Hillwalkers warned more than a phone is needed to navigate mountains

10 comments
  1. I saw this earlier and I rolled my eyes so hard that I was sure I was close to blinding myself. But then, the number of idiots on the hills needing rescued because they don’t prepare is all-too-real.

  2. Totally this. You come up to Scotland in your shorts and t-shirt and an iphone thinking thats enough as the weathers nice to climb. Then the weather changes and a sea harr rolls in and you’re a gonner.

  3. In winter I’d agree. In summer 1000m of altitude is nothing. That’s a Sunday stroll in Switzerland but I would put the majority of incidents down to pure idiocy

  4. This does not surprise me. Many a time I see peeps with all the wrong clothing and the what three words app thinking they are perfectly fine.

    Learn to map and compass ffs

  5. ‘We’re not calling Mountain Rescue, we’re not gonna be two of those idiots you hear about who go up mountains in flip-flops and sombreros and have to get rescued’

    ‘What, you’d rather be one of the idiots they find frozen to death, being chewed by badgers, drinking their own piss?’

    ‘You can’t call Mountain Rescue anyway, this isn’t a mountain, it’s a hill’

  6. Controversial opinion: OSMAnd is actually surprisingly good for walking, at least on the more travelled and less extreme routes. The paths are all there, you have your maps & way-points preloaded; no need for data, just GPS. Not that I’d attempt to use it for doing the Cullin Ridge or something daft!

    People using the likes of Google Maps seriously need their heads examined; go beyond an urbanisation and it’s basically “Here be dragons”.

    Of course I carry a map, compass, and the ability to use them. And boots. And food & water. And sunscreen. And a hat. And waterproofs. And first aid kit. And spare, warm clothes. And a space blanket. And bivvy bag. And torch. It’s a long-ish list, but it all fits in a day bag with no bother. Well, not the boots; they’re on me feet.

    Winter takes even more kit, but I don’t go up in winter as I don’t have the skills. Which is another thing people ignore; their limits.

    I also think that lots of folks do a quick trot around the likes of Mam Tor and get the idea they’re the next Hillary/Norgay or something.

  7. I see so may young people out and about with their phones and I always have to tell them to get a physical copies of the areas they walk through. They’re usually in the wrong footwear as well. :/

  8. A few days after a man died on Sharp Edge in the Lake District – one of 100 rescue incidents and 11 fatalities since 1948 – I was on a pre-booked guided trip to do Blencathra, via the regular route. But I looked up at Sharp Edge… where families were pushing toddlers in trainers, stiff-limbed in thick padded suits, children were being encouraged up in shorts and trainers (it was cold and drizzly, rocks were wet…), families were cajoling much older members with “it’s fine, really, just follow me” while they panicked and wanted to turn back.

    On the next trip we had another example of improper hiking wear when a girl turned up dressed for Instagram – crop-top bra, leggings, white trainers. A third of the way up it was a howling gale, hailstone, driving rain. A bit exciting for those of us wrapped up in waterproofs. Everyone lent her spare things and she made it, but honestly. There’s a complete lack of knowledge about what it all entails and the dangers it can pose.

  9. Scotland reporting in. Silly bastards should be charged to be rescued. Mountain rescue have it tough enough without risking their own lives for idiots

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