How to use crampons Winter will be back, and when it returns, some of you will want a tip on how to use crampons for the first time. Here are…
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Two kinds of tape There are two tape tips to tell this time. (This is either an amazing poetic alliteration or perhaps a new tongue-twister). The first tape is one…
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Feet first Here’s one for the fairly new climbers among you, and it’s great to practice indoors. You can see some of this going on in the video clip of…
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Butt cheeks When out walking in the mountains, do you find descents (especially long ones) harder than going up in the first place? Do you get really sore knees? Many…
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Kilimanjaro via Machame Route - Sep 2018 Monday mornings don’t get much better than this. It was a fine day when we boarded the expedition bus in Arusha, and Jonathan,…
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Kilimanjaro via the Rongai Route Following some very long journeys from Europe, and particularly from the States for three of the team, as we met for breakfast on Saturday morning…
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Rope and sticky tape I was out coaching a client at a sports climbing crag recently, when a couple of university students turned up to climb. We exchanged greetings and…
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Hydration pack tips Here are some hydration pack tips. These are useful for those that already like to use these packs (or 'bladders') and for those who might experiment with…
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Moving in balance Those of you have been with me either on a climbing course, or a scrambling course, will recognize this one. Even if you’ve heard it before, make…
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Karabiner orientation You can learn more about the best karabiner orientation on one of our rock climbing courses in Yorkshire, the Peak District, the Lake District and Snowdonia. This bit…
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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
