Llanberis Mountain Rescue assists those in need in the mountains surrounding Eryri, also known as Snowdonia, in Gwynedd. It has said it is facing “huge pressure” and risking “burnout” after exceeding 300 responses this year (the team responded to about 100 callouts in 2008). Call-outs have soared, with each volunteer responding to several incidents a day, it added.
The team attended its 300th call on 2 December when it rescued a hill walker injured in a fall on Yr Wyddfa, also known as Snowdon.
Archive - At the Intersection on the Pyg/Miners’ Track in winter
“The team were scrambled to Snowdon’s Pyg track in wintry conditions to assist with a walker with a head injury before they safely evacuated to hospital (Ysbyty Gwynedd),” it said in a Facebook post. “This was shortly followed by their 301st call-out two days later to assist a pair of walkers who had become stuck in full winter conditions near the top of Snowdon.”
Archive - The summit pillar in winter
Visits to Wales’ mountains increased significantly during the pandemic, and Yr Wyddfa now gets more than 500,000 visitors a year.
Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team Chairman Dr Richard Griffiths said: “We are hugely lucky that our volunteers are willing to go out at any time of day to rescue fellow walkers, climbers, runners and mountain bikers whose day has gone wrong. Our average member attends around 40 callouts per year. The time impact on them and their families’ lives cannot be understated. This has been our busiest year yet, and as we get busier and busier there is a very real risk that the service becomes overloaded and we are not able to respond to those in need quickly.”
He added 56 operational team members had done more than 8,000 hours of rescue work so far in 2023. “As a group of volunteers we are nearing the limit of what we can do to support those in need in the mountains,” said Dr Griffiths.
Obviously, LMR rarely criticizes those it rescues but:
At this time of year, the weather can change dramatically very quickly, we went up on the railway, by the time we reached summit you could barely see a few feet ahead.
Do not assume you will be rescued is what they are very politely trying to say, to everyone; even experienced climbers can a make wrong decision.
Abi Gentle-Spens, Maria Cairns, Lorna Turner and Cassie Davey completed the feat in just four-and-a-half hours. They toasted the achievement with a bottle of prosecco at the summit. The group did it to raise money and awareness of mental illness charity Rethink.
It may well have been for charity, they may have taken the easy route and nothing may have gone wrong but there’s no mention of a support team so, if there had been an incident, illness, a fall, change of weather, LMR would have been called but, given the lack of clothing, any injured “climber” could well have succumbed to hypothermia while waiting for assistance … not a good idea …
There should be more of it. I am all in favour of fit young women in their underwear climbing mountains or going to the supermarket or, indeed, any activity they care to take part in.
A brave and worthwhile effort and reading the article looks like Ben Nevis is next. Likely they had support following, if not officially, by @Bruce’s response.
Well, the Snowdon climb was in 2021 and there have been no reports of any ascents of Ben Nevis by women in their underwear since then but Speedo Mick got a mention this year:
