Another bad day on the summits

Was going to be out this weekend but wx got the better of me, and this is why extreme caution should be taken when out in the UK hills/mountains.
Health & Safety comes to me first,

Below is a sad story from saturday 12/01/2008 follow the link…

Home - BBC News?

Steve m0sgb

In reply to M0SGB : I saw this tragic report on CEEFAX last night. Precisely why this OM is content to pick off the 2-pointers in the winter. Not doing anything but chase at the moment - XYL has padlocked my pack to a radiator and glued my boots to the floor. She’ll insist on coming out as well for the first few trips after the medics let me out.

Stay safe - the mountains will still be there in the summer - you want to be there to enjoy them.

Regards, Dave, M0DFA/G6DTN

In reply to M0SGB :yes Dave I’ve always said that, the hills/humps/mountains will still be there another day, 1 point, 2 points what’s the difference, just as long as you enjoy the walk and views, and peace and quite,
Steve m0sgb

In reply to M0SGB :

Some of us never made it to the starting gate on Saturday. :frowning:

Heavy snow in the Cotswolds and flooded roads in the Vale of Evsham meant a late return from work Friday evening, the result of which was a massive loss of interest and cancelled activations. (At least I got home Friday evening. Many didn’t make it until well into Saturday.)

There’s always another day …

73, Richard

In reply to M0SGB :
To me, Striding Edge in the warmer months is virtually a hands-in-pockets stroll (I take them out for the descent at the Helvellyn end!) but in snow and ice it is really a climb, great practice for moving together roped up Alpine style. Next time you’re up there look for the little scratches in the rock made by crampons, there are loads of them, it just shows how much traffic the Edge gets from fully equipped climbers in winter. This poor bloke paid a heavy price for a lapse of judgement, but we all make mistakes. I know I have occasionally been where I shouldn’t be in the prevailing conditions but successfully withdrew in good order, or sometimes and most reprehensibly “pushed it” successfully.

People push their luck because although the mountains will be there another day, they know that they won’t be. In my experience finding the Lakeland hills with a good covering of snow isn’t something that happens to you every year, unless you live close at hand. If you’ve driven a couple of hundred miles to get there the temptation to “just go up for a look” can be overwhelming. I know this will be controversial, but as long as you have a good grounding in winter mountaineering and are alert to and can handle the dangers that can suddenly appear, there is no reason why you shouldn’t take that look. In my opinion the only safe way to make a start in getting that good grounding is to go on one of the Scottish Winter courses, or get together with a couple of friends and hire a guide for a weekend!

73

Brian G8ADD

In reply to M0SGB :

Yes Brian I know what it’s like up on Helvelyn in the snow, a couple of years ago I made the ascent from Wythburn upto Nethermost pike and over to Swirels car park, the snow was at least 10 inches deep with ice under foot, And you know when it’s windy = it’s bloody windy, Well I’ve never walked over Stridings edge but hope to one day, I’ve been out in snow, hailstorms, rain, fog, mist and sunshine. And love the snow for just great fantastic views, Walking in the snow is hard work on thighs and muscles, who knows if snowing this weekend, I might be out somewhere, As for crampons never used them and nearly bought a pair a few years ago, but we have not had any bad weather for them, and like I said I think os my health and safety, I’ve set of up hills/humps/mountains before today and the weather has changed for the worse so turned around and just kept to the lower levels. On another note I was watching a film late on
itv last night, (Wicker man) and saw the hills/mountains from the Scottish area,from a different angle and what a great view, I thought Charlie (g0pzo) would like to climb up them with his ropes.

Any way must go.

Steve m0sgb

In reply to G4ERP:

At least you have a viable and understandable excuse Richard. Mine is that family landed on us at the weekend - a very late arrangement Friday of the “Oh we are coming up” type. Good job I hadn’t posted - oh the embarassment of having to delete it for such a feeble excuse!

73, Gerald

WX here very beneign - the rain forecast did not occur until late on and then not much. It seems there is more on the way, so more snow up north.

In reply to G4OIG:
snow up north !!!
You mean snow up in Scotland, not seen anything else, but a work colleague mentioned that their might have been an accident on Helvelyn on Friday, ;-(

Steve m0sgb

In reply to M0SGB :

snow up north !!!
You mean snow up in Scotland, not seen anything else, but a work
colleague mentioned that their might have been an accident on Helvelyn
on Friday, ;-(

I suppose the issue is “define north”. I did mean LD/NP/SB and north from there.

Sorry to hear that Helvellyn continues to claim victims. As someone said in an earlier post, in SOTA we don’t need to do these summits when the weather is bad - there are plenty of 2 point summits around to get the winter bonus on.

73, Gerald