August 2015 has been the most active month in the history of Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team, with 34 call-outs and around 750 man-hours on the hill. Over half the incidents were unnecessary, they say.

Some incidents were cases of genuine need, but the team is calling attention to the fact that many could easily have been avoided if people had been appropriately prepared.

'More than half of the 34 incidents... were as a result of people being lost on the mountain' said team chairman Rob Johnson.

'With a little preparation this is not necessary on a mountain like Snowdon that has a great network of established paths and more than its fair share of civilisation.' 

'People often treat Snowdon as a tourist destination, rather than a mountain, and this leads people into being poorly equipped for the conditions the mountain often presents. Having a map and a compass and the knowledge of how to use them costs very little but will massively add to the enjoyment of a mountain day and will take a great strain off volunteer rescue services.' 

Even at the best of times the team is the UK's busiest, and they often find themselves coping with multiple situations simultaneously. On Wednesday 12th August they received five call-outs in the space of seven hours. 

Following two call-outs on the first day of September, a tired-sounding Rob Johnson had the following advice:

'As we enter the autumn months we are now beginning to lose the daylight hours. Our team are bleary eyed this morning having had to go out out last night to rescue two walkers who did not take a torch with them onto the mountain. Before you head out be aware how long your route will take and make sure you have the appropriate equipment with you to be self sufficient. As a minimum we recommend a map and compass, headtorch, warm clothing, waterproof outer layers, food and water and a dose of common sense. All mountain rescue in the UK is carried out by volunteers and calling them should be a last resort.'