At about 7:30 pm on Saturday evening 3rd August, Aberdyfi Search and Rescue Team was called to assist a couple lost on Cadair Idris.
The walkers, a man and a woman from Lancashire, had set out in the morning to climb the mountain, but at some point became disorientated in the low cloud shrouding the upper slopes. They had made several attempts to self-rescue, but having found themselves in very difficult terrain, and with the threat of failing light encroaching, they had conceded defeat and called for assistance.
Due to poor phone coverage at the walkers’ location, the SARLOC smartphone application failed to give the rescue coordinator an accurate location for the pair, so there was no opportunity to guide them back onto a safe route by phone.
A party of volunteers from the Rescue Team was deployed up the Minffordd path, located the walkers near Llyn Cau, and escorted them safely off the mountain. The pair were in good physical condition if a little embarrassed about the
inconvenience they had caused.
“As this incident demonstrates, it is very to get disorientated when visibility deteriorates, even on a popular mountain like
Cadair Idris,” said Team Member Graham O’Hanlon. “We always encourage people to carry suitable equipment, including a map and compass, when heading for the hills, and just as important, they should know how to use them.”
The walkers, a man and a woman from Lancashire, had set out in the morning to climb the mountain, but at some point became disorientated in the low cloud shrouding the upper slopes. They had made several attempts to self-rescue, but having found themselves in very difficult terrain, and with the threat of failing light encroaching, they had conceded defeat and called for assistance.
Due to poor phone coverage at the walkers’ location, the SARLOC smartphone application failed to give the rescue coordinator an accurate location for the pair, so there was no opportunity to guide them back onto a safe route by phone.
A party of volunteers from the Rescue Team was deployed up the Minffordd path, located the walkers near Llyn Cau, and escorted them safely off the mountain. The pair were in good physical condition if a little embarrassed about the
inconvenience they had caused.
“As this incident demonstrates, it is very to get disorientated when visibility deteriorates, even on a popular mountain like
Cadair Idris,” said Team Member Graham O’Hanlon. “We always encourage people to carry suitable equipment, including a map and compass, when heading for the hills, and just as important, they should know how to use them.”
