In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:
About a year ago I met a young student a short way below the summit of Tinto ( so not very high) in an unusually cold gale force wind. He was wearing cotton shorts and a cotton jumper, with no extra layers available. He was sat at the side of the track waiting for the ambulance to come for him!
Long story short, he was in the early stages of hypothermia. Slurred speech, lethargic - and impaired thought processes. I squeezed him into my Goretex jacket, (he was a big lad) and made him eat a cereal bar (all I had) before pulling him to his feet with the help of his worried companion, and marching him down the hill. He was going fine under his own steam after a few hundred metres.
Learning point for me was that folk don’t make sensible choices once they get past being a bit cold - this lad would have been fine in 15 minutes as he descended out of the wind - but he couldn’t compute that.
Don’t know how that helps MRT call handlers to decide a course of action, but it helps me not to judge.