Crib Goch helicopter rescue 3rd Aug 2014

[@RBWill1]

That was me (the second one lifted). Just to give the full story. All are experienced climbers. The boy (my friend's son) has been climbing Snowdon for about 7 years and has done Crib with his Dad before too so none of us expected this to happen. Were doing fine until we got right up the top and he was struggling a bit with the wind and had a full on panic attack. We tried to head down but the poor lad was too frightened to move. Called Mountain Rescue and they despatched a team to help his son. Being where we were they made the call to bring in the chopper for the boy. The guys on the chopper decided that since we had been sat on the side of Crib for over an hour in the wind and rain it would be better for us to be picked up too rather than continue. We very much appreciate the efforts of the rescue teams and made a sizeable donation to them. The downdraft wasn't that bad, you were holding onto your phone rather than the mountain :p . At least you weren't directly under the chopper, that was a bit blowy! Thanks for the vid :)

[@xsniperwolf9457]

RBWill1 that was my family shut up stop trying to be an imposter

[@sgt7]

Nothing to be ashamed of. It was worth taking on the challenge but when things turned out to be problematic you made the right decision.

[@GuyTierney]

Hey there, there’s been enquiries about potentially using this in a tv show. They may be able to make a story out of this should you want your 4minutes of fame. They aren’t allowed to reach out to you so I’m contacting you on their behalf. Regards Guy

[@GK1976A]

When you say you made a 'sizeable donation' to them. I'm hoping you paid somewhere in the region of what it costs in fuel, time, running costs etc to call these guys out. A quick Google reckons £1500. I bet you didn't pay that amount.

[@RBWill1]

@@GK1976A £1500 now would have been about £1100 when it happened, between the 3 of us we donated hundreds of £ to the local mountain rescue, who only had to co-ordinate things and give us a quick 4x4 ride from a field at the base of Snowdon back to our car so probably cost them all of £15. The helicopter was already in the air in the area and all it did was divert, pick us up and drop us in a field at the base of the mountain, about 