Introduction Mountain summit weather forecasts are the final (and arguably most important) piece of the jigsaw puzzle. I started off this series explaining the importance of, and how to research,…
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Introduction Understanding the regional mountain weather forecasts is my second step in researching the weather to help plan my days out. This follows on from Step One, understanding the national…
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Introduction Understanding mountain weather forecasts is a vital part of planning a day out in the mountains, especially in winter. Over the next three months I'll explain how I go…
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Introduction This winter I was unexpectedly involved in a mountain incident. As a result, I had to send a 999 text message to call Mountain Rescue. I'd never used 999…
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Introduction A common technique used in climbing is to equalise a sling at a belay and this quick tip is about stopping a knotted sling from tightening. The problem -…
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Introduction Following on from last month's tip, this article will explain how to estimate slope angle by feel - that is, with reference to familiar everyday objects. Importance of Estimating…
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Introduction This tip is all about how to estimate slope angle from a map. Next month, I'll look at how to estimate slope angle in the field by relating it…
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Introduction This month's tip should help you understand wind speed in the mountains. Of all the weather phenomena (temperature, precipitation as rain or snow, etc), wind has the greatest influence…
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Introduction This month's tip is all about how to keep kit dry with drybags. First I'll look at a couple of ways that many people use but which have huge…
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Introduction For those who are not familiar with it, this article will introduce you to and help you understand the Lapse Rate. Of course, this is in the context of…
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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
