We were sad this weekend to read the news that callouts for our local mountain rescue team so far in 2023 have increased noticeably on the same period last year.
So far this year, the volunteers who make up the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team have dealt with 183 callouts. On one occasion they were dealing with seven incidents all at the same time. As you can appreciate, this takes a huge toll on a small team that give of their time for nothing.
In 2022, the Team had the unwanted accolade of being the busiest mountain rescue team in the country after it dealt with more than 250 calls the year before. Sadly, 2023 is shaping up to be even busier.
This isn’t really a surprise to us. Every single day on the mountain we see poorly dressed and ill-equipped walkers along with others who are very clearly out of their comfort zone. Just in the last week we’ve been out in heavy rain, strong winds and near-zero temperatures and have met people walking in shorts, tracksuits and jeans. We’ve seen others coming off the mountain in the dark using their phones for light. We’ve come across people drinking alcohol and smoking weed and worse. None of this is appropriate for the mountain environment.
PLEASE take care exploring the mountains. Sadly, there are deaths on Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) every year and we don’t want you to be adding to this.
Read more about this story and exactly what the team do on Facebook.
The Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team is a fully voluntary organisation who respond to those in need on Snowdon and the surrounding mountains. The Team is on-call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and relies entirely on donations from members of the public to carry out this essential life-saving rescue service. If you feel like you can donate, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/llanberismountainrescue
