“It’ll never happen to me”, “I’ll never need mountain rescue”, “It’s only a fell.”
We all know someone who sees the Lake District’s fells and mountains as nothing more than a walk in the park.
But even the most prepared and experienced walkers can suddenly get into difficulty or find themselves with an unexpected injury.
Year-in-year-out, mountain rescue teams across the county face surges in call outs when weather shifts with the changing seasons.
Sometimes incidents are unavoidable – but rescuers often see times where just a little extra preparation could have made a whole lot of difference.
One of these people is Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team member Chad Dixon, of Gosforth.
The 48-year-old has been volunteering for mountain rescue for three years and has helped save lives during serious incidents as well dealing with more minor call outs too.
While there’s lots of advice available across the internet for walkers, we spoke to Chad about his real experiences of the Lake District, as well as what equipment and tips actually keep people alive when they get into difficulty in the fells and mountains.
Being prepared in the Lake District
If you’re planning to hike up a fell or mountain – it should go without saying that you need to be prepared.
But many people often opt to avoid carrying a rucksack, whether they’re a fell runner avoiding the extra weight, or they’re just on a quick jaunt up a smaller fell and don’t see the need for supplies.
Thinking about what might happen if you break an ankle or suddenly find yourself in distress isn’t the nicest way to psych yourself up for a fell walk, but it could be worth it in the long run.
Being prepared and ready to mitigate the worst case scenario not only helps you but also helps out mountain rescue.
Chad says: “If you end up injured, you want to be prepared for being still for at least two hours.
“When we’re called out we’re often travelling from our homes or other places like supermarkets and at our best we get down into the valley in an hour and 45 minutes.
“In that time you want to stay warm, keep dry and get some pain killers down you. Someone who is cold and wet can be more of a serious casualty to deal with than someone who has things like a bothy, layers of clothing, gloves and a bit of food.”
So what does being prepared actually look like? At its most basic, here’s what you should be bringing with you:
- Extra warm clothing in a dry bag
- Emergency food, water and shelter
- Painkillers
- Digital and physical maps
- A fully charged phone (bonus points if you have a small power bank to take with you)
- A torch that is not your phone torch
- A whistle for flagging down help
- Waterproof clothing
Chad adds: “When I’m out fell running I carry with me a two-man bothy in case I come across a casualty myself. A bothy is an emergency shelter that packs to the size of a Coke can and they weigh nothing.
“If you put up a bothy in a situation where the weather is bad, it is instantaneous with the body heat and breathing and can warm you up straight away.
“Things like micro spikes make a hell of a difference in colder conditions. They’re basically a jelly shoe with spikes you wear over your footwear.
“A small medical kit also never goes amiss. Wrap bandages and gauzes are good to carry in case you want to stop bleeding and aspirin is excellent.
“If you come across anyone with chest pains or possibly pre-cardiac arrest, getting them to crunch 300mg of aspirin near the gum line can make a massive difference and it’s easy to carry.
“Ibuprofen and paracetamol are good to carry as well as salt tablets. Salt tablets are cheap as pie and good to carry in summer. We get a lot of calls in warm weather with people cramping up and becoming dehydrated.
“A salt tablet and a little bit of food can go a long way.”
Being prepared also doesn’t have to cost a lot – but Chad says avid walkers should consider making smart gear investments.
He adds: “If you’re going to get serious with it and you can afford to invest into equipment then go for it. But if not, get into second hand shops and charity shops for spare equipment.
“Inexpensive things like dry bags are good for storing dry layers and you can get foil sleeping bags that are only a couple of quid. They’re better than foil blankets, they can be a waste of time in the wind.
“Recently, out of the seven calls in three days, most of them were ill-prepared for the weather and snow up there.
“But we’re all prone to accidents, we’re only human beings made of flesh and blood at the end of the day, anything can happen when you’re up there, so it’s about being prepared for that.
“Always let people know where you’re going and what time you expect to be back, and stay safe and enjoy the hills.”
Knowing your route well
While a small navigational error isn’t normally a huge problem in a car – on fells and mountains it can be a completely different story.
Chad says: “Being prepared from a navigational point of view can take some weight off our shoulders. We use OS maps and phones are a great quick and accessible tool, but be able to use hard copy maps, be able to use a compass and know your escape routes, especially in spring weather.
