Teenagers found cold, tired and frightened on DofE walk

[wingstoo]

http://www.herefordtimes.com/news/1...rss&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

Looks like they did the correct thing with the sitting it out in a tent, and they had completed their route cards which made it easier for the MRT to find them...

BUT they had no signal on their phones... Good job they didn't have to rely on their mobile phones to call in a rescue, after all some folks do believe that in the UK you don't need much more than a mobile phone when lost on the mountains these days

He said: "It was wet and windy up there and when the girls realised they were lost and had no phone signal they put up a tent for shelter. “They waited for help to come and because the instructors were able to give us a detailed description of their route it made the search a lot easier.
“We found them at 3:30am. They were cold, tired, frightened and a long way up, but it could have been a lot worse.
“We walked them down off the hill and reunited them with the rest of their party.”

 

[presterjohn]

That is a good news story to me. A system was in place that made them easy to find. The girls did not panic and secured shelter for themselves and their absence was soon noticed and acted upon.

 

[Toddy]

Well done all round there by the sounds of it
Good result that everyone walked out safely.

It'll be interesting to hear how they got 'lost' though; is navigation not part of the exercise for all four of them ? multiple redundancies is what I mean, with everyone having the means to figure out where they were.

atb,
M

 

[wingstoo]

Well done all round there by the sounds of it
Good result that everyone walked out safely.

It'll be interesting to hear how they got 'lost' though; is navigation not part of the exercise for all four of them ? multiple redundancies is what I mean, with everyone having the means to figure out where they were.

atb,
M

I think it was more a case of didn't know where exactly they were, MRT soon found them so they were not far off their route card.

Having been on Snowdon when the mists and rain came in it is easy enough to mis-calculate your position, not exactly lost, but very little to look around for to indicate where you are, or orientate a map too...

Thankfully they did what was needed and came down safe and sound if not a little shaken by the experience.

 

[HillBill]

Good news. They did the right thing, and i hope they do not get put off the DofE scheme and go on to attain their gold. I also hope they don't have a fall out with the outdoors over it.

 

[xylaria]

Well done all round there by the sounds of it
Good result that everyone walked out safely.

It'll be interesting to hear how they got 'lost' though; is navigation not part of the exercise for all four of them ? multiple redundancies is what I mean, with everyone having the means to figure out where they were.

atb,
M

The weather has been really dire around here, i presume it was just as bad that side of the brecons. It has been really poor visiblity, high winds, and serious rain. Sometimes it is safer to pitch up, than continue. They did everything right as far as I can see.

 

[dwardo]

I still remember being a teenager just,,, From what I do recall I had a million things going on upstairs, mostly about downstairs but more than enough to easily confuse.
Glad they got back safe n sound.

 

[Stringmaker]

Sometimes it is safer to pitch up, than continue. They did everything right as far as I can see.

I did an outdoor first aid course last year and all the other attendees were either ML or DofE leaders or both. They had a collection of stories to tell but in every case the people involved stayed calm and did what they had been taught/trained to do.

Well done them.

 

[Toddy]

I've been thinking of this one, and it occurs to me that recognising that they were lost, was a skill in itself.
There must be a tremendous temptation to just carry on, sure that you'll find the route again; that you can pull yourself back on line.
Takes a kind of courage to say, "stop", and sit down and wait.
I think their Instructor will be both worried and pleased with them, and like the others I hope it doesn't put them off.

cheers,
M

 

[mrcharly]

Their instructor deserves a pat on the back for training them properly.

 

[rik_uk3]

They did the right things and stayed safe. Good to see they had the common sense to take mobile phones even if they couldn't get a signal this trip.

 

[wingstoo]

Mobile phones to teenagers are like guns to americans...out of my cold dead hands.
Good job "this trip" wasn't the one that no signal mean't they came off in a bag. Excellent leadership skills saved their lives

 

[rik_uk3]

Wingstoo, chill mate, not carrying a phone in the UK 'wild' is the path of the total idiot. Obviously learn the ABC's of the outdoor ways (as these lads have by the looks of things) but don't be a knob and knock the mobile phone as a survival aid, dam sight more useful than a tin of 'survival' tat in your pocket in the UK if your honest

Posts like yours may give some newbie the idea to go and walk off and leave their phone at home and end up DEAD, how would you feel about that? Not be much then would there.

Carry a mobile phone, turn it on if you need to, it really is or certainly should be part of your basic kit but taking one on a trip is so important.

 

[Wayne]

Glad they stopped and sorted themselves out and got into a shelter. We have all been there and got ourselves lost a some point in our lives. Its what builds experience and self reliance.

Next time they will all keep a close I on their location.

 

[Laurentius]

I've been thinking of this one, and it occurs to me that recognising that they were lost, was a skill in itself.
There must be a tremendous temptation to just carry on, sure that you'll find the route again; that you can pull yourself back on line.
Takes a kind of courage to say, "stop", and sit down and wait.
I think their Instructor will be both worried and pleased with them, and like the others I hope it doesn't put them off.

cheers,
M

If knowing you are lost is a skill, I have to say it is one I am very good at I once got lost somewhere around the lower reaches of Snowdon. Not lost exactly because I knew there was a road in front of me, and I knew there was a road to the right and I knew the way I had come, but could I find where the footpath went, which I had set out to navigate? Absolutely not, it had disappeared. So I wasn't lost exactly but certainly not where I had intended to be. Oh and of course there was no phone signal, there never is when I am in Wales, I seem to travel with a permanent blackout around me like my own personal raincloud.

 

[Bluffer]

Carry a mobile phone, turn it on if you need to, it really is or certainly should be part of your basic kit but taking one on a trip is so important.

Fully agreed Rik. Getting lost is one thing, becoming injured and lost is when a phone can become a life-saver and is just as important as a map in that situation (in my opinion).

 

[wingstoo]

Just don't rely on it... Have a back up system in place, route cards, Expected time of return, someone notified of your trip etc etc, and pack a back-up kit to use for your basic survival... This case should bring it home to anyone and everyone going out as a group or singularly that having a mobile phone is nice to have, but not always reliable enough to deal with all eventualities whether life threatening or not, as it was the girls were just fine; cold, wet, scared maybe, but thankfully not injured...

I would like to find out if they were told that with a 999 call they might have got through to the emergency services? even though their own networks were unavailable.

 

[Bucephalas]

I had to read it all twice, I didn't quite read it that Wingstoo was "knocking" the use of mobile phones and to suggest he's a "knob" is more than a bit rude IMO.
As for the "lads" I think you'll find they were GIRLS if you took the time to read the link.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free

 

[xylaria]

If knowing you are lost is a skill, I have to say it is one I am very good at I once got lost somewhere around the lower reaches of Snowdon. Not lost exactly because I knew there was a road in front of me, and I knew there was a road to the right and I knew the way I had come, but could I find where the footpath went, which I had set out to navigate? Absolutely not, it had disappeared. So I wasn't lost exactly but certainly not where I had intended to be. Oh and of course there was no phone signal, there never is when I am in Wales, I seem to travel with a permanent blackout around me like my own personal raincloud.

Spare sim from another company might help, orange/t mobile do all right for west brecons. Smart phones can give a gps reference and baring which is usefull if you can get an emergency signal so help can easily locate a position

 

[rik_uk3]

Fully agreed Rik. Getting lost is one thing, becoming injured and lost is when a phone can become a life-saver and is just as important as a map in that situation (in my opinion).

I agree completely but sadly there are members who don't. Very sad and not a good avocation for an outdoor site such as BCUK