There is no right of rescue for anyone going onto the mountains of their own volition. In the United Kingdom you have the privilege of an effective rescue service that is only too willing to assist when asked. Anyone or any group going onto the mountains, fells and moorlands has the responsibility for getting themselves and their companions safely back.

The availability of a rescue service does not reduce or remove this responsibility. The development of self-reliance is to be encouraged strongly and recourse to the rescue service, ideally, should be a last resort.

"it cannot be too often stated that a sense of responsibility is, and must always be, the underlying note in mountaineering, the responsibility of the leader in the selection of a climb and the method in which it is carried out and the responsibility of each member of a party towards his companions. This sense of responsibility, more than anything else, promotes good comradeship and sound mountaineering." - Frank Smythe, 1941. ‘Over Welsh Hills’ page 101.

An ample sufficiency has been published on good mountaineering practice. All too often it is the omission of some point of detail that produces problems: late starts, not carrying torches, failure to tell someone the party’s intentions or failure to leave a route card. In many ways these omissions are indicative of a reduction in responsibility. Getting caught by darkness or becoming cragfast is not, in itself, a justification for calling for help. In most circumstances getting caught or stuck without the ability to get down is the result of lack of anticipation, planning and responsibility.

There have always been and will always be occasions when outside help is required for the good of the casualty and the good of the party. In these circumstances, no good purpose is served by delaying the request for assistance. Once the decision is made to ask for help a number of actions should follow naturally:-

1. Assess the hazards and ensure the safety of all - the casualty and the rest of the party. Immediately after an accident there will be a period of confusion, doubt. Take command of yourselves and think. Rushing at this time inevitably leads to confusion and delay.

2. Check the casualty for the ABCs. If necessary administer first-aid to protect life and to the level of your competence. Dot not overlook the rest of the party.

3. Protect the casualty from the environment, not forgetting to insulate the casualty from the ground. If the hazards so dictate, move the casualty and party to a position of greater safety with due consideration of any injuries.

4. Confirm your location as precisely as possible. Make use of grid references, names of obvious features or routes and number of pitches climbed. The more precise the description of the location, the easier it will be to get help to the correct place.

5. Send for help. Classically this means sending someone, preferably two, down to call for help. On getting to a telephone, call 999 and ask for POLICE/MOUNTAIN RESCUE. These informants should have the basic relevant information. If possible, a brief written message is better than fickle memory.

6. In today’s world it would not be unusual to have access to a mobile telephone. If a mobile phone is used it is important to understand that the routing of the message may be unexpected. You should know which Police Force area you are in and which Police Force to ask for. Make sure that you pass on the telephone number of the phone that is being used. Once the message has been passed keep the phone switched on so that contact can be established with you. If battery life is a problem arrange a specific listening time and maintain the schedule. Keep a careful check on your movements because a move of even a few metres may result in loss of signal in the mountains. If it is thought that it may be possible for the casualty to walk down with assistance then agree a route and stick to it.

7. Once the informants have departed or the message has been passed, set about continuing the care and attention to the injured party. As far as practical, an injured person should not be left alone.

8. Mark the site so that it may be seen from the ground and from the air. Mark the site visually and audibly. A comment made some years ago “We did not blow our whistle because we did not want to attract attention” was singularly inappropriate in the circumstances.

9. Make sure that the site is tidy, that there are no loose articles or kit left lying around. If a bivy bag or poly bag has been used to mark the site make sure that it is well weighted down and can not be blown away. Loose articles being blown around present a serious hazard to helicopters and an unnecessary distraction to those on the ground.

10. Continue to look after the casualty and encourage a positive mental attitude in the casualty and in the rest of the party. With larger parties, and if there is a suitable leader available, consider sending down all those not required for the care of the casualty.

11. Start giving some consideration to possible approach routes and descent routes.

12. Once the rescue services arrive co-operate fully with them and give whatever assistance is requested.

The fact that assistance has been requested should not prevent a party making reasonable efforts to get down under their own steam.

Some cautionary tales:

A user of a mobile phone in North Wales, on dialling 999, got through to the Dublin Rescue Services. The 80 miles of intervening water were a hindrance.The use of a mobile phone in an attempt to contact the author of a guide book because the party lost the route is surely an example of lack of overall ability.

A party of four on a fell run used a mobile phone to ask for help because it became dark, as it does every day, and they had no torches. Nor did they have the equipment to spend the night out on the mountains. It was a dark and stormy night. Their money would have been better spent on torches.

A couple had misplaced the easy descent route. They phoned for help. When they were offered directions back up to easy ground they claimed that they were too exhausted to go back up. Their statement “we prefer to be stuck and safe rather than down and dead” had a point.

A third party with a mobile phone came across an accident. They passed rather imprecise information then switched off the phone and continued on their way. It could be said that this was a case of desertion of someone in need.

A mobile telephone is not the solution to self-rescue. Self-rescue is - or should be - nothing more than sound mountaineering practice making use of all the normal techniques to get one’s party down safely after a good day or even a night on the mountains.

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