The Wasdale team in action on the mountain in winter conditions
Mountain rescuers in the Lake District have appealed to hillgoers only to request help if they are seriously injured or ill.
The umbrella body for 12 Cumbrian teams said those with minor injuries may have to make their own way to hospital once rescuers have got them safely off the hill.
The plea came as rising Covid-19 cases put NHS services under increased pressure. The Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Organisation said some services are at breaking point.
Richard Warren, chairman of the organisation, said visitors in the area should think carefully about plans for outdoor activities. “We would like to reiterate our previous lockdown stance in relation to the virus,” he said.
“This is a necessary reminder to protect our volunteer team members and their families as well as the casualties themselves.
“If you do need help in the mountains call 999 ask for Cumbria police, mountain rescue. However, only call upon mountain rescue as a last resort, if you are seriously injured or suffering from a medical issue, and cannot physically get yourself off the hill.
“We will attend, but with the absolute minimum number of team members needed to complete the task. Because of this, the evacuation will be less straightforward and the overall time to transport you to full medical attention will be much longer.
“For minor injuries you may also be clinically discharged at the roadside and asked to organise your own transport home or to your own local hospital as the ambulance crews are under great pressure.
“Helicopter support will only be requested by mountain rescue teams through the police if a time-critical injury is sustained, but this is not a guarantee of availability as helicopter operations in the mountains are complex and limited by weather conditions and other demands on the service.”
Rescuers added that hill-goers should be properly equipped during winter months. They said teams had encountered extremely ill equipped groups on the hills recently. An ice-axe and crampons, along with sufficient winter mountaineering experience, are needed. People should also comply with the latest strict government lockdown rules.
The Westminster government has legislated to make it unlawful for people in England to leave their homes except in specific cases, which includes exercise. However, guidance says this should be in people’s local areas.
Mr Warren said: “We are asking all hill-goers to be considerate of the resources of the emergency services at this time.
“We can all help by staying at home, only exercising locally to our villages, towns and cities, avoiding risky activities and high mountain terrain, sticking to lowland paths and walkways while strictly observing social distancing principles and the new government lockdown rules.
“There is good and essential advice on the website Adventure Smart UK. So stay safe, stay at home: #BeAdventureSmart; make your good day better. Help Cumbria get ready to reopen safely, when the time is right.”
Graham
08 January 2021Regardless of the Covid situation, this should be normal practice - only call MR when they are needed.
Stan
08 January 2021Given the rise in unavoidable callouts, such as people calling when they're lost, ill equipped and just the general stupidity of many people, shouldn't this way of dealing with calls be made permanent.
And, although it's a sore point with opposing views, isn't it about time they started charging for the clearly avoidable callouts.
I walk the Lakeland fells several times every single week and have done for the last 40 odd years. Every year I give a donation to the MRT and it galls me to see my donation being wasted on ungrateful, selfish people who put no thought whatsoever into what they're doing and then call for help for no good reason.
Maybe
08 January 2021I know it goes against the grain, but maybe if MRT didn't rush out every time someone called them then people would think twice about going in to the hills totally unprepared. Different if you've broken a leg or similar but if you just got lost because you don't have a map,- tough, have a cold night on the hills, get yourself down in daylight and do the right thing next time! Tough love.
Ian512
09 January 2021One of the many hill skills to learn, before heading out on high hills, is self-reliance.
Antony Willis
09 January 2021WOW, it's easy to criticise people isn't it.
People who are new to mountain hiking often get into trouble so why not give them a bit of slack and understanding. Anyone can go into a strange area and end up getting lost. Surely some of you must have found yourselves in a place where there's no one there to ask for directions and ended up ringing for help.
As for the rescue services. It's like applying for a job as a window cleaner then moaning when you're asked to go up a ladder.
Mike Sweeting
10 January 2021It was getting out of hand culturally anyway. 16 team members on tiny rescues. Lots of fuss about dog rescues. Never saying no. Allowing those who call out and then walk off to get away with it....general contemporary spinelessness. MR started as us helping each other out. We avoided risking the other persons life unduly. I have made sure that in 47 years of climbing that I have never made a call out. Both my climbing partner and I have supported the other out with a fractured ankle.I have crawled out with a broken leg. I have refused to call out MR in Scotland knowing roads to be v dangerous. (And all those were since the 'learning idiocies' of our youth.)
