MRT rarely speak out about such things, so to be so clear is an indication of how ridiculous this situation was. I know it's not only PMRT, it seems to be an ever growing issue despite there always having been numpties in the world.
Patterdale MRT saved a life of my friend out biking, and he and I will be forever in debt to them.
It's a pity MRT have too much class to name and shame ungrateful arseholes like this.
I hope the "leader" was encouraged to make a decent donation to the cause.
My friend who was saved by PMRT ran the London Marathon and raised £18k for them and got them on an episode of '999' - perhaps a guide as to a suitable donation?
Considering he didn't even thank the team, not sure any legal form of encouragement would have been effective.
Who in their right mind goes hill walking in a group of 76? These big groups are a pain in the arse and should be banned.
Who in their right mind goes hill walking in a group of 76?
Indeed and how on Earth can the "leader" be having his dinner whilst others are still out on the fell?
Loving Grough's relentless obsession with mountain accidents and rescues. If more people read it regularly there would be far fewer call-outs, mostly because folk would be terrified of going on the hill. It makes road.cc seem positively cheery.
what a bunch of knackers, you must have to develop a pretty cool head to deal with idiots like that and not lose your temper. Sense of humour probably helps - Ambleside MRT log some of their less ordinary call outs here:
https://www.lamrt.org.uk/category/incident-type/fellwalking-sort
I was witness to the top one - but not involved. A big group lumbering up to stickle tarn in flip flops and carrying a barbecue. Ended up with 2 ambulances and helicopter evacuation.
It makes road.cc seem positively cheery.
ha - I stopped reading road.cc a while ago. Was great when it started but now a miserable and bitter place. bleh
Who in their right mind goes hill walking in a group of 76?
Some sort of charity thing? Seem to often be large groups.
Whatever the case the "leader" needs a severe kick up the arse.
interesting use of words...
“It turns out that the group were actually benighted without torches,
[i]benighted
adjective: benighted
1.
overtaken by darkness.
2.
in a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance.[/i]
Is there a word for when both meanings of a word are appropriate?
Who in their right mind goes hill walking in a group of 76?
School groups.
Maybe not 76, but a good 50 or so, the last time I descended from Skiddaw via Little Man. 5:30pm I reckon, and there was a party that I would have guessed were some kind of religious school (judging from attire), ascending in dribs and drabs. A few in pairs, some in groups of 10. Some asking if it was much colder at the top. Others asking how much further?
Check your map, that'll show you exactly how much further. On the plus side, they were nowhere near the top whatsoever, and realistically had no chance of getting there before someone with a clue realised, that (a) it was getting dark, (b) it was cold, (c) only about 4 had any water (as in a 500ml evian or something), and (d) only about 5 even had a mini rucksack.
Hopefully Keswick MRT had a nice warm dinner.
School groups would usually count the pupils back in at the end though, unless free schools don't have to do that kind of thing.
According to Patterdale MRT on FB no kids were involved, it was a large group from a variety of countries with plenty of ill-experienced walkers. Not a charity event either.
According to Patterdale MRT on FB no kids were involved, it was a large group from a variety of countries with plenty of ill-experienced walkers. Not a charity event either.
Were they all one group though or a club / group sharing accommodation but with multiple walks going on? 76 is a lot even then but more manageable, and the overall leader has a different role (albeit that wouldn't normally include red!).
The danger with this type of gripe is some people will hear "please don't call us out at dinner time" and delay the call to 9pm! That is worse for the casualties.
[quote=joemmo ]Ambleside MRT log some of their less ordinary call outs here:
https://www.lamrt.org.uk/category/incident-type/fellwalking-sort
Wow - some proper idiots there. I particularly enjoyed the people letting off flares for fun (which does remind me I have a load of expired flares which I keep wondering what to do with).
Though for balance if you check their main incident page, there are very few incidents where there is even the tiniest bit of implied criticism for the victims, most appear to be perfectly genuine callouts they are happy to do.
School groups would usually count the pupils back in at the end though, unless free schools don't have to do that kind of thing.
you would think so
when I've seen other reasonable sized groups, they all stick together and stop together, make sure all are going the speed of the slowest etc.
The 50 or so I saw would have been scattered all over the mountain, with small groups splitting up, some in one group joining another, etc.
The only feasible counting in would be right at the end of the day. Oh Johnny is missing. "I thought he was in your group". "Not our group, I thought he was with Billy's group"...
They carried my Dad's body off the Fells when he died in the Lakes when we were walking.
All the wedding gifts we got were donations to Langdale MRT.
Great bunch of people, really can't understand why they are still not government funded.
Bit like the Air Ambulance really.. 😕
really can't understand why they are still not government funded
Is it not the case that they don't want to be, as then they would be constrained by the accountabilities that come with it?
I think they are part funded.really can't understand why they are still not government funded
Edit: maybe only in Scotland.
The danger with this type of gripe is some people will hear "please don't call us out at dinner time" and delay the call to 9pm!
I think that was just a side-swipe at the glorious leader having HIS dinner in the pub while the MRT had to go and look after HIS group.
The inference was that one of the sub-group who had come off the hill for help was having his din-dins, while the overall group leader was already in his PJs with a mug of cocoa.
😀
People who do stuff like this make my list of top 10 things that annoy me i.e. lets go swimming/canoeing/climbing in a storm for a thrill, get in trouble then put others lives in danger trying to save your dumbass
There should be a way for them to claw back costs of rescues imo
Yeah, but we've all skinny dipped in that corrie, no?
😉
Great bunch of people, really can't understand why they are still not government funded.
As I understand it, rather like the RNLI, it's better that they aren't state funded ...
It is interesting from the group perspective, especially given some peoples attitude above to groups, let alone enormous groups.
If you want to sort yourself out and not have to deal with others problems, going solo is great. However, if you like the camaraderie, shared experience and team support, then group activities are great. But groups do require some fundamental elements of team work and group responsibility. I am not even sure how you can as a group member have no regard for your lost group members beyond calling MRT and then swanning off for your supper and glass of vino, or getting into your PJs.
Anyone remember Simon Barnes photo stories? Here is the Bogtrotters Christmas fancy dress ride from 2008 that ended in a far more amusing mountain rescue report when they saved Minnie Mouse after she broke her ankle.
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Large groups are selfish going out on the hills. They take up far too much space, cause extra erosion as they dont walk single file to suit the path, their rabble can be heard for miles around as they have no concept of others.However, if you like the camaraderie, shared experience and team support, then group activities are great.
Are we speaking of the Bogtrotters or the Patterdale group? 😉
I have to say, that is a pretty shocking story
Separately, the advice is always to take map and compass into the hills. I can think of many people who wouldn't know what to do with them! I suppose they wouldn't be major hill walkers, but they might have a stroll along a signposted footpath