The demand on mountain rescue teams in North Wales is “unsustainable” ahead of what promises to be a busy summer season, according to emergency services.
Thousands of visitors are expected to flock to the area to experience the scenic views of Eryri National Park, also known as Snowdonia, over the coming weeks.
But mountain rescue teams and police on the ground are urging people to be prepared before scaling the heights of Wales‘s largest national park.
It comes after officers recently shared the tragic story of how volunteers discovered the remains of missing walkers David Brookfield and Shayne Colaco, the latter of whom had been missing for 12 years, on the same day last year.
Owain Llewelyn, Chief Superintendent at North Wales Police, told Sky News there had been a “significant increase” in the number of visitors to the area since the lifting of COVID restrictions in 2021.
“With that increase in numbers, we’ve seen a significant increase in demand as well,” he said.
“I think it’s fair to say that this time of year, people who come to visit North Wales are really excited about their trip.
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“For the people who are part of mountain rescue teams and the blue light responders, it’s actually the time of year in many ways we dread, because we know that that significant increase in demand is going to come.”
Chief Superintendent Llewellyn said it was important for people to understand their limits.
“It’s about understanding that the weather conditions on the summit can be dramatically different and it’s about understanding that getting to the top is not the be all and end all of the day,” he added.
“So actually, if people are starting to get tired, it’s about stopping, being realistic and turning round and just coming back down.”
He said the force was “amazingly lucky” to work alongside teams of mountain rescue volunteers, describing them as “an amazing bunch of people” who “put their lives at risk at times to help people who have got into difficulties in the mountains”.
One such volunteer is Chris Lloyd from Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation, who has given his time as part of the team since 1977.
While a lot has changed in the last five decades, Mr Lloyd told Sky News there was “an increasing number of calls which are really unnecessary”.
So far this year, the team has responded to 103 callouts, while they received 121 in the whole of 2019.
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“We’re all volunteers in all the rescue teams, we’re not paid or anything, we do this just for the passion and the love of the mountains and so we go out to assist people, but there’s a limit now,” he said.
“We all have domestic lives, we have work lives and we have to do this in our own time, to come out and rescue people.
“So if we can reduce the callouts by getting people to be prepared, be better equipped, choosing the right route for the day, not taking on too much of a challenge, it’ll save us, because otherwise we’re going to burn out.”