“Electronic devices do have a tendency to overheat in summer and everything is breakable and packs up now and again. If you’re in a group, make sure others have a map as well.
“We do see a lot of arrogant social media comments where people say Scafell Pike is ‘just an up and down’ and while technically it is, it’s a big plateau and if you’re not used to navigating it, it can easily take you off on then wrong bearing.
“We’ve had quite a few rescues in Piers Gill and that can be down to a simple navigation error. It’s a real lobster pot, the further you go in the harder it is to get out, so navigation is a big thing.”
While walkers should carry maps – Chad credits phones and satellite phone devices for speeding up rescues.
He says: “I do believe the latest iPhones have an SOS emergency response in their settings and on the back of that I have a Garmin inReach. It cost around £200 and is a £14 a month subscription. It’s a little tablet and has an SOS co-ordinate button and you can text emergency contacts through it.
“For mountain rescue our ethos is grid references. When we do phone finds to locate people we always use grid references.
“At the end of the day it’s about knowing what you’re doing and knowing where you’re going and trusting yourself.”
Attitude and knowing when to turn back
Nobody wants to turn their back on a fell or mountain they’ve set out to conquer, but turning back when things get dangerous is something Chad believes is a sign of strength.
He says: “Scafell Pike is a trophy hill, it’s the highest in England and everyone wants to top out, but it’s a long journey and you need to know when to turn around.
“We’ve seen a lot of people come down it on their bums in trainers and unprepared for the weather. People come from all over the country to do it and their attitude is ‘I’m not going home without doing it’.
“Sometimes we bump into people who are really overconfident and have maps on their phones and think they know what they’re doing, but they’re in a group of six and they’re strung out over a quarter of a mile.
“You end up with those types at the top and the slower walkers end up a good 400 or 500 yards behind them, but it’s about sticking together.
“We like to use the acronym WREP – which stands for weather, route, experience and people. Know the group you walk with and their experience, know the route and double check the weather.
“Complacency when you’re out and being overconfident when you’re not prepared or experienced, that’s when accidents happen.
“The hills have been there for millions of years and they will be there for millions of years to come, so spin around and come back in the summer when it’s clearer and safer to go up.”
Chad adds that while blue skies might look like a perfect day for walking in the fells and mountains, it isn’t always a good indicator of what to expect at the top of a mountain or fell.
Chad says: “Last Wednesday we had a call out and it was just a bit chilly and windy in the valley but on top of the pike we were on looking for people it was absolutely vile.
“There was a massive amount of water and it wasn’t just the streams in spate, it was the paths too, there was that much water coming down with sleet that stung your face and eyes.
“So we were edging forward in very bad weather that wasn’t there when we set off – it’s a beast the Lake District, people don’t give it enough credit.
“But the Mountain Weather Information Service is a really good source for weather information. It only gives you a three-day forecast but it’s a really good and accurate prediction for the Lakes as well as places like the Cairngorms.”
What do I do if I need to be rescued?
If you find yourself in distress on the fells you must try and call 999 and get yourself as warm and comfortable as possible.
Chad says being able to give a grid reference to the call handler is more than ideal but if you can’t and you have phone signal, the team will send you an email with a link that allows them to find your location.
He adds: “If we put phone find out on people we know exactly where we’re going, but if they’re not there because they’ve moved, what might have been a three-person job can quickly turn into a full search.
“We’ve also had some people call and feign injuries when they’re just lost, which is a really bad thing to do as it can take resources away from genuine incidents.
“We also had a call out once to someone using Google Maps to navigate, which just does not work. That turned into a huge search and he was very lucky to be rescued.
“I had someone ask me last week if we get mad at these people, but we don’t judge people. We do give some advice depending on severity of casualty, but we cant police everything, we just have to deal with what happens.
“But people do help people up there – nobody just walks past, they do get stuck in and worst case scenario we are there, and we will get out to you.”
Last year, Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team was called out over 30 times in May over the bank holiday weekend and school holidays.
Taking steps to be prepared and adventure ready can take weight off the teams’ shoulders.
Rescue teams across the Lake District are asking people to use their #BeAdventureSmart service as the weather warms up.
You can find out more about Adventure Smart and ways to stay safe by clicking here.
