Don’t rely on mobile phones, says SAR crew

A UK Royal Navy search and rescue (SAR) crew out of HMS Gannet base, Prestwick, Ayrshire – along with Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team – retrieved a pair of French walkers who had become lost while hiking the Three Sisters ridges in Glencoe on 19 June. The two men were lost around 2,000 ft (610 m) up in the mountains, and the lack of a consistent mobile phone signal meant that it was very late before they were able to alert local authorities to their plight, and subsequently rescue teams were unable to get hold of them via phone.

A Royal Navy Sea King was dispatched at around 22:46 hrs, and although the crews ‘didn’t have a lot to go on’, as Lieutenant Commander Andy Drodge commented, ‘it was a relatively clear night and the two walkers did have torches, which they shone when they heard the aircraft, so we located them almost instantly’. “One of them was on a reasonably substantial ledge,” he continued, “and the other was in a much more precarious position about 50 ft [15 m] above him on a small rocky outcrop. I put down our winchman, Lieutenant Commander Rob Suckling, to pick up the higher one first and we got him into the aircraft. The relief of the second walker was clear to see … he too was recovered to the helicopter once he had calmed down enough for the strop to be fitted over his head and under his arms.”

The men were safely transferred to the care of police and mountain rescue teams, and luckily had suffered no physical injuries, although they were cold, fatigued and anxious. “Admittedly,” added Drodge, “high summer is not the worst time to be stuck out on the hills, but even at this time of year, there is a noticeable drop off in temperature at night. While it can do no harm to have your mobile with you wherever you are, the remoteness of many of Scotland’s mountains means that you cannot rely on it necessarily if you get into trouble. As ever we would always recommend that walkers … ensure that someone is aware of their planned movements for the day, as well as their predicted return time.”

A video of the operation can be viewed below.