Smartphone warning after Lake District walker's 'lucky escape' in Cumbria

General Chat In The News
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More than 70 people took part in an operation to find the man who had got into trouble on the ridge between Scafell Pike and Great End.

The hiker had called for help at 18:30 GMT on Monday but was not located until 14:30 the following day. Having been alerted by Cumbria Police, Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team (WMRT) had been able to make contact with the man despite a weak phone signal and advised him to stay where he was and shelter from the wind.

However, unable to find him at that location and with contact having been lost, a wider search was “mounted in incredibly difficult conditions”. Despite help from Keswick Mountain Rescue and search dogs from Cockermouth, rescuers came off the hill in the early hours of Tuesday.

The operation resumed at first light when more rescue teams from across Cumbria and the North East joined in. Wet and misty weather made ground searches “very challenging” and meant helicopter support could not be brought in, it added.

The man was stretchered off the hill and taken to hospital after being found on the east bank of Piers Gill. He was hypothermic and had knee, leg and foot injuries.

WMRT said: “We rarely comment on a rescue, but in this case we would like to say he was very, very fortunate to have survived. We also have to say that Google Maps on smartphones are not suitable for navigating on the hills. They lack detail and of course will not work with a flat battery. There is no substitute for a map and compass and being able to use them. They can save one’s life.”

A total of nine rescue teams were involved along with five search dogs and two drones.

What a totally irresponsible **** 
 his thoughtlessness necessitated a huge rescue operation and put the lives of others at risk 
 :angry:

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That would never happen to me as I still refuse to own a smartphone. My little dual sim Nokia has the ability to serve all of my needs and more.

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Same here LongDriver. My little clamshell phone just makes calls and texts and is robust enough to be thrown into the rucksack with flask and sandwiches. I never venture out in the wild places without map and compass.

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Can’t go far wrong with a 50,000 :grinning:

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This man probably was not experienced enough to be out alone, sound advice from rescue team. Smart thinking to have a reliable source you can depend on.

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Not so lucky:

A wild camper died after falling 40ft (12m) above a Lake District tarn while trying to get back to his tent after a drinking session, an inquest has heard.

Daniel Law, 24 and from Cockfield near Bishop Auckland, died at Angle Tarn in Patterdale in July 2022.

Cumbria assistant coroner Craig Smith recorded the death was as a result of misadventure.

Mr Law’s body was recovered by the Patterdale Mountain Rescue team at the bottom of a 40ft (12m)-high drop, the inquest heard.

Mr Law was found to have 172 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, more than double the drink-drive limit, and Mr Smith said that would be sufficient to “impair cognitive behaviour and motor function”.

He said Mr Law was intoxicated and “less sure-footed than he otherwise would have been” and he and Mr Robinson were in unfamiliar surroundings and had been “woefully underequipped (1) to traverse a rocky area at height in darkness”.

(1) Not even a torch 
 :man_shrugging:

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After a few days in the Langdale Valley the only signal I had on my phone was up a mountain. I was using a map.

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That’s an under statement. The limit of alcohol in the blood for operating a motor vehicle is 35 milligrams
I make that almost FIVE times the legal limit

Daft buggers!
Its a good job they weren’t driving back to their tent

I can never understand the passion for alcohol


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The blood alcohol legal maximum for driving is 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood.

(35 is the breath test limit - 35 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath)

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That’s what comes with watching too much ‘Interceptors’ on the TV Boot

:nerd_face: