Lost and found hikers

[Craig the cyclist]

Two grown adults getting separated on a quiet Cairngorm plateau is vastly different to a small child wandering off in a busy supermarket ! 😂

But two grown adults getting separated in poor weather somewhere remote, one of them realising he doesn't have the map and having that moment of 'agghh, bugger, what shall I do' and going into that moment of panic we all go to is not that dissimilar.

When you lose a kid in the supermarket (I assume you have had the experience or similar) for a few seconds you rush around, then stop, think logically, and remember that you left him in the car playing on his Gameboy (at least that is what I did ) then you head back to your trolley and can't find that thing either because Asda at Cribbs Causeway is huge (see I am not making this up ).

Now magnify that kind of response to a Cairngorm plateau, and in 4 minutes you are lost and slightly screwed, only to find yourself the subject of discussion on a cycling forum a week later!

It happens, don't judge so harshly.

 

[Baldy]

Do you fancy getting naked, fighting another naked person with two roll mats on your arms and us all sat round cheering

Keep your personal fantasy's to yourself.

 

[mudsticks]

Keep your personal fantasy's to yourself.

I'd have thought it would be warmer keeping yr clothes on for all that Tbh


But shared body heat in a bothy bag..
Or elsewhere, can be most welcome, in very cold weather.

Call me a fusspot if you will, but I'm usually terribly discerning when it comes to choosing companions for such activities

 

[DRM]

It is I agree, and in low visibility conditions you need to take extra care.

it's easy for one person to get ahead , or behind quite quickly, if it's windy , and you've got your hood up, you're concentrating on where you're putting your feet , it only takes a minute to drift apart.

Or someone stops for a wee or to adjust their pack, get some water etc, they think they've called for the other person to wait, but...

In those kind of conditions both parties should really have their own independent means of navigating and surviving .

Of course they both did survive.

Thankfully , but it sounds like it could have gone badly wrong if the weather had been worse.

Surely in bad conditions it’s not beyond the wit of either party to catch the other, tap them on the shoulder and state there’s a problem, from need a wee, to I can’t carry on, or I’m cold or hungry, and that you don’t just take it upon yourself to stop, letting the other carry on unaware that’s what you’ve done

 

[Profpointy]

I recall a near incident many years ago in Morocco. We we there on a caving expedition but there were also some quite high mountains, including a 3000m peak Jebel bou Iblame (doubtless dodgy spelling). Two of our group, both extremely capable and fit /strong went up it (hillwalking not climbing) but there was sudden bad weather and hailstones / blizzard - which isn't quite what you expect in Africa, even on mountains. Anyhow, they got separated, and both being glasses wearers, they could hardly see, so bumbled down separately. We were extremely relieved when the second one turned up.

Those on here who believe they themselves couldn't make a mistake on the hills have either not done very much or are deluding themselves

 

[Profpointy]

Call me a fusspot if you will, but I'm usually terribly discerning when it comes to choosing companions for such activities

Me too - I usually go hillwaking by
myself

 

[mudsticks]

Surely in bad conditions it’s not beyond the wit of either party to catch the other, tap them on the shoulder and state there’s a problem, from need a wee, to I can’t carry on, or I’m cold or hungry, and that you don’t just take it upon yourself to stop, letting the other carry on unaware that’s what you’ve done

That's usually what happens but even 'catching up' can involve energy not available.

In theory it's usually 'slowest goes first' but that's not always practical, or realistic.

I've had situations where I've called out, thought the other person heard, stopped to do what I need to do, only to see them dissapear,

Thankfully they've realised and came back, or waited.

It's just how humans are, particularly if they're already a bit cold or tired, and we're just trogging along, head down struggling into the wind

(I'm really selling hillwalking here, aren't I ? - but it can be like that)

 

[mudsticks]

Me too - I usually go hillwaking by
myself

I like doing that too..

But I do have a select handful, with whom I also enjoy excursing

 

[Ming the Merciless]

But two grown adults getting separated in poor weather somewhere remote, one of them realising he doesn't have the map and having that moment of 'agghh, bugger, what shall I do' and going into that moment of panic we all go to is not that dissimilar.

Which is very much a sign of inexperience and not being well prepared. I’m not judging them harshly for that. If you go back to my first post you’ll see that my criticism was the news readers calling them well prepared when clearly they were not.

 

[ClichéGuevara]

I'm sure there are occasions when one of the two people walking together may just want to get out of earshot just to enjoy the peace and quiet, rather than the constant wittering and 'me, me me' some people seem to think is interesting, but is actually painful to others to endure. They perhaps think 'thank heavens' when they can't hear them, rather than wondering if they've got in to difficulty.

 

[Pale Rider]

One bloke 'rescued' himself, the other walked towards civilisation and was found by some students.

Mountain rescue had naff all to do with it, apart from missing him with whoever's helicopter they were using.

No doubt they are fine fellows, but they are irrelevant to this story.

 

[Mr Celine]

Joking aside I don't think I'd venture into the Cairngorms in October without some form of proper shelter, even if I wasn't planning on an overnighter.

No shelter needed last Friday. Cairngorms on the far horizon from the Monadh Liath version of Geal Charn.

Although it was a bit chilly the overnight snow had melted, apart from on the summit cairn.

And as @Craig the cyclist says it's very easy to get separated from a companion. You go on ahead, I'll just take some more photos and catch up...

 

[mudsticks]

Yes
I also said it was easy to get separated too.

In this post .

It is I agree, and in low visibility conditions you need to take extra care.

it's easy for one person to get ahead , or behind quite quickly, if it's windy , and you've got your hood up, you're concentrating on where you're putting your feet , it only takes a minute to drift apart.

Or someone stops for a wee or to adjust their pack, get some water etc, they think they've called for the other person to wait, but...

In those kind of conditions both parties should really have their own independent means of navigating and surviving .

Of course they both did survive.

Thankfully , but it sounds like it could have gone badly wrong if the weather had been worse.

No shelter needed last Friday. Cairngorms on the far horizon from the Monadh Liath version of Geal Charn.

View attachment 614140

Although it was a bit chilly the overnight snow had melted, apart from on the summit cairn.
View attachment 614141

And as @Craig the cyclist says it's very easy to get separated from a companion. You go on ahead, I'll just take some more photos and catch up...
View attachment 614142

Yes indeed 😊

Last mid September.

Some days fabulous, other days bleak..

Just depends doesn't it..

So best be prepared for anything

 

[Profpointy]

I recall doing a walk in Glencoe one winter, in fairly nasty weather. I'd made two goofs before driving up there as I'd forgotten my goggles (very desirable in winter) and my map case. Doing the walk I could hardly see for hailstones in my eyes, and despite my best efforts the map got wet and the bit I was walking on kind of dissolved. Anyhow I managed to resist baling out into the wrong valley just to get off the hill, but as the weather worsened, I knelt on the ground digging in my ice axe and still got flipped over. Wind abated to I scuttled on a bit, back on the ground braced on my axe and got flipped over again. It was comical if anything as I was in no immediate danger where I was, but discretion was the better part of valour and I binned off the second summit I'd intended to do that day. The next day I was up and down the missed summit in an easy hour's stroll, and to the day after that I was in a t-shirt and got sunburnt.

Things can unravel quite quickly in bad weather, you can get confused and make bad decisions and it's quite intimidating. OK I was fairly well equipped (lack of map case and goggles excepted) and made good decisions, but still ...