Ben Ledi's summit in better visibility. Photo: Richard Webb CC-BY-SA-2.0
A senior police officer said today anyone going ill equipped on to the Scottish hills is playing with people’s lives.
Chief Inspector Kevin Findlater of Central Scotland Police urged walkers and climbers to be prepared for all weather after a man was caught in a whiteout for 10 hours on a Perthshire Mountain.
The man was rescued calling for help after being caught in blizzard conditions on the summit of the 879m (2,884ft) corbett Ben Ledi, near Callander.
Ch Insp Findlater said: “To go up the hills at this time of the year and not to be properly equipped or prepared for extreme conditions is inexcusable. It is playing with people’s lives and this should not be taken lightly.”
The officer said the walker was a regular on Ben Ledi, but had not taken account of the weather conditions.
“This man had climbed this hill numerous times and decided to travel light,” Ch Insp Findlater said. “When he reached the summit he was stuck in whiteout conditions and managed to text his wife for help. He had no map or compass, no extra clothing and no food.”
Police called out Killin Mountain Rescue Team and a search was mounted for the walker.
Ch Insp Findlater said: “The conditions towards the upper slopes were treacherous and team members found themselves waist deep in snow.
“Contact was made with the made with the man, who had dug a snow hole to shelter, regularly by phone and text.
“It took the mountain rescue team five hours to reach the man as conditions were poor. The man was warmed up and walked off the hill with help from the team. He was finally down off the hill 10 hours after the alarm was raised.”
He added: “This man had been complacent and took little notice of the approaching conditions.
“Anyone who climbs the hills should always be prepared and pay close attention to the weather forecasts and the weather conditions. The weather at the bottom can be very different to the conditions at the summit.
“It is irrelevant whether you have climbed the hill numerous times or once. You still need to be properly equipped and you still need to pay close attention to changing weather conditions.
“It is just fortunate that this man was found safe and well. However he has put his own life at risk and that of other people who were out looking for him.”
Peter Evans
05 January 2012Be prepared and listen to the weather forecast is the moral of the tale. No doubt he will have learned a salutary lesson.
MRT
06 January 2012Rubbish, 'the casualty dies first' is the motto in most MRT teams. It is very rare that a team member does something more risky than they wouldn't ordinarily do in the pursuit of their sport. (aircraft excepted)
Furthermore, you can get your bottom dollar that said team member enjoys every minute of a(non fatal) call out.
If your looking for heros and the brave, check out the RNLI.
Chief Inspector Kevin Findlater is talking bluster and sensationalizing.
There are better methods of educating the public to be properly prepared on our Hills and Mountains.
RM
06 January 2012The guy screwed up, give him a break. We've all underestimated the weather on occasion. There's nothing in this article to suggest that he would have got down by himself even if he did have map, compass, extra clothing etc. He kept in touch (maybe he knew about the phone signal from previous trips), dug himself a hole and waited for rescue. Following his initial error he did the right thing.
OutdoorsAndy
06 January 2012MRT, your attitude is frightning. This man made grave errors and it was a phone signal that saved his life. Agreed, the RNLI are an exceptional organisation, but so too are Mountain Rescue, and don't forgett much of their work has nothing to do with lost walkers, but with suicide victums and finding lost people with mental health issues. To sujest they do not risk their lives and in some way this belittles their efforts is strange to say the least.
To say the Cheif Insector is sensationalizing and talking bluster is also idiotic- he is giving sound advice- the police are stretched as it is, especialy in rural areas and do not need this sort of distraction.
I could go on, but you should not feed the trolls!
MRT
06 January 2012Outdoor Andy, more than a decade working in an MRT says I might know a thing or two about it!
In that time I don't remember being physically brave or taking more risk than I would stand whilst pursuing my sport in general, even in the foulest weather of the worst rescue scenarios.
Hard work, grueling, technical, arduous, altruistic, rewarding, satisfying, yes.
Brave or excessively risky compared to the normal games that climbers play, No, never!
Yes there was the odd search for a pyscopath or two but nowadays those sorts of risks are managed in a more formal way by the police.
Yes the public need educating about mountain conditions, but sensationalizing the risk involved in being a member of an MRT is not the answer, it misrepresents what MRT members do in comparison to their own sport.
It misrepresents the sport(which is the most significant issue for me), it also just attracts and encourages more hero wannabees.
Margaret
07 January 2012I wrote in another post recently - back in the 1970s a Chief Constable declared that the hills were closed because of avalanche risk - I don't think he did it again.
on the fence
08 January 2012MRT - The majority of our members don't shout about it, tend to be very normal, modest and experienced in most hill events.
An unfortunate media report possibly confused a difficult situation for all involved and no shout is ever the same but involves professionalism....which in my humble opinion lacks in the MRT statements above!
How light is light? what didn't he carry? what did he carry? what did he know what didn't he know? no one here knows....
we all have near misses, and occasionally an event that makes you reassess your ability, kit etc etc....maybe this was his
He did the right thing and made the call, asked for help, stood up (hopefully) and wasn't too proud to say yes i need help