Group of men rescued from Scarfell Pike

They don’t and that’s the shame in it. They look out for others regardless of circumstance yet the idiots that go out don’t give two shits as they know they’ll get rescued regardless…

And yet the rescuers don’t distinguish between the ‘deserving’ and the undeserving.

Don't get hung up on 'amber' warning - the met office definition is:

• "There is an increased likelihood of impacts from severe weather, which could potentially disrupt your plans.
• This means there is the possibility of travel delays, road and rail closures, power cuts and the potential risk to life and property.

There are circumstances where I'd go high with that warning, as pp have said, opportunities to learn in severe weather in England are rare.

The issue is preparedness/experience/who you're with.

I used to live in north Wales. People who have to travel then camp/b&b to the Lakes, North Wales will have planned hike(s) /climbs and are often going to go up when the weather has a 'break' they don't want a wasted trip - that's what causes most incidents.

BUT - anytime in the UK, fell weather changes quickly.
You can go up in glorious sunshine and become shrouded in cold cloud/gales/driving rain - go up in thick cloud and emerge on top with clouds below - can be magical - but if you're not prepared/are not keeping an eye on the weather you're in trouble very quickly.

I'd be confident anywhere in north wales, much less so in the lakes - just because I don't know those fells well. I have friends who claim 'the mountains only come alive with ice'

Idiocy is not changing plans when circumstances change.

DS is a fairly experienced hiker, not a mountaineer, has all the right equipment, often hikes in winter and in the early hours to see sunrise in places like Scafell, he would not however, go out knowing full well there are severe weather warnings in place, it’s just irresponsible

It’s circumstance dependent. If there was a storm and weather warning and they decided to go out on an inflatable boat, no life jackets etc then that’s ridiculous and they should be fined too. Anyone in their right mind would know it’s a stupid idea.

For what?….Wasting time and resources and causing rescuers to put their own lives at risk in an Amber weather warning….That’s what

Completely agree. Zero sympathy. This snow was forecast 3 or 4 DAYS before it came. They would have known about it. Fucking idiots. Other people had to put their lives at risk to rescue these moronic fools.

I agree.

Same here. I'm walking along with all the gear and coming the other way are people in jeans, a puffer jacket and box fresh fashion trainers (how??? I'm usually caked in mud up to my knees before the end of most hikes at this time of year), no emergency equipment, using Google maps to navigate and live streaming the experience to social media.

I was going to do something fairly low level in the Yorkshire Dales on Saturday but decided not to due to ice, freezing temperatures and uncertainty as to when the snow would start falling in the afternoon/evening.

We don't get that, because it's not true.

Yes, people do insane things. They should be castigated for doing so

But I'm glad we live in a country where our access to the mountains and sea doesn't depend on buying insurance.

Lots of publicity about these events, to help educate people and make them realise being rescued is an immense privilege not a paid-for right is good.

it’s insane that people don’t realise the dangers of climbing esp in dangerous conditions - you could die!

need some kind of insurance policy to cover these types of adventure trips to at least go towards the costs of rescue- including paid rescue workers with best equipment etc?

I hike every day and although I go to remote places occasionally I see others and more often than not they are not wearing suitable footwear or outdoor clothing.

What do you think of people who get rescued by the RNLI?
Often poorly prepared to go on the sea, in an inflatable dinghy, no lifejacket, awareness of tides and currents. unaware that they can get blown out to sea?

Or going for a walk and getting caught out by the tides - even though there were clear warnings?

If you watch Saving lives at sea, you can see all manner of people who go out and need rescuing - either because they were poorly prepared, were unaware of the risks - and whose lives were in even more danger because when things "went South", they weren't carrying safety equipment to reduce the risks.

For what? Last time I checked idiocy isn't illegal.

For which I am grateful

Fine em.

Some people (maybe not these men, I wouldn't know) rely on the compass on their phone. Then their phone dies ...

they also were able to phone emergency services without phone signal so must have had a satellite device

That's just an iPhone 14 or above - it's pretty clear from the newspaper report it was messages not phone calls. That may or may not have been luck rather than judgment.

I've just looked at a map, it looks like they walked in completely the opposite direction to the one that would take them back to their car.

That should not happen if you have a compass and know how to use it.

No I said above I was generalising. Flip flops has happened before.

Utter idiots

Check the Lake District Hiking and Wild Camping Facebook group if you want to see people in tents on snowy summits…

I don’t care how experienced a group or person is when the weather is bad you just don’t go out. I’m an experienced hiker of many years. There is no way I would go out when it’s like this, there is an amber warning. I live on the edge of the Peak District and a member of staff in another dept, I didn’t know them but I knew of them was a mountain rescue volunteer.

DH is an ex-mountaineer and ice climber, we've done many hikes together in the Alps and in the UK.

People all the way along the scale of experience, from flip flop hikers to experienced ice climbers, make a bad call sometimes - usually not more than once if it's a VERY bad call.

I've had 'an Alpine moment' on Scafell Pike in average springtime conditions - the weather can close in quickly. I just chatted with DH about this. He wouldn't have attempted it. There's a big chance that you'd be absolutely fine in adverse conditions, but sensible climbers/hikers would know that an injury or misstep in this weather could be a serious thing.

If someone gets hurt and slows the group's progress, in bad conditions, hypothermia is a real risk. I've experienced hypothermia once, and it was terrifying. You're completely reliant on your companions. For all of these factors, I'm coming down to the view that these were possibly experienced hikers, but reckless ones.