The summit of Great Dodd. Photo: David Brown CC-BY-SA-2.0
Two walkers were rescued from a Lake District fell after getting lost in low cloud.
The couple called 999 from Great Dodd today after they became disoriented in poor visibility.
Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was alerted at 3.45pm by Cumbria Constabulary.
A team spokesperson said: “Initially their location was unknown and a search dog, handler and second team member were tasked to locate them.
“Subsequently the team was able to identify where the missing people were by using the Sarloc system which locates missing people by using smartphone technology.
“They were located by team members and escorted safely from the fell.
“Five team members were involved for three hours.”
Alan
13 October 2013What was life like, walking in the hills before mobile phones?
Perhaps people were more aware that if they got into any problems they would have to get down by themselves - having some skills come to mind
heidi
13 October 2013did they have a map and compass?
HairyWookie
13 October 2013Seconded.
I think its an education thing; wierdly, its not deemed as "cool" these days to have the kit to be prepared for all weathers and a map & compass.
Strange how things have gotten so reliant on tech not kit & skills.
I have a GPS in my bag; but that is only for emergencies. A map & compass with years worth of use more than suffice, as does my worn but functional kit.
Jed
13 October 2013If they had a phone - then a simple app like a grid ref finder would have shown where they were and they could have found their way down, assuming they had map and compass
Sheepy
14 October 2013As I keep pointing out 999 is for an emergency! Getting lost is NOT an emergency. As already mentioned, before the mobile they would have had to find a way down themselves.
Those compass thingys are marvellous, people should try them some time.
The other thing I would say is that if its cloudy or raining then don't bother with the walk, or turn back. Espeically if you feel uncertain about your route. Its not always very enjoyable getting wet or having no views anyway.
jhimmy
14 October 2013The area can be tricky in thick cloud, but there's a well worn path on the main ridge. A quick look at a map would have shown fairly easy descent routes down. So conclusion is they had no map and compass.
OK, lets do a quick calculation (just for fun!) 5 members of the volunteering MRT would have been paid approx £10 per hour if they they were a paid organisation, time taken 3 hours....5x10x3 =£150.
Map and compass £8 + £12 = £20 (but should last 25 years with careful handling)
Isn't maths fun.