Idiots in the mountains

[SpokeyDokey]

Yesterdays jaunt was a circuit of the Lake District's Catstycam and Helvellyn taking in the two ridges of Swirral and Striding Edge.

For those of you who don't know Striding Edge it is graded as a simple scramble. It is in effect a rough and narrow path in the sky. In places a few feet wide and with some long drops either side. How people cope with this will vary from experienced mountain-goers who will happily mooch along the top to those who are paralysed (literally) with fear. Over the years I have had to guide a number of small groups and individuals off of the route as they were way out of their depth.

So yesterday was a pretty miserable day in The Lakes with a cloud-base down at around 600m and hence very limited visibility of 15-30m. Wind was gusting throughout the day with wind-speed rising as the day wore on.

Conditions underfoot on the ridge were very wet. The rock hereabouts is quite grippy but resembles tilted dinner plates in its composition. With the right footwear and an awareness of the trip hazard posed by the rock it is an ok surface to walk/climb on although accidents can and do happen.

So here's what we encountered on the ridge:

2 very friendly Asian guys who were wearing jumpers, jeans and trainers. They were soaking wet, shivering quite badly and had precisely zero kit of any description with them. No waterproofs, no map and compass - absolutely nothing. One was sitting down on a rocky shelf not wanting to move. They were a fair way from the summit, it had taken them 4 hours to get to where they were (very slow) and they had had enough. We spent 45 mins getting them down to a relatively safe point on the ridge with explicit advice to return back the way they came. They refused as they were desperate to summit. Not much we could do to force the issue.

Party of 4, two adults and two girls aged about 7. That's right 7. The whole party were in sodden fitness type gear. One of the girls was crying as she had banged her hand on a rock during a slight stumble. We asked if they were ok. The guy who we assumed was the father said that they were all fine and that once they got to the summit everyone would cheer up. Unbeknowns to them the summit plateau was minus several degrees with a heck of a wind blowing across it. The mother (?) shot him a very harsh look. Clearly they were an unhappy bunch. The mother said it was there first time up 'this way' and it was harder than they thought. We advised them that they were still at least an hour from the summit based on the slow speed that they were moving and would then have about 4-5 hours return journey. The father told us it was only 5 minutes to the summit. His first time on the route and we've done it easily over 50 times so what do we know. Hey-ho.

Party of 8, three adults and 5 minors ranging from around 8 to 14/15 at a guess. Adults and one of the older kids dressed in decent quality waterproofs with the others in pac-a-macs. Footwear ranged from trainers to what can only be described as plimsols. The kids were all wearing fleecy or nylon legwear that was sopping wet. All were very cold. One of the older lads was a complete prat and was jumping up and down on a small very wet path (about 2' wide) pretending to 'fall off'. The path had a slightly out of vertical drop of several hundred feet to its edge. One of the adults thought this was hilarious and was getting his camera out to take a photo. If the kid had slipped that would have been the end of him. We were literally speechless.

On our descent we met a party of young guys and girls at about 500m (450m and a couple of linear miles from the summit) and they asked how far it was to 'the mountain'. During the course of our conversation it transpired that they were looking forward to summiting Scafell Pike as they wanted to 'do' Englands highest peak. Gobsmacked - this is akin mixing up Manchester and Liverpool. We double checked this with them and yes as far as they were concerned they were heading up to Scafell Pike. We set them straight but they decided they would carry on to 'get up something'. Incredibly two had maps dangling around their necks. Hmmmm!

So, there you have it, a day of Bank Holiday lunacy in the mountains.

No wonder the MRT's get hacked off.

I feel better now I have got that off my chest!

 

[doctornige]

I wonder if it might have been worth reporting that little lot once you got down. I recall one time that I was with a partner on the winter corrie of Lochnagar taking it a bit slow on a Grade 3 ice route, and a quicker party let dad (waiting in the car) know that we were still on the mountain with a possible dusk summit. We met a dad on the track half a mile from the car park as just as he was setting out. We didn't need the rescue (and he had seen two torches making their way down to the Duke's shooting lodge, assuming correctly that it was an intact Nige and Stu), but we're happy that someone else had the nouse to flag the possibility of a problem.

 

[Peteaud]

Unbelievable to say the least.

I have the utmost respect for MRT, especialy in dealing with the prats like this.

 

[oldfatfool]

Ah but how many little old ladies in tweed skirts, stout brogues and walking a golden lab did you come across??

I have never failed to see the above no matter what the time of year/ weather conditions/ or gradient wether walking in the Lakes, Peak district or anywhere else come to think of it

 

[ColinJ]

Madness! It's bad enough that these idiots kill themselves and their family members, but they also endanger the lives of those who have to try and rescue them.

A similar situation in Scotland last year had tragic consequences. I was up there with family and friends for my mum's memorial service. We had planned to go to Fort William the day after the ceremony and walk up Ben Nevis. The weather had been very changeable that week so I went online and checked the forecast. This was at the end of May, so you might think that the weather wouldn't be too bad but in fact the forecast was diabolical - freezing fog, hail, sleet and snow, temperatures around freezing point and winds up to 60 mph producing a lethal wind chill. So that was that - Ben Nevis would have to wait. I went online a couple of days later and read this news article ...

