Glencoe mountain rescue tops again

The two mountain rescue teams in the area,

Lochaber, based in Fort William, and Glencoe, between them handled 151 call outs, more than 30% of all the mountain rescue calls in Scotland in the last year.

Mobile phones help a lot these days, together with gps systems. But, year after year, trivial calls are on the increase. It is unbelievable that people can call for an emergency helicopter because they feel "too tired" to get down. Still the calls outs are for people with poor clothing, no maps, wearing trainers and no experience. Most of them have not left any message to say where they are going. This is one of the worst, because when people fail to return it takes a long time for people to become worried and then the rescue teams have no clue about where to find them.

But sometimes it is serious. We've had some terrible tragedies this year in the Glen. one only a week or ago coming down the Clachaig gully off the ridge. Experienced people too.

Strangely it is not a dangerous sport because climbers are sensible and take only calculated risks. Most rescues are of amateurs.

John
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Wonderful new social network site for Glencoe

Wherever climbers meet around the world, in the Himalayas, the Andes, the Alps, The Rockies, the Cuillins, or at Napes Needle, sooner or later the conversation will get around to the climbs in Glencoe. Shortly afterwards they'll agree to meet together next time in Glencoe in the Climbers Bar of the Clachaig Inn.

Yes, the Clachaig is that famous, all around the world. There is nowhere else like it.

Now there is a fresh burst of life there. Ed Daynes runs it and has got Glencoe and Ballachulish into the 21st century. With encouragement from David at Crafts and Things he has set up an excellent and simple service whereby if someone has an accommodation enquiry when they are already booked, then it is passed around by e-mail and someone with a vacancy picks it up.

Everyone wins.

Now Ed has gone one stage farther. Acquiring technical skills that are well beyond the range of normal humans, he has set up a "social networking" website for Glencoe. Like YouTube, Twitter and the rest, the site enbables anyone with an interest in Glencoe to post messages or photographs, or videos, and to add comments to others' postings.

Here is the site.
The Glencoe network site

There are some splendid people in this world. Thanks Ed.

John