Group of men rescued from Scarfell Pike

[MrsSkylerWhite]

Up to their waists in snow, apparently.
What sort of idiot decides to go on a hike when there’s an amber warning, meaning risk to life, in place?

If you want to kill yourselves, go ahead. Don’t expect to be rescued though when you inevitably get into trouble, putting other people’s lives at risk.

Utter idiots

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

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.

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.

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

Fine em.

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

For which I am grateful

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.

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.

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?

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.

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

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.

I agree.

CrazyMadDog · Today 00:14
I really don’t know where to start with that or how it would work.
Life is complex, there are reasons people don’t always make the best decisions and I’m glad that we help people regardless. It makes us civilised.
I guess you must be perfect. 😬

No one is perfect. I wouldn’t deliberately set off into the fells during an amber warning and I don’t smoke because I know it causes serious health problems. Those are the issues you raised, neither of which are mistakes, which everyone makes, but very deliberate, and I would argue, foolish decisions.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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…

See the link posted above. They were not prepared according to the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team. It's nothing to do with selling papers.

It’s everything to do with selling papers or in the BBCs case getting people to click the link. The BBC chose to go with the “waist deep in snow” comment as it is the most sensational, when it only appears to the end of the MR incident summary with a much reduced context.
Reading the MR summary it’s clear the group were experienced to some degree as they were capable of making it to the summit of Scafell in the dark and wintry conditions. They also met the MR team on the way down to the road implying they required their bearings and knew where they were going. The comment on how they were equipped implies they were equipped for normal hill walking but not for snow and extreme cold which was definitely an error but they certainly weren't walking around in trainers.
All the comments about how did they not know it was going to snow - of course they did, that’s why they were there and arrived at 4am so they could reach the summit to watch the sunrise over the snowy landscape,
something many a keen hill walker has done.
Yes they made a bad decision and it’s not something I would or most would have done but people make their choices. Sometime you win sometimes you don’t. Btw do you think they were the only ones walking the lake district fells at that time? Weather like this attracts a large number of people and there would have been a significant number of people in the fells that day. They were just better equipped.

Speeding? what’s you limit, if someone is going 31in a 30 zone and crashes, should they be rescued if trapped in their car and injured injured, 32, 33 ok? 40 leave then to die?

How about diet? If someone is overweight through eating unhealthily, should they be treated for conditions relating to it? What about if they’re slim but only ever eat a McDonald’s a day.

Injured when under the influence of alcohol and have made a poor decision? just leave them right?

We rescue and treat everyone, regardless of the situation or stupidity levels and that’s how it should be. All we can do is try to educate people and try to make them act responsibly. It’s frustrating when people act irresponsibly and put others in danger and cost money etc, but to not help them would be much worse.