By Samantha Castle, Reporter
I came, I saw, I conquered... just! In just over a year at the Weekly News I have reported on a countless number of mountain rescue operations by the amazing Ogwen Valley and Llanberis mountain rescue volunteer teams.
These rescues have been wide-ranging, including underwater search operations, lost dog rescues and daring helicopter air-lifts, and have involved everyone from experienced climbers to family day trippers, who have all got into some level of trouble and needed assistance. Unfortunately these rescues have also included four fatalities.
So it came as no surprise when North Wales Police, the Snowdonia National Park Authority and Plas-y-Brenin mountaineering centre joined forces last year to launch the Mountainsafe scheme. Along the same lines as the Bikesafe initiative, Mountainsafe aims to help people passionate about their chosen hobby or interest who want to help themselves.
I booked myself onto the next available course to see for myself what I could be taught about mountain safety and map reading in just one day. The free scheme, run by experienced volunteers, educates up to 60 people a session on the theories behind map reading and navigational skills, with a little snippet of rescue facts and figures thrown in to remind everyone why they are there.
Then that knowledge is put into practice on Snowdonia's slopes, where everyone gets a turn at getting lost and finding themselves under the watchful eye of an experienced instructor. Like the Mountainsafe mantra "Getting up is optional, getting back down is mandatory", I discovered why it is important to be properly equipped for all walking conditions and to expect the unexpected and to keep your wits about you and remember those vital map reading and navigational skills from the classroom to help prevent accidents from happening.
I went up a hill as a novice walker and came down a mountain more prepared and confident to enjoy the wilds of North Wales and hopefully never have to encounter the cheerful mountain rescue volunteers or the RAF Sea King rescue helicopter.
Read the full story about my experience in this week's Weekly News.
- Post to:
del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
Nowpublic
Reddit
« Previous | Home | Next »