I just read over on UKC a great piece from Jack about the Deaths on Snowdon it seems like we have had a very tragic and busy year already as far as rescue go in Llanberis. On Saturday night there were two more incidents followed by another another one on Sunday. Unfortunately due to a crippling work schedule of late didn’t get to the Saturday’s incidents. However when I attended Sundays, that thankfully turn into just overdue climbers, rather than a full on rescue, one of the team mentioned that Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team has had 23 rescue already this year. 23!
Given I have been working for Plas y brenin, and heard tales from several instructors of members of the public having ‘near misses’ on snow and ice on the upper reaches of the Pyg Track this week. It is amazing that we haven’t had anymore fatalities. One of the Brenin staff, came to the assistance of a young boy out with his dad who slipped 100 metre down snow between the PYg Track and the Trinity face, where little more than trainers! The kid fortunately bounced and the instructor, cut steps to and from the pair and got them back on the path!
Similarly, on an epic traverse of Snowdon on a mountain bike (I will have to blog on this route as it is amazing achievement and proper grand day out) my housemate saw a mum and her two children with little more than a bottle of water and trainers, skating about on snow and ice just below the zig-zags at 3.30pm, still heading up! There is still potential to slip a long way on Snow/Ice on the mountain, despite it looking like summer below. I might go out later in the week and do Parsley Fern and Central Trinity.
Anyway thanks for the article Jack.