As to the points by Antony Willis. These exemplify the rot. MR are volunteers. It's not a job. And they are not a 'how to get out of being lost' service, or a 'I feel like a lift' service.
Tina Page
10 January 2021You are correct that we shouldn't criticise so much, one of the prevailing standpoints of our wonderful Mountain Rescue Teams has always been that they do not judge, they just save lives.
New and less experienced hill goers do need some support and encouragement in terms of gaining outdoor skills, being prepared and crucially, navigation skills. The #AdventureSmart campaign is great and OS, the BMC and other organisations provide lots of online free information re hill skills but how do we encourage people to use them more?
Regardless of skill and experience accidents do happen and anyone can come a cropper but map reading and simple navigation techniques would prevent anyone getting lost on a half decent weather day and even for the most part in poor visibility or darkness (a headlamp is an essential piece of kit in your bag) We should never expect to be asking anyone for directions, and in any case a compass is far more reliable.
Mountain Rescue team members do an incredible job and devote an enormous amount of time to training, base duties and operational callouts. I have visited many Team bases around Britain and am always humbled by their dedication and hard work. They are an amazing bunch of people of all ages and from different walks of life and are all VOLUNTEERS who have to work their jobs, families and personal lives around this huge commitment. We must treasure our Mountain Rescue Teams and it is a concern for the future of this unique tradition as the pressures and callouts continue to rise and rise every year. We must all be responsible to do everything we can to keep ourselves safe outdoors so the teams are there for us should the unexpected worst happen.
#staysafeinthehills #AdventureSmart
Ian512
10 January 2021We often hear that old refrain 'everyone can make a mistake', but some of those mistakes are being made by people who have clearly made little effort to learn necessary skills or gain the required experience to deal with high hills.
(Much can be learned on safe lower hills, with easy escape routes, before heading to the high ones.)
Remember, rescue teams, by long standing mountaineering tradition, usually don't criticise those they rescue, which means others may have to say what they can't.
“A total of 83 per cent of those questioned (in an OS Survey 2017) admitted that if they were in trouble on a mountain and had no phone signal they wouldn’t know what to do.” grough
Tina Page
10 January 2021It is perhaps correct that we shouldn't criticise so much, one of the prevailing standpoints of our wonderful Mountain Rescue Teams has always been that they do not judge, they just save lives.
New and less experienced hill goers do need some support and encouragement in terms of gaining outdoor skills, being prepared and crucially, navigation skills. The #AdventureSmart campaign is great and OS, the BMC and other organisations provide lots of online free information re hill skills but how do we encourage people to use them more?
Regardless of skill and experience accidents do happen and anyone can come a cropper but map reading and simple navigation techniques would prevent anyone getting lost on a half decent weather day and even for the most part in poor visibility or darkness (a headlamp is an essential piece of kit in your bag) We should never expect to be asking anyone for directions, and in any case a compass is far more reliable.
Mountain Rescue team members do an incredible job and devote an enormous amount of time to training, base duties and operational callouts. I have visited many Team bases around Britain and am always humbled by their dedication and hard work. They are an amazing bunch of people of all ages and from different walks of life and are all VOLUNTEERS who have to work their jobs, families and personal lives around this huge commitment. We must treasure our Mountain Rescue Teams and it is a concern for the future of this unique tradition as the pressures and callouts continue to rise and rise every year. We must all be responsible to do everything we can to keep ourselves safe outdoors so the teams are there for us should the unexpected worst happen.
#staysafeinthehills #AdventureSmart
Tina Page
10 January 2021It is fair that we shouldn't criticise so much, one of the prevailing standpoints of our wonderful Mountain Rescue Teams has always been that they do not judge, they just save lives.
New and less experienced hill goers do need some support and encouragement in terms of gaining outdoor skills, being prepared and crucially, navigation skills. The #AdventureSmart campaign is great and OS, the BMC and other organisations provide lots of online free information re hill skills but how do we encourage people to use them more?
Regardless of skill and experience accidents do happen and anyone can come a cropper but map reading and simple navigation techniques would prevent anyone getting lost on a half decent weather day and even for the most part in poor visibility or darkness (a headlamp is an essential piece of kit in your bag) We should never expect to be asking anyone for directions, and in any case a compass is far more reliable.
