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.

Driving is necessary at times. Mountain climbing isn’t.

The fact they are volunteers is all the worse imo as they are potentially putting themselves in danger to help from the goodness of their hearts. They obviously help people regardless but that’s not to say the public should expect it and it’s “good for the team to get practice” what a load of rubbish. Yes one of team may have went out to practice but he’s doing it for the greater good and for a purpose and will be well prepared with pre-planned back up. Not like Tom Dick and Harry who are a bit bored.

It’s not illegal to go and climb mountains in severe conditions unprepared, but it’s morally wrong and as you can see on this post, the vast majority of people think it was selfish to go out given the circumstances.

I would imagine people would think twice before going out in such weather if there was no hep available!

@lameborzoi
If you're going to do this sort of stuff that is beyond the norm, and where rescues are dangerous and very expensive, why shouldn't people be charged for it? Get extra insurance to cover yourself if you want to do these sort of things!

People need to drive to work, deliver goods so driving is far more essential than taking a walk up a mountain during an amber weather warning, if you cant see that then thats on you.

And mountaineering is not the only way to lose weight and exercise is it?

Not at all. Driving cars is necessary.

Not at all. Driving cars is necessary.

Some driving is, some isn't. It wasn't necessary for this group of walkers to drive from Yorkshire to cumbria, for instance.

However - foolish as it turned out to be, people are allowed to make their own decisions. This group sound like they've learned from their mistake, and hopefully others will too.

It's great there are these rescue services, which seem to operate pretty well on their existing basis. Afaik they have no desire whatever to move to an insurance-based model! How the hell would that work if some of a group had cover and others didn't? 😂

Making a generous donation if you've had to be rescued is definitely something that people should do, but proportionate to their means.

I think it's fairly common for accidents to happen more frequently on the way down. Ime, coming down a mountain is way harder than going up, and people are tired by then too.

I think it's fairly common for accidents to happen more frequently on the way down. Ime, coming down a mountain is way harder than going up, and people are tired by then too.

Especially if it's slippery, and a fall downhill is worse than a fall uphill.

By far the best response on here.
I love a good snow hike & you honestly can not beat the feeling of watching the sunrise over a snowy summit. Particularly if you are lucky enough to get a cloud inversion. It’s when I feel most alive.
People will pass judgement on almost anything.

Those lads most likely learned some valuable lessons in this rescue and I sincerely hope they enjoy their next hike with more experience.

I was just reading the Patterdale MRT Facebook page, about a call-out today:

“Call-out: 5
Date: 08.01.2025
Time: 13.57

Cumbria Police tasked PMRT to an incident on Birkhouse Moor where a casualty had fallen in deep snow and sustained a suspected dislocation of their shoulder.

A Team doctor who happened to be on Helvellyn at the time was able to get to the injured man quickly and gave initial care while the rest of the Team assembled and made their way to the scene.”

So a MRT team member, out and about on Helvellyn (the v big fell behind Birkhouse Moor, accessible beyond Birkhouse Moor only by a choice of two narrow rocky ridges) for fun, in thick snow and ice. (They say if team members are coming from another call out)

So , yes, MRT volunteers go out for fun in the snow, along with other ice climbing enthusiasts.

Nobody sets out to be rescued. The went out with the misguided belief that they were well capable of the trip. Threats of making them pay would do nothing as they weren't expecting to need to rescue.

Meanwhile it may put off the more timid souls who could actually do with the exercise but instead take the lesson that you should never walk in the hills, whatever the weather, because you can't guarantee you won't twist an ankle and be faced with a bill you can't afford.

There are similar threads to this regarding cave rescue. The vitriol never comes from actual cavers.

I don't know about mountaineering but most active cavers contribute generously to Cave Rescue. even if they've never needed it.

You seem to be suggesting that climbing mountains, diving and caving are dangerous pursuits that people should never do, to the extent that they should not be rescued if they do.

Of course the problem with leaving them to perish is that the people who do mountain rescue and cave rescue are themselves mountaineers and cavers, who are hardly likely to stand by when one of their own is in trouble.

I’ve been up in the fells in that area in deep snow and ice, with snow falling. We met plenty of people, it’s not unusual. The problem here is they were not equipped for the conditions and didn’t turn back. In our case I abandoned our hike because it was clear it wasn’t safe to keep going higher given the parties experience and equipment. But that might not be the case for another more experienced party.

Currently in this wintery weather there's alot of wild camping. Alot of "testing out my fantastic tent and camping gear"

One of my family is involved with Mountain Rescue and has been called out to numerous discarded tents (could have been in trouble but nah the fuckers dumped their gear and fucked off home to get warm warm).