 

[TVC]

I've seen it about many times, however, Snowdon seems the favourite given the apparent easy path up by the railway. Kids in football kit, women in plimsoles. "Oh, it was quite warm down the bottom, I didn't think it would get this windy".

The winner though is a woman in a silk sari and high heeled sandals who had made it up onto Kinder Scout, you've got to admire stupidity like that.

 

[Nearly there]

There was a faller on striding edge just last week he fell 150ft slipped on the moist rocks apparently only a ledge stopped him falling further.Women in flip flops shorts and a vest are often "helped"down off the fells during the summer months Usually encouraged up them by their equally unprepared idiotic partners.

 

[Bluenite]

You described the first lot as '2 Asian guys' what about the rest of your list?

 

[HLaB]

This was at the end of May, so you might think that the weather wouldn't be too bad but in fact the forecast was diabolical - freezing fog, hail, sleet and snow, temperatures around freezing point and winds up to 60 mph producing a lethal wind chill.

Hence the Scottish (or is it Fife) saying 'dinnae cast a cloot til May's oot'. In other words, don't discard any winter clothing you might need until after the month of May. A couple weeks ago, it was 22degC here, a week later it was -2deg (the temp change was more extreme further north).

 

[ColinJ]

Hence the Scottish (or is it Fife) saying 'dinnae cast a cloot til May's oot'. In other words, don't discard any winter clothing you might need until after the month of May. A couple weeks ago, it was 22degC here, a week later it was -2deg (the temp change was more extreme further north).

I was out on a ride in Yorkshire once in June or July. It was a lovely sunny afternoon and I was in shorts and a short-sleeved jersey, no jacket with me. I was admiring the scenery in the sunshine when I looked round and saw a big black cloud blowing over; a freak storm.

Within seconds I was deluged by water that must have been at only about 0.5 °C - it felt as close to being frozen as you could get but still be a liquid.

I went from sweating to shivering violently in about 30 seconds - it was scary stuff.

The cloud moved on in less than a minute and I soon began to warm up again in the sunshine, but after that I really took the weather a bit more seriously!

 

[Crackle]

Hence the Scottish (or is it Fife) saying 'dinnae cast a cloot til May's oot'. In other words, don't discard any winter clothing you might need until after the month of May. A couple weeks ago, it was 22degC here, a week later it was -2deg (the temp change was more extreme further north).

See I always thought that was to do with planting something too soon. You live and learn.

I've been mistaken for a complete imbecile. I think I was wearing a wooly bobble hat, a 2nd hand waterproof, too small and with a rope burn right around the back, some dubious plus fours, red socks and some ancient cloth boots and a rucksack more suited to carrying books to school. I was just heading down bristly ridge when some astounded looking blokes stopped me and told me it was a fairly serious scramble. "I know" I said (well not that serious) but offered no further explanation because it was pissing down, blowing a gale and I was in a hurry. The fact was I'd borrowed everything from the spare stuff all my friends kept in the back of their car because mine had been broken into and all my stuff nicked, everything. Took me years to replace it. As I did my friends got all their kit back. At the time I was a fairly competent mountaineer, although it could be argued I was still an imbecile, you could argue it now in fact. I met them later in the pub and filled them in.

 

[Red Light]

I remember quite a few years ago a couple of mountain bikers proudly recounted in an article in one of the main MTB magazines their doing Aonach Eagach with their bikes. A rather stupid thing to try you might think as there is no cycling whatsoever to be had but nowhere near as stupid as the authors proud telling that having looked at the price of climbing ropes, he'd gone and bought himself a washing line at a fraction of the price to rope up with.

 

[Globalti]

Here's another true story: on our honeymoon in Scotland Mrs GTI and I met a very portly middle-aged woman on top of The Ben wearing a summer frock and sandals and carrying a plastic bag while she staggered around on the slushy snowfield. Frankly we were amazed she had made it to the top.

On the way down the zigzags we overtook a couple, he in leisure gear and she in high heeled sandals, crying because her feet were in agony - high heels are probably not too bad going up but a bit steep coming down. As we passed the bloke asked "Whas the matter, d'ye no like the stanes?" Her reply (crying) "'Course I don't like the feckin' stanes!"

PS: I did once have a story published in Singletrack magazine about getting lost in fog on High Street but.... (whisper) I made it up.....

 

[Red Light]

PS: I did once have a story published in Singletrack magazine about getting lost in fog on High Street but.... (whisper) I made it up.....

I get lost on High Street even on a sunny day!

 

[SpokeyDokey]

You described the first lot as '2 Asian guys' what about the rest of your list?

Actually it was '2 very friendly Asian guys' Bluenite.

But fair point nonetheless.

If I forgive your misquote will you please forgive my lack of manners? Ta.