In reply to UKC/UKH News:
FWIW here is my contribution to the debate about the rise in apparently unnecessary callouts. I should stress that I am not a member of an MRT and have only passing acquaintance with their organisation. I am however a hill walker & climber who has as yet always got myself out of difficulty on the UK hills.
1. Sheer numbers - there are far more people visiting the hills nowadays - it is thus inevitable that some will be incompetent or unprepared and get into trouble.
2. Mobile phones are our Saviour & our Demon. When they work they can help people navigate the hills but only if they have some mountain skills as well - following the arrow on the GPS route is not navigation. When they fail they take away a prime source of information but route finding in the hills is the fundamental skill that can overcome the loss of map data. Also, a paper map never runs out of power. Finally the obvious point about mobiles is that they give the means of communication to get help and too many people seem to be quick to use it before sorting themselves out.
3. This latter point leads me onto the attitude to risk. I do believe that the way most organisations use Risk Assessments has taken away an individual responsibility to assess risks that we face. If group leaders were to involve clients in the process of RAs then those clients would learn to do it when they went out on their own. Perhaps there is also a developing culture in Society around the idea that 'If I take risks and it goes wrong then someone else will sort me out'
4. Finally I would be interested to know the criteria by which MRTs decide on their response to a call out. I think that 'not going out' is quite rare but is there a Triage system that enables them to make that decision? Perhaps it would help if there were a shared protocol amongst Teams to deal with this. They are highly trained & committed volunteers who currently respond selflessly to call outs and perhaps there is a feeling that 'We can't refuse'. Would a clear system help them deal with an increasing demand on their services?
I would welcome any dialogue on this topic.