Mountain Rescue Called Out Too Easily

Lake District National Park boss Richard Leafe says that people are too quick to call out Mountain Rescue when things 'don't go to plan'.

Talking about the invaluable work of the soon to return Fell Top Assessors - see this story - Leafe said: 'I suspect milder temperatures in the valleys are tempting more people on the hills. They are often unprepared for the conditions they may find and unaware weather patterns can shift very quickly.'

'They are often unaware that teams are made up of volunteers and not paid emergency services waiting to come and rescue them. We encourage people to be more self reliant in the hills and only call MR when in real difficulties.'

The prevalence of mobile phones has made it much easier to call in the emergency services, something that rescue teams have commented on in the past, but some will still find Leafe's comments controversial. Want to comment, see the forum thread below.

You can get up to date Lakes conditions assessments at www.lake-district.gov.uk/weatherline from early December. Or of course there's always OM's regular Friday morning weekend mountain weather outlook with all the links you need to check the weekend's weather including Weatherline.