Which does the Ben Ledi guy get Nigel?
I don't know about the situation to say for certain.
But.
He didn't have the most basic navigation equipment, warm clothing for the times he would be static or even any food. On top of that I assume he knew the weather conditions and that there was a significant amount of snow on the ground.
On that basis I would put him in the "****" category and I would hope he would make a sizable donation to the MR team that went to get him.
Too often we see people who are totally unprepared heading off on to Pen-y-fan. Most are lucky enough to get back to their car without issue (although they may be a bit colder and wetter than they need to be). There again there are those who don't. If they had prepared properly they may have made it back or, worse case scenario, hunkered down for a few hours for the weather to improve so they could self rescue.
In the next month I will spend hours holding a bucket outside a few Tesco stores to raise funds for our MRT. It is also an opportunity for us to educate the public on how to stay safe on the hill. On top of that I'm arranging other fundraising events, writing corporate sponsorship begging letters and more. All of this because search and rescue charities in England and Wales do not recieve any central government funding. We may get the occasional grant but in the main every team funds itself.
When I go to a callout for someone/thing that could have been avoided with some common sense and a bit of preperation, I look at the MRT volunteers. They give their time without pay, they also fundraise, they pay for their own personal equipment (no refunds when you rip your GorTex jacket on barbed wire), often they contribute to the cost their training and often risk their own safety. We even pay the line rental for our pagers. We do all this and don't look for personal publicity or recognition.
I find it frustrating when you are called out to an **** who has put themselves, or even their family, in a dangerous situation. Especially when 2 days later you are called out to search for a squaddie with PTSD who takes their own life before you can find them.
Rant over (I feel better now!)