| "Never be afraid |
SAFETY ON THE HILLS |
|
| to turn back ...." | ||
|
HOMEPAGE
|
Weather: In
winter conditions, in particular, the weather plays an overriding part in
hillwalking activities, and of all weather conditions the wind is arguably
the most important factor. Every hillwalker should know
that the temperature decreases and the wind increases the higher you climb so that the mild, slightly windy, drizzly day at the
bottom of the mountain can result in blizzard conditions at the top. Of
course it does not need to be snowing. If the wind is strong enough and
there is lying snow then it
will blow the lying snow and, on many occasions, I have walked in
conditions where I could see blue sky and sunshine above but could barely
see five metres in front. Conditions: So what
precautions should be taken before venturing out in winter conditions?
Firstly check the weather forecast for the area where you are going to
walk, (preferably a mountain weather forecast!) Leave word of your
intended route and allow plenty of time to complete the walk.
It is a well known fact that attempting a walk
in winter conditions is equivalent to doing the same route twice in
summer conditions. There
is no way of knowing what conditions will be like on the route, not only
underfoot but also overhead, and, of course, the prevailing conditions can
change very rapidly. If I were allowed to give only one piece
of advice to winter hillwalkers it would be this - "Never be afraid to
turn back!" The hills will still be there to do the walk again on another
day - and so will you! It does not matter if you have driven
300 miles to "bag a new Munro" - if conditions change and you feel within
yourself that you are not happy - turn back! I do!
Approximately 40 people die on the Scottish mountains every year,
most of these in winter, and many of these deaths would have been avoided
if walkers and climbers knew their limitations and turned back before they
found that they were out of their depth. Equipment: What to take?
Firstly, a map and compass - and have the ability to use both. It
is important to remember that winter navigation is entirely different from
the summer variety. In winter there are no paths to follow, no
streams or stream junctions that can be aimed for and no cairns to keep
you safely on your route. Everything is buried beneath the snow so
good navigational skills are necessary. An ice axe and crampons
should be carried, and again, the knowledge of how to use these items is
essential. I once saw a girl slide down an icy slope and seriously
injure herself. She had an ice axe - but did not have the wrist
strap on so she lost the ice axe moments after starting to slide!
With crampons one of the essentials is speed in strapping them on.
In exposed conditions with a wind chill factor of -20o Celsius you only
have a finite amount of time before your fingers are so cold that it
becomes impossible to thread straps and fasten buckles - and you cannot
fit crampons with your gloves on! A rope is a very useful item to
carry in winter conditions. Not a 60 metre climbing rope but an 8
mm diameter, 20 metre long, safety rope. It can be used for
security on tricky parts of the route. It can be used to haul
someone out if they have fallen through a snowbridge into a burn, and it
can also be used to rope the party together in whiteout or blizzard
conditions. A survival bag or bivvy bag should also be carried, as
well as extra dry clothing, emergency food, and, of course, a whistle and
a torch. I also carry first aid equipment and a combined
audible/visual alarm as well as a selfheating pad. Eating out: I have come across many individuals, and hillwalking and
rambling groups, who, regardless of the weather conditions, either "eat at
l o'clock because that's when we always eat" or "eat on the summit because
that's where we always eat". In winter the body loses heat
very rapidly when you are not walking and takes a long time to regain that
lost heat. I often tell my groups that they may have to eat on
the move if conditions are bad or that lunch may be at 11 a.m. or 3 p.m. or at some other time, depending on
when some shelter can be found. Access: In
the winter the culling of red deer hinds continues until 15th February so that anyone venturing in
to the hills before the middle of February should, particularly if walking "off the beaten
track", contact the local gamekeeper to make sure that there is no
conflict between hillwalker and gamekeeper. It should also be
remembered that the lambing period usually starts about the end of
April. Dogs should, of course, be kept on a lead.
|
|