Mountain Rescue team members do an incredible job and devote an enormous amount of time to training, base duties and operational callouts. I have visited many Team bases around Britain and am always humbled by their dedication and hard work. They are an amazing bunch of people of all ages and from different walks of life and are all VOLUNTEERS who have to work their jobs, families and personal lives around this huge commitment. We must treasure our Mountain Rescue Teams and it is a concern for the future of this unique tradition as the pressures and callouts continue to rise and rise every year. We must all be responsible to do everything we can to keep ourselves safe outdoors so the teams are there for us should the unexpected worst happen.
#staysafeinthehills #AdventureSmart
Tina Page
10 January 2021It is fair that we shouldn't criticise so much, one of the prevailing standpoints of our wonderful Mountain Rescue Teams has always been that they do not judge, they just save lives.
New and less experienced hill goers do need some support and encouragement in terms of gaining outdoor skills, being prepared and crucially, navigation skills. The AdventureSmart campaign is great and OS, the BMC and other organisations provide lots of online free information re hill skills but how do we encourage people to use them more?
Regardless of skill and experience accidents do happen and anyone can come a cropper but map reading and simple navigation techniques would prevent anyone getting lost on a half decent weather day and even for the most part in poor visibility or darkness (a headlamp is an essential piece of kit in your bag) We should never expect to be asking anyone for directions, and in any case a compass is far more reliable.
Mountain Rescue team members do an incredible job and devote an enormous amount of time to training, base duties and operational callouts. I have visited many Team bases around Britain and am always humbled by their dedication and hard work. They are an amazing bunch of people of all ages and from different walks of life and are all VOLUNTEERS who have to work their jobs, families and personal lives around this huge commitment. We must treasure our Mountain Rescue Teams and it is a concern for the future of this unique tradition as the pressures and callouts continue to rise and rise every year. We must all be responsible to do everything we can to keep ourselves safe outdoors so the teams are there for us should the unexpected worst happen.
TJ
10 January 2021You are correct that we shouldn't criticise so much, one of the prevailing standpoints of our wonderful Mountain Rescue Teams has always been that they do not judge, they just save lives.
New and less experienced hill goers do need some support and encouragement in terms of gaining outdoor skills, being prepared and crucially, navigation skills. The AdventureSmart campaign is great and OS, the BMC and other organisations provide lots of online free information re hill skills but how do we encourage people to use them more?
Regardless of skill and experience accidents do happen and anyone can come a cropper but map reading and simple navigation techniques would prevent anyone getting lost on a half decent weather day and even for the most part in poor visibility or darkness (a headlamp is an essential piece of kit in your bag) We should never expect to be asking anyone for directions, and in any case a compass is far more reliable.
Mountain Rescue team members do an incredible job and devote an enormous amount of time to training, base duties and operational callouts. I have visited many Team bases around Britain and am always humbled by their dedication and hard work. They are an amazing bunch of people of all ages and from different walks of life and are all VOLUNTEERS who have to work their jobs, families and personal lives around this huge commitment. We must treasure our Mountain Rescue Teams and it is a concern for the future of this unique tradition as the pressures and callouts continue to rise and rise every year. We must all be responsible to do everything we can to keep ourselves safe outdoors so the teams are there for us should the unexpected worst happen.
Rod Hepplewhite
10 January 2021A couple of points, if I may:
1. Even my early fell-walking days, over 25 years ago, I always made sure I had a map and compass with me together with uids and food. I so often had a guide book with me and followed a route from the book, building up my moutain awareness and knowledge of the areas where I walked.
2. The report mentions 'visitors', there shouldn't be any 'visitors' on the fells at present only locals who are lucky enough to be able to walk from home or after a short drive. I haven't been on the fells since early October, it's killing me but I know that it's for the greater good (I'm not selfish like the couple who run the 'Wainwright Walking website) and the fells will still be there when this is all over. I had been walking in the North York Moors, Weardale and Teesdale as alternatives to my Lakeland Fells fix but they're now out of bounds to me too but, like I said, I realise this is for the greater good.
Stay safe everyone.
DENZIL BELL
10 January 2021Given the advice that exercise should only be done in your local area, they shouldn't be out in the first place. I live in Cumbria but given that it takes me at least 3/4 of an hour to get to the closest point of the fells I have had to forego my fell-walking pleasures. Fine them and fine them heavily.