Precautions

[Harvestman]

I posted on another thread (the Devon meet one, I think) a few weeks ago, that I was intendind a solo winter camp in the Black Mountains.

As soon as I announced this a few people very kindly offered me some good advice, which I appreciated.

Anyway, the trip is tomorrow. My wife is taking me there and will pick me up on Monday morning, as she needs the car over the weekend.

As was suggested, for a winter solo trip, it is sensible to take precautions, in case of accident. So my family know where I will be. I know there is mobile phone signal close to the site, if not at the site itself. I checked the site out at this time least year (in 3 feet of snow) and know that it is a practical location in bad weather. I'm not far from a well-travelled footpath, so I can attract attention if I need to, and there's a bothy close by as well.

I'm also posting on here. I will post in this thread monday afternoon/evening upon my return. The Big Lebowski has also requested a phone call from me to say I'm ok.

And finally, I went up there today for a final recce (always a good idea), although that didn't go to plan as I stupidly left my waterproofs in the house (accidentally), so i could only get part-way to the intended site before I started to get wet (continuous drizzle) and decided to come back. On the other hand I established that the temperatures are mild, the wind not severe (and from a good direction) and my layering system is reasonably effective in damp conditions. I've looked at two different mountain area forecasts, and both predict drizzle and rain, but nothing severe, and the weather will only be starting to worsen as I leave.

For those of you who know it, I'm going to Grwyne Fawr, to be dropped off at the car park, and walk up to the far end of the reservoir, go past the bothy, cross the river, and camp right at the head of the reservoir, where there is flat ground, some silver birches, and the old quarry gives terraces to provide shelter from the wind. I have the kit to do this comfortably (I've winter camped in worse than this) and the experience as well.

Have I missed anything? Giving notice of intentions to Mountain Rescue or something?

Comments welcome.

 

[Shewie]

I'm not familiar with that area, maybe have a bad weather alternative where you can come down from the tops to avoid the worst of it.

If your nearest and dearest have got your route then there's nothing to worry about, just get out and enjoy the p&q

 

[udamiano]

I think you've done all you can, and taken appropriate precautions (a lot more than most do). Have a great weekend

 

[Elines]

I think it is great that you are taking such a sensible approach - I have some (walking) friends who are great mates but they do seem to think sometimes that 'it will be alright on the night'. (When the sole of a boot of one of them strated to come off I was the only one with a bit of cord to use to hold it in place till it could be repaired.)

I have some other friends who are seriously into mountain biking (their bikes cost £000s) and I was astounded to hear that they don't even carry a first aid kit. When I queried this the general response was, "Well if we have an accident a first aid kit won't be much use so we will call the Air Ambulance." They then admitted they didn't even have a mobile phone. I hope they were just extracting the urine regarding the mobile phone but they definitely weren't as regards the first aid kit.

So far they haven't hit problems .......

 

[Harvestman]

Thing is Elines, some years ago I did the walking equivalent of going off on my own, inagequate preparation, no-one knew where I was, and I got into trouble. Lesson learned, as they say.

 

[Ivan...]

Hey Harvestman , well done pal ! i think you have it covered and you couldn't have a better man than TBL , on your side ( make sure you check in with him as arranged , as all hell will let loose if you don't ) I have first hand experience of that mans sensible head !

Go and have a great time , maybe a few pics if we are lucky .

Be Safe .

Ivan...

 

[John Fenna]

I have spent more than half my life going on solo trips all year round - even before mobiles were invented >)
I started off with kit that now would not be thought good enough (though it was pretty much state of the art at the time) and lived to be enjoying the outdoors today
The trick is to think of what might go wrong before it does, work out "acceptable risk", take gear to deal with the "what if"s and go and have fun
What does not kill you makes you strong - and sure to take precautions next time.
If you do die at least you were having fun at the time

 

[toilet digger]

I have spent more than half my life going on solo trips all year round - even before mobiles were invented >)
I started off with kit that now would not be thought good enough (though it was pretty much state of the art at the time) and lived to be enjoying the outdoors today
The trick is to think of what might go wrong before it does, work out "acceptable risk", take gear to deal with the "what if"s and go and have fun
What does not kill you makes you strong - and sure to take precautions next time.
If you do die at least you were having fun at the time

words to live by.

