Well my pager went off at 9.30 last night, and by the time the team to nant was sent out it was gone 10pm before we were at base. A team of nine three peakers, were stuck on the miners track by the intersect with the PYG track. The first team headed up, and I was in a second party assisting them. By the time we got there, one of the casualties was semi-conscious, as the weather was appalling. When I say it was wet I mean it was sheeting it down, not to mention the fog.
I assisted 8 of the group down with another member of the team, which given that we both guide people for a living was like doing pro-bono work. Even more insulting was the fact that they had paid for a ‘professional’ guide. Someone who if actually qualified, which isn’t a pre-requisite in the UK should have been trained and assessed in there ability to navigate and lead at night in such terrain and conditions. Considering all they needed to do was follow a path down it seemed stupid that they had chosen to sit where they were, ‘Frozen with fear” and await rescue.
To me it highlight two things, astonishingly bad leadership for the guide and a more impressive display of ‘group think’, where an idea no matter how stupid seems to a group in panic to be the best option. It is often only in times of stress that the group think mentality comes to the fore. One of the roles of a leader is to stay rational and make ‘informed’ decisions. I will no doubt get in trouble for this assessment of the events with the team, but as a professional mountaineering instructor, but from the skills i try and teach and develop in the Mountain Leaders of tomorrow, I feel that on this occasion a lack of judgement of the group, the weather, the terrain, and the darkness all contributed to the situation.
It appeared that they didn’t even have a group shelter, and certainly when I was leading the group down many of them were traumatised by the ordeal they had unnecessarily been put through. I am told on regular occasion that ‘the teams’ job is not to judge, and by and large I agree but when a ‘professional’ makes such bad decisions, I find it hard to shut up.
I teach a five lemon concept of catastrophe it came from new zealand where they observed that an incident often had a series of bad decision made leading up to it, where each lemon represents a bad decision. So from a mere observational point of view. the group were knackered from Ben Nevis and Scafell (lemon one), The weather was appalling (lemon two), The route would have to be done in darkness and many of the headtorches where inadequate for the job (lemon three), The terrain was rough and in the prevailing conditions with such a group was probably not suitable for them (lemon four), No decision was made to turn round earlier (lemon five), The group didn’t have an emergency shelter (lemon six) and finally rather than keep the group moving the decision was made to go to ground on a extremely wet unprotected hillside (lemon seven).
Whilst many of these decision simply come down to a bad decision on the hill, and every instructor will have made one or two of those in there career, many of them were apparent before the group embarked on the final mountain of there challenge, and no doubt a little summit fever, where an attitude of well we must complete this for the charity we are raising money for and bugger the blood prevails.
These are my opinions and not those endorsed in anyway by Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team. I just have to help put thing right when they go wrong. I returned at 1.30am soaked to the skin.
If you hate rescuing people so much Mark, why do you volunteer to do it? It can't all be about the blogging and bragging rights down the pub can it?!
It's important not to dehumanise the people you're rescuing. I deal with these people everyday, not once a fortnight, and it's important to treat them with as much respect as any other human being; despite their supposedly stupid actions.
I get the impression from your stories sometimes that you consider these people with the same contempt as a soldier his enemy.
Whoever's telling you that "the team's job is not to judge," is obviously far more experienced than you are.
Gruff. I think you miss the point of the post. These people did nothing wrong, they employed a professional guide, who basically let them down.
I feel that if someone had taken a car to a garage and they left it a dangerous state, and gave it back to you to drive then there is a similar case of negligence. I was just highlighting how many bad decisions that person made in my opinion as a professional instructor.
I am sure you do deal with these people daily. I can assure you that I deal with them more than once a fortnight, though.
As for your far more experience claims, at what exactly? I am sure there are many people out there more experience than me at many things Gruff, still doesn't stopped me having an well formed opinion, not matter how much it rubs you up the wrong way.
Your point of treating them with respect, well I can assure you that on the hill they have my undivided attention to get them down safely in the most attrocious conditions, in a professional and courteous manner.
I saw 8 people traumatise by the experience, several broke down in tears on the way down, all of which were treated with respect. If I upset you and a few people by highlighting the bad judgement then so be it. Maybe one person will learn from this mistake.
As for bragging rights gruff, this blog is about my life, part of that revolves round rescues. Some good, some bad, and some downright ugly. If you don't like it I suggest you stay on UKB or in the office at Pen Y Pass or Ogwen, where you can treat them with the respect that they deserve.
Today for instance a two year had severe hypothermia on the Summit of Snowdon, mine and the opinion of many (including the police I would imagine) would be that it constitutes neglect on the part of the parents. Whilst not as malicuous as Baby P's abusers it is still abuse, no. So why should I panda to people and treat them with respect, when they have shown the mountain and the environment none?
Anyway cheers for commenting, its good to see real passion and debate, Gruff. I take it you won't do my study at the beacon then?
Mark, very well said, and I agree with your comment-reply too – a complete misunderstanding of the post. Keep up the good writing.