Well I have just return from a lovely (Well edible) lunch in Pete’s Eats, where I was flicking through the Mirror and saw a story of sensationalist proportion on a couple taking a baby for a walk up Snowdon. I read between the lines and saw no story whatsoever. Then in walked a previous chairman of Llanberis Mountain Rescue team who chatted about the idiot that took the picture. Mid slagging would you believe it the idiot, who would only give his first name Rob (I will get his full name when I have tracked it down), walked in on the conversation looking for quotes.
He got nothing other than a that picture which on its own is not enough evidence to say whether the parents taking their kid out for a walk in the snow in a papoose was stupid, they could have only been gone 30 minutes, although the paper ‘reports’ approximately 2 hours. Given that many parents take young kids skiing every year and bring them back in one piece, what’s wrong with a walk in the snow. The papers in particular the Mail and the Mirror basically line them up as child abusers. The mail head ‘Crazy family sets out to climb Snowdon with toddler…’ Which given the lack of exact circumstances around the situation seems totally out of order.
The real story should have been the sheer number of ill prepared people getting too high on a Snow and Ice covered peak. As low down the snow is unconsolidated, the angle fairly easy and does make a good walk. Venture too high and the inexperienced and ill-equipped are pushing their luck, and making lots of unnecessary work for local rescue teams. Just this morning I slept through a rescue, that was a lone walker who needed assistance as he was too exhausted to make his own way down, after spend a couple of days ‘training’ for a trip to Norway. Hopefully he’ll call off the trip in hindsight!
Anyway when asked for his name this reporter, who was all too keen to get quotes from anybody and everybody, especially member of the rescue team to mis-quote, was very reticent. Seems like he doesn’t like it when the boots of the other foot.