The ring has very sentimental value and reward will be rewarded if by any chance anyone comes across it.”
Facebook users were sympathetic but not overly optimistic. “You lost it in that maze of big rocks?” said one person.
Another said: “Oh bless! I hope it’s found! You’ve got the only ring you need! The ring of love.”
The white gold ring has a blue sapphire set among small diamonds. It was in a black jewellery box contained within a Goldsmiths black-and-yellow paper gift bag, tied with a black ribbon.
