Hill walking stupidity

[Old Stab]

Correction. Rescued from the sea but both reported dead this morning.

It was on Radio 2 this afternoon.
20 year old lass and a man in his 40's.

 

[Ortholith]

Which is roughly what you need for the UK military Mountain Leader Training (equivalent to the old Unit Expedition Leader). Another 20 QMDs plus 5 days assessment gets you Summer Mountain Leader. Register with BMC and get the first aid trg done to get the civilian equivalent.

If the staff were going for their Summer ML I'd be fine with that. This is for staff to go for a bit of a stroll on marked footpaths for a couple of days and maybe do an overnight camp in a proper campsite with indoor bogs and running hot water. Anything remotely 'wild country' is outside the remit of that award and they would need to do the same thing over again for an HML or ML qual.

It's not an attendance guarantees a pass course either, last navigation assessment I heard about 2 out of 5 failed. The ones from my school didn't but that might have been because I gave up a dozen or so days of my time to help the trainees practice their skills.

I would have thought that, if the Head wants to offer DofE as part of the curriculum, the school would invest in having properly-trained staff and give them the time as personal professional development. The alternative is to use professional outdoor activity instructors and bill the parents. It is wrong to rely on the kindness of others to cover a failure to invest, especially where there is risk involved.

I had to give a funny for that.

The issue with hiring in an outside company (AAP is the fashionable term) is the cost to the kids instantly at least doubles.

 

[TamH70]

Im with Drone Search and Rescue for lost dogs UK we're one of the biggest volunteer drone SAR groups in the UK I use my Mavic 2 zoom and also the groups Mavic dual thermal drone this is where we have drone pilots
based (over 1000 in total) we also have over 2000 ground searchers as well
View attachment 517051

Well, your mob has certainly been busy. Good drills, that man!

 

[bill4725]

Well, your mob has certainly been busy. Good drills, that man!

this is from my last search it was a three hour drone and ground op had to call it off due to the weather closing in but its a reasonable representation of most of my searches in these parts, and then I got stuck in the local lockdown and couldn't return but it ended well the dog was found 3 weeks later 4 miles away not any worse for his little adventure

 

[Richard Headicus]

this is from my last search it was a three hour drone and ground op had to call it off due to the weather closing in but its a reasonable representation of most of my searches in these parts, and then I got stuck in the local lockdown and couldn't return but it ended well the dog was found 3 weeks later 4 miles away looking shagged shattered after his little adventure

Probably stuck with a bitch.

 

[Mr Tweedy]

I actually live in Llanfairfechan the back leads to the Ogwen valley if you walk far enough so I have been up there a few times coming from Ogwen way but as you said its not really an attraction to many from this side so never had to go up there on a shout as of yet

I love the Carnedds. Mostly because, as you say, it's not as attractive to the weekend crowd as the often overloaded, more famous bits of Snowdonia. Some real solitude to be had North of the Ogwen Valley, but can be daunting in fog or bad weather, and challenging navigation (another reason to like it!).

 

[Signalman]

I love the Carnedds. Mostly because, as you say, it's not as attractive to the weekend crowd as the often overloaded, more famous bits of Snowdonia. Some real solitude to be had North of the Ogwen Valley, but can be daunting in fog or bad weather, and challenging navigation (another reason to like it!).

That's just reminded me of a bit of mountain stupidity from 25 years ago... We were on Bera Bach, making our way up the spur from Bethesda to Carnedd Uchaf, It was May Bank Holiday weekend and the weather was still cold, with a stiff northerly wind that brought sudden 'pea-soupers' as cloud formed on the coast and then tried to climb up the mountains, which meant it would go from clear to pea-soup (and back again) in seconds. So it was a fun day and challenging in the intermittent pea-soupers.

As you say, the Grockles are sparse over there, even on a bank holiday, but we met one couple blundering about in a pea-souper and looking very confused. Not having a map was probably contributing to their confusion... They spotted us and asked if we could 'show them the path to the top of Snowdon'...

F*** me...

Being a helpful sort, I pointed back down the ridge to Bethesda and said "Snowdon's down there." So thanking me, they toddled off happy...

I often wonder if they spent the rest of the day wandering around Bethesda, asking where the peak was.

 

[Fang_Farrier]

'When it's brutal in the Cairngorms, it can kill you'

Willie Anderson looks back on 40 years as a mountain rescuer in some of Scotland's toughest terrain.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Old Stab]

Up on the Beacons yesterday and it was less than hospitable. A few blokes in their mid twenties coming down off Pen Y Fan wearing Bergans with orange panels on the top and looking knackered. (No guesses as to what They were doing).
Got up as far as Scotch Corner on Sennybridge ranges and decided to turn around, visibility was down to about 15 feet and there were lads tabbing along the road, discretion being the better part of valour, I didn't fancy running someone down driving in the fog.
The A470 going up to the Storey Arms was Interesting ", clear one moment, thick fog the next. You could see the fog rolling up the valley and obscuring the road.