 

[lannyman8]

words to live by.

and make sure you have a "Lannyman" with you to sort it all out.... all reat J....lol

sounds good, more than enough done to be safe dude, and as you say the weather is not cold, but wet can be just as bad at times....

enjoy and keep safe.

regards.

chris.

 

[ged]

... Have I missed anything? Giving notice of intentions to Mountain Rescue or something? ...

I don't think Mountain Rescue wants to know about it every time you leave home, but there's a lot of useful advice published. I guess you've seen it, and you've covered some of it here, but I'll post a link anyway.

http://www.mountain.rescue.org.uk/mountain-advice

Sounds like you'll have a great time!

 

[Elines]

The personal outdoor plan from Paul Kirtley's blog might identify something you have missed

http://paulkirtley.co.uk/resources/personal-outdoor-plan/

 

[Shewie]

The personal outdoor plan from Paul Kirtley's blog might identify something you have missed

http://paulkirtley.co.uk/resources/personal-outdoor-plan/

Wow, that's thorough

 

[Harvestman]

Right, for those massed hordes waiting breathlessly for my return, I'm back.

All safe an sound (which is more than can be said for some of my kit), and generally had a good time, although it was a bit wetter than I might have preferred.

Can anyone enlighten me on a theoretical condition which I have heard about, apparently called "being dry"? I don't believe in it, or at least, I don't think I've experienced it recently. When I got home SWMBO instantly said I should go for a bath - as if I wasn't wet enough already. Now with washing kit after the trip, I think dry is just one of those things that people talk about, but which doesn't actually happen.

Pics will be up in another thread when I sort them out.

Thanks for the useful links guys.

Mike

 

[mousey]

hmm, this 'being dry' thing NEVER happens when I'm outdoors. I've just accepted that going outside for any longer than a day and I'll get at least damp

Good to see you get home safely... hope you had fun and I'm well impressed with the amount of back-ground work done on the site...

 

[ged]

I wonder if there's a sticky somewhere here on keeping dry?

If you're always wet when you're out then you might be taking risks that you don't need to take.

Being wet for any length of time in cold weather can be dangerous. Hypothermia creeps up on you, reducing your performance and especially your decision-making capabilities. It's another one of those "press on regardless" things, like not knowing where you are or what direction you're going in but keeping going anyway. You need to be able to stop and take stock of the situation, and if necessary do something about it. A change of clothes in a dry bag (always in my kit) can at least make you a lot more comfortable for the night if not exactly save your life.

My view is that your gear should be able to keep you dry in the forseeable conditions, and that you don't need much gear, nor expensive gear, to stay dry or to get dry if you use it right. Sure, we've all had the odd wet and uncomfortable night, and had a laugh about it afterwards, but the odd times that happens should give us pause.

Useful thread. Comments?

 

[Harvestman]

Ged, that's a very useful comment. Basically, I got damp (but not cold) due to two stupid mistakes that I should have known better than to make. I didn't put my waterproof trousers on until my winter trousers were already wet from rain (double layer trousers means it takes longer to notice that they are getting wet), and then I didn't pack my sleeping bag up properly after the first night, so it got wet too at the head end.

My waterproofs did a good job on the whole, and hot drinks meant I was always warm and body heat kept my base layers dry after perspiration or whatever. The only bit that got seriously wet was my feet, as my boots were not up to the river crossing that I had to do, and moisture probably wicked down my trousers as well, but I had 2 changes of socks with me so that took care of that problem.

Basically, I was fine kit wise, I just made two mistakes that would have made things a bit more comfortable. But it was a good trip and I enjoyed it