Clipstick tricks As you’ll see from my Route of the Month below, there’s a little bit of a sports climbing theme this month. So, here’s a little tip involving the…
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Backpacking with tents Over the last month I’ve spent quite a lot of time supervising DofE groups. As one friend said to me: “Supervising DofE? Is that where you sit…
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Improvised repair for a detached boot sole Recently I had to make an improvised repair for a client with a detached boot sole. This sort of damage is something that…
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Choosing 'trad' protection on a climb (You can learn more about choosing 'trad' protection on a climb on a 'learn to lead' course. We run these in Yorkshire, the Peak…
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Racking wires for 'trad' climbing It’s rock-climbing season again as winter fades away and the April showers start to blow over for good (I hope). For the next few issues…
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Carrying slings while climbing Here’s a tip on carrying slings while climbing. It makes a huge difference in winter but is equally useful in summer too. One way of carrying…
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Introduction To succeed, and be comfortable, in the outdoors you need to have a good clothing layering system - a base layer, insulation layer and shell layer. This article will…
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Drying gloves Since it’s very much the season for messing about in the snow, then it’s also the season for wet gloves. Drying gloves ready for the next day out…
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The BAA app Last winter I wrote a quick note about the ‘Be Avalanche Aware’ (BAA) planning method, recommending this to everyone. Well, like everything in this world now, it’s…
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Tip for staying dry Here is a great tip for staying dry when on a long walk in variable conditions. This tip is one of the first things that I…
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After 59 callouts in August, the busiest month in our history, we think it is time for a serious conversation about what is happening in our mountains.Our volunteers carried out prolonged rescues in darkness and poor weather, dealt with serious injuries, heat-related issues, assisted people stuck in serious terrain and, sadly, attended incidents where people and animals lost their lives.What concerns us most is the increasing number of people taking on difficult terrain while completely unprepared for what they are facing.The mountains have not suddenly become more dangerous. More people are visiting them, and the way routes are discovered and accessed has changed.Routes once mainly attempted by experienced hillwalkers and mountaineers are increasingly attracting people with little or no experience.A photograph or video of Crib Goch can make an exposed Grade 1 scramble look like just another route to the summit. What it doesn’t show is how intimidating that ridge can be in cloud, rain or strong winds or how quickly a manageable situation can become a serious emergency.We want people to enjoy Eryri. We understand the physical and mental health benefits of spending time in the mountains but accidents happen, even to experienced, well-prepared people. That is why we volunteer.But enjoying the mountains also comes with personal responsibility. Too often, people simply don’t know that a route may require specific skills, equipment, fitness, experience and judgement and how quickly conditions can change.Our callout numbers tell the story:147 in 2020237 in 2021233 in 2022308 in 2023327 in 2024359 in 2025Around 440 projected in 2026.This trend is not sustainable. The answer cannot simply be more Mountain Rescue. There has to be greater focus on prevention and personal responsibility.We will always respond when someone genuinely needs our help. The bigger question now is: how do we stop so many people from needing help in the first place?Enjoy the mountains but please try to understand the environment you are entering and if the terrain or conditions don’t feel right, turn around.
A little bit of a change - a trip to Kyrgyzstan for an ascent of #peaklenin.Sadly no Lenin summits mainly because the weather played havoc with our rotations. However, everyone did summit Razdalnaya, which was good.@adventure peaks
