‘People are going up Snowdon dressed for a shopping trip’

MOUNTAIN RESCUE VOLUNTEER SAYS MANY CALLOUTS COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE

PEOPLE are climbing Snowdon while dressed as if they are heading to the supermarket, a rescuer has said.

Chris Lloyd, a volunteer with Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team, said they were being called to a large number of unnecessary incidents simply because walkers were not properly prepared.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales, he said there had been an increase in callouts due to the rise in visitors to the area, with some people suffering serious injuries.

He said: “The Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team, which covers Snowdon, has done 35 calls this month to that mountain.

“Many of them should have been avoidable.

“And the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team has had 20 calls this month, some of them quite serious, and again some of them avoidable, which is putting a lot of pressure on volunteers.”

Mr Lloyd said volunteers were busy this weekend, with one callout on Tryfan after a man suffered multiple injuries in a 65ft fall.

He said the eight-hour rescue to help the “lightly equipped” walker happened in “very wet and windy” conditions.

The casualty was thought to have a fractured femur and possible fractured knee, as well as other injuries, and rescuers had to carry the man a long distance to the ambulance before he was taken to hospital.

Mr Lloyd added: “Accidents do happen. They happen to the best of people, but we get calls for people who really should be able to sort themselves out if they were properly prepared and if they thought about contingency plans if things had gone wrong.”

He said three rescuers recently had to escort a man to safety after his torch battery had gone flat in the darkness.

He said the man rescued on Sunday did not have warm clothing or waterproofs, adding: “He was very lucky to be located as quickly as he was.”

He said: “We are getting an increasing number of visits to the mountains of North Wales, but so many are totally ill-equipped and they haven’t really thought about where they’re going or what they’re doing.”

Mr Lloyd said people were heading up Snowdon while “dressed as if they’re going across a supermarket car park”.

He described the unsuitable clothing and footwear many wore as “amazing” and said it was “frustrating” for rescuers.

He said they tried to use these opportunities to advise people about how to prepare properly when heading onto the mountains.