Four walkers attempting the Yorkshire Three Peaks had to be rescued after getting lost in the dark.
The teenagers rang for help by mobile phone yesterday, and the Cave Rescue Organisation was called out at about 8.05pm to help the three girls and one man who reported they had become disoriented while descending from the 736m (2,415ft) summit of Whernside.
Members of the Clapham-based rescue team, which operates both on the fells and in the caves of the Yorkshire Dales, mounted a search for the four, aged between 16 and 18, and they were found on the western side of the fell at Buck Beck Head.
The group was then escorted by rescuers to one of the team’s vehicles in Kingsdale. The rescue was the CRO’s 75th callout this year.
The Three Peaks challenge is a 39km (24-mile) circuit of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, which participants traditionally aim to complete in 12 hours.
There are now only about 9½ hours of daylight. After the clocks go back early tomorrow morning, the sun will set on Whernside at 4.39pm.
To check sunset times where you are planning to walk, try the Met Office’s beta site, with a sunrise and sunset widget which can be customised to your desired location. Most hand-held GPS devices will also give a sunset time.
Sue feather
29 October 2011A big thank you goes out to all those involved in this rescue, the organization is a fantastic set up and seriously we wouldn't know what we would have done without them. Please find their website and donate what ever you can to them, they are all volunteers, and is a necessary charity run organization.
My son and his three friends were involved in this rescue, a very long, stressful, drawn out night. They really are so grateful for all the help, support and guidance they received when, and after they were located.
Thankfully they had plenty of provisions with them in case of mishaps, non are any worse for wear,and apart from a little embarrassed, they say they will definitely be raising funding for The Cave Rescue Team Charity.
They were doing the Three Peaks to raise sponsorship monies for themselves to pay for travel and for their upkeep on an upcoming trip to China next July where they will be helping out in various ways in the orphanages to help create better lives for the children there.
So it will be double the effort now on future charity raisers to make sure that the Cave Rescue get their share too ;o)
Lyn Armstrong, ML
29 October 2011Ok, I would like to know how to find and use this sunset widget on the new met office beta site, can you explain it as I could not find it when I looked.
Gary
29 October 2011Why do people need to be told what time it gets dark. Most people have lived through many years of summer time, Spring time, Autumn time and winter time even before leaving their homes. Better still why don't they take headtorches?
Bob
29 October 2011The CRO website has details of how to help support the team financially http://www.cro.org.uk/fundraising
Bob, editor
Bob
29 October 2011The panel is in the right-hand column of the main page, titled Daylight Hours.
Key in your desired location and it will give you a choice of venues.
You can then use the calendar to determine sunrise and sunset times for the date you need.
Bob, editor
Sue
30 October 2011gary they had torches etc , they are very sorry for the hassle they caused, they were trying to do a good turn that unfortunately lead to others doing a remarkably good turn to them.......we all learn from unfortunate experiences in our lives.
Alan
31 October 2011Our separate group of walkers encountered their concerned friends in Horton, and all credit to their friends for dealing calmly with what must have been a very anxious situation for them. I am most relieved to hear that the lost walkers were found safe and well in the end, and huge thanks to the wonderful volunteer rescuers for their work, on what must have been a pretty wet callout that evening. I would like to wish the teenagers every success with their forthcoming fundraising, both for their very worthwhile work in China and now also for the CRO. Clearly something did go rather wrong here, but as Sue says we all learn from our mistakes, and I do very much hope they aren't put off walking by this experience - there are many outbound courses available if they need to improve their skills in order to conduct further walks safely and enjoyably, and although I haven't been on one myself I have heard people speak very highly of such courses.
Alan
31 October 2011Re previous comment, my apologies, I didn't read the details at all carefully as these can't have been the same overdue walkers whose friends we encountered (wrong day apart from anything else). Most of my comments still stand though. I hope very much that those other walkers got back okay too...