Enjoy the outdoors. Do use the proper equipment. Know your limits. Don't be afraid to think "enough, it's not the right day" (and take all your gear home), don't be full of bravado and no common sense. Be respectful to the environment you are in.

I agree. Yes, people make misjudgements on occasion, I realise that and see that as an unfortunate occurrence and rescue worthwhile. However, people in flip flops, people with a denim jacket on snow, people with no evidence of risk management, I would definitely bill.

You are aware of what training you need to even be considered to be part of a mountain rescue team, right?

These skills need to also be kept up to date. So there's an element where 'just for fun' is also part of training. You need a log of a certain number of days in certain conditions to get certain training signed off I believe.

There's a world of difference between the average person who goes for fun and a MR person who goes for fun.

I don't think people should pay. But I also think people who go up mountains without the necessary equipment to do so safely are morons. You only get to become an experienced climber if you show the terrain respect. If you're the sort of person who thinks you know better than literally all of the advice and go in your Crocs then maybe don't make them pay, but have a banner attached to the helicopter with (NAME OF CLIMBER) IS A MASSIVE NOBHEAD. I could get behind something like that.

I am aware, thanks.

I am responding to the many posters who think that no one should be up on the fells in snow and ice.

As well as the naive Insta followers who rock up ill prepared there are many, many experienced (and gaining experience) hobby hikers enjoying the fells year round without accident requiring assistance. And some who are experienced and still have an accident or meet the unexpected.

The MRT members are also people who walk for enjoyment, so understand this.

That’s my point.

(and I doubt a MRT pre-probationer sets foot on a snowy fell for the first time when they join the training!)

I doubt most people see the Breckon Beacons as hazardous (bad mistake). Or the Cairngorms. And yes, it's not like trekking in the Alps, but the Cairngorms see several deaths - sometimes of people hiking alone - every year. The rescue volunteers are brave. Some of the people they rescue have been stupid, sometimes just unlucky.
DS goes camping, usually in a group, in the Peaks. I worry when he says he is going alone, usually in summer, because the Peak District can become very difficult very suddenly. He did the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme at school (eons ago) and got the bug then.

If they were not properly equipped then I do get the vitriol. Scarfell Pike is known to be dangerous so what were they doing going up when there was a bad weather warning? Idiots.

I haven't checked if this has been posted on the thread - but these are the facts.

They started their hike at 4am, reached the summit and instead of heading back down the way they came up, found themselves en route to Eskdale which is in the opposite direction, all before 10am. They reported that one of the party had suffered a minor injury and one an illness, and they were worried about hypothermia. Their emergency communication did not give sufficient information to allow for a correct assessment of the situation - ie that they had not been out all night and that they were walking wounded - not incapacitated.

They were met by the rescuers as they were walking out and had almost reached the road - no further assistance required apart from being signposted to the local pub where they called a taxi.

I think this has been blown out of proportion and a victim of social media storm.

Whether there should be insurance in place and whether the rescue services should be a fully funded organisation is another question entirely.

"Incident No.2 on 5th January
Type: Full Callout
Location: Upper Eskdale
Start: 09:23
Finish: 11:57
Duration: 2h 34m
Weather: Cloudy, cold. Amber alert for snow until 23:59
Teams involved: 23 Wasdale MRT, Maritime and Coastguard Agency Rescue 199
Grid Reference: NY 229070
An alert was received this morning from Cumbria Police about a party of five walkers who were reporting themselves close to hypothermia. The information came via an iPhone emergency satellite message so further information was initially quite limited. Helpfully an exact location was obtained, although this was in a remote area in Upper Eskdale. Further information received via another message indicated that one person was also ill, and another had injured his ankle. They had misnavigated off Scafell Pike summit, attempting to return to Seathwaite.
The Team Leader swiftly made a full callout and asked an advance party of two to make their way as quickly as possible to the location. A Coastguard helicopter from Prestwick (Rescue 199) also responded quickly. The assumption at this stage was that the walkers had been lost since the previous afternoon.
Further iPhone emergency messages indicated the party was moving down the valley towards the road, although for a time it was unclear whether this was the whole group or just one or two people.
Thankfully the advance party had not travelled too far when they met up with the party of five walking out. All were safe and able to complete the journey to the road and then to a local hostelry, where they could organise a taxi back to Borrowdale.
The debrief ascertained that the group had set off from North Yorkshire at midnight, arrived at Seathwaite and then set off on their walk at 4am. They had made the summit of Scafell Pike but then found themselves in Upper Eskdale; cold, wet and concerned for their safety. They were not equipped properly for full winter conditions on the high fells, and were also inexperienced. At times they were waist deep in snow. To their credit, they fully acknowledged their misjudgment in this attempt and were humble and thankful for the help, fully aware this could have ended with a much worse outcome.
Thanks again to the support from Coastguard helicopter Rescue199.