Tuesday, August 11
MRT Rescue. Addictive. Discuss.
It would certainly seem so for one hapless individual requiring MRT assistance for the second year in a row.
A pity he was leading a walking group of 23 people on Scafell Pike - some "wearing t-shirts and trainers"
Isn't there an ancient Westmorland statute that deters the in-breeding of village idiots?
Perhaps it doesn't apply to In-comers.
Hey! Give me six!Labels: Lake District, media, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Comments:
I gave up being shocked years ago. I wrote recently about the number of tshirt clad walkers I saw on a wet day with no spare kit or waterproof in the Lakes. Hypothermia kills in summer as well as winter. Maybe the BMC needs to get the safety message across in Schools more, and at the car parks in busy spots where folks walk from? No easy fix here John to be honest.
The largest group I've led was 19 but that was on a low level route through forests, although I had to get them across the A82 at one point! My self imposed limit on the hill is 10, maybe 12 on a good day/easy route. 23 is insanity. You can't keep 23 together, even with a backmarker who's willing to be at least a mile behind you - they'll string out so far you'll lose half of them and you can't keep an eye on them on the steeper stuff to see who might be getting a bit anxious.
I presume he was ML? Or what was he doing leading 23 up a mountain?
It's in cases like this I feel the authorities let people down. There's no legal requirement to hold any qualification to lead in the mountains of the UK. That leaves novices open to pot luck in who they choose to "lead" them. It's completely different on the continent. Here? Depending who you get, you could have a fantastic day out and learn loads, or you could get stuck half way up a mountain getting hypothermia. That's unacceptable.
It was put to me in black and white during my ML assessment. I was to get someone down some steep and gnarly ground quickly and safely. The assessor made it quite clear that in situations like that, a parent has put their child's life in your hands for the day. Having one frightened person in a party is hard enough. 23? Time to protect the public.
I agree with Martin. I've stopped swearing at the PC screen when I read things like this anymore.
Some people are just dense when it comes to mountain safety. The "funny" thing is, the more popular a place or mountain is, the more risks people take or in fact just dont think about the risks
Apparently they are from a religious school in Gateshead. I vaguely remember from childhood that these schools were particularly inept at anything outdoorsy.
It's easy to imagine though isn't it?. "We'll set off into the wilderness with just our faith to guide us and put our trust in the good Lord...".
Bt the way, I got one of those posts above from Shaun McGowan on my blog and it's basically spam - there's no material on the site yet, it will be commercial eventually.
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A pity he was leading a walking group of 23 people on Scafell Pike - some "wearing t-shirts and trainers"
Isn't there an ancient Westmorland statute that deters the in-breeding of village idiots?
Perhaps it doesn't apply to In-comers.
Hey! Give me six!
Labels: Lake District, media, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
I gave up being shocked years ago. I wrote recently about the number of tshirt clad walkers I saw on a wet day with no spare kit or waterproof in the Lakes. Hypothermia kills in summer as well as winter. Maybe the BMC needs to get the safety message across in Schools more, and at the car parks in busy spots where folks walk from? No easy fix here John to be honest.
The largest group I've led was 19 but that was on a low level route through forests, although I had to get them across the A82 at one point! My self imposed limit on the hill is 10, maybe 12 on a good day/easy route. 23 is insanity. You can't keep 23 together, even with a backmarker who's willing to be at least a mile behind you - they'll string out so far you'll lose half of them and you can't keep an eye on them on the steeper stuff to see who might be getting a bit anxious.
I presume he was ML? Or what was he doing leading 23 up a mountain?
It's in cases like this I feel the authorities let people down. There's no legal requirement to hold any qualification to lead in the mountains of the UK. That leaves novices open to pot luck in who they choose to "lead" them. It's completely different on the continent. Here? Depending who you get, you could have a fantastic day out and learn loads, or you could get stuck half way up a mountain getting hypothermia. That's unacceptable.
It was put to me in black and white during my ML assessment. I was to get someone down some steep and gnarly ground quickly and safely. The assessor made it quite clear that in situations like that, a parent has put their child's life in your hands for the day. Having one frightened person in a party is hard enough. 23? Time to protect the public.
I presume he was ML? Or what was he doing leading 23 up a mountain?
It's in cases like this I feel the authorities let people down. There's no legal requirement to hold any qualification to lead in the mountains of the UK. That leaves novices open to pot luck in who they choose to "lead" them. It's completely different on the continent. Here? Depending who you get, you could have a fantastic day out and learn loads, or you could get stuck half way up a mountain getting hypothermia. That's unacceptable.
It was put to me in black and white during my ML assessment. I was to get someone down some steep and gnarly ground quickly and safely. The assessor made it quite clear that in situations like that, a parent has put their child's life in your hands for the day. Having one frightened person in a party is hard enough. 23? Time to protect the public.
I agree with Martin. I've stopped swearing at the PC screen when I read things like this anymore.
Some people are just dense when it comes to mountain safety. The "funny" thing is, the more popular a place or mountain is, the more risks people take or in fact just dont think about the risks
Some people are just dense when it comes to mountain safety. The "funny" thing is, the more popular a place or mountain is, the more risks people take or in fact just dont think about the risks
Apparently they are from a religious school in Gateshead. I vaguely remember from childhood that these schools were particularly inept at anything outdoorsy.
It's easy to imagine though isn't it?. "We'll set off into the wilderness with just our faith to guide us and put our trust in the good Lord...".
Bt the way, I got one of those posts above from Shaun McGowan on my blog and it's basically spam - there's no material on the site yet, it will be commercial eventually.
Post a Comment
It's easy to imagine though isn't it?. "We'll set off into the wilderness with just our faith to guide us and put our trust in the good Lord...".
Bt the way, I got one of those posts above from Shaun McGowan on my blog and it's basically spam - there's no material on the site yet, it will be commercial eventually.
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