 

[CaptainRidiculous]

Up on the Beacons yesterday and it was less than hospitable. A few blokes in their mid twenties coming down off Pen Y Fan wearing Bergans with orange panels on the top and looking knackered. (No guesses as to what They were doing).

Celebrating King Billy's victory at Boyne?

 

[AsterixTG]

Up on the Beacons yesterday and it was less than hospitable. A few blokes in their mid twenties coming down off Pen Y Fan wearing Bergans with orange panels on the top and looking knackered. (No guesses as to what They were doing).
Got up as far as Scotch Corner on Sennybridge ranges and decided to turn around, visibility was down to about 15 feet and there were lads tabbing along the road, discretion being the better part of valour, I didn't fancy running someone down driving in the fog.
The A470 going up to the Storey Arms was Interesting ", clear one moment, thick fog the next. You could see the fog rolling up the valley and obscuring the road.

It was stunning Friday morning. Temp inversion. Foggy in the valleys to the North, clear as anything after half way up.

Foggy here in libanus right now, off up shortly.

 

[Old Stab]

It was stunning Friday morning. Temp inversion. Foggy in the valleys to the North, clear as anything after half way up.

Foggy here in libanus right now, off up shortly.

Those houses are the top of Trevethin in Pontypool, the fog is the Usk valley. Normally you can see the Severn estuary right down to North Devon, it was like the landscape had been filled with cotton wool. Picture was taken on top of the British in between Abertillery and Garndiffaith.

 

[wheel]

Interesting read.

'When it's brutal in the Cairngorms, it can kill you'

Willie Anderson looks back on 40 years as a mountain rescuer in some of Scotland's toughest terrain.

www.bbc.co.uk

'When it's brutal in the Cairngorms, it can kill you'

Willie Anderson looks back on 40 years as a mountain rescuer in some of Scotland's toughest terrain.

www.bbc.co.uk

He can still vividly recall his first call-out following his probation.
It involved a military officer who had been night-time skiing on Braeriach, Britain's third highest mountain, and skied off the edge of the mountain into the Lairig Ghru pass.
Willie said: "We went out the next day to look for him.
"It was a beautiful day and there were two aircraft involved, which was unusual but was due to him being in the military.
"We eventually found him. It was the first time I had seen a dead person."

 

[wheel]

Police warning after record rise in mountain team rescues

Some of those rescued had not appreciated how quickly conditions can change in Scotland's hills.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[AsterixTG]

 

[CrabfatBILL]

Anyone see the Hamish Macinnes doc on BBC4? I could see but not hear it.

Well worth a look, try one of the catch up channels.

CFB

 

[QRK2]

Well worth a look, try one of the catch up channels.

CFB

BBC Scotland - Final Ascent: The Legend of Hamish MacInnes

The life of legendary mountaineer Hamish MacInnes, inventor of the all-metal ice axe.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Richard Headicus]

'When it's brutal in the Cairngorms, it can kill you'

Willie Anderson looks back on 40 years as a mountain rescuer in some of Scotland's toughest terrain.

www.bbc.co.uk

When Willie says, "It can be truly Arctic..." the clock wound back almost 65 years. "A high Arctic plateau..." is how our geography teacher, described the Cairngorms. There are nine Munros over 4,000', five of them in the Cairngorms. A few years ago I was heading for Macdui. I walk warm,
but was rigged out in long trousers, Paramo smock, beanie, mitts and over mitts. Took my gloves off to 'phone SWMBO at the summit, and could immediately feel the cold on my fingers. This was FOUR days before mid summers day FFS!!! I started off lightly clad, but I needed those extra layers that day. I'll go up other hills without my heavy gear, but never ever in the Cairngorms.

 

[Fang_Farrier]

Covid in Scotland: 'You don't need to climb the highest summit'

Rescuers and an outdoor activities group urge people new to hillwalking not to push their limits this winter.

www.bbc.co.uk

"It follows Scottish Mountain Rescue (SMR) seeing an almost 40% increase in call-outs over the summer."

 

[wheel]

More stupidity, people out of their depth.

Rescue as group walked wrong Lake District fell in mist

The men thought they were at the Old Man of Coniston but were more than a mile away at Great How.

www.bbc.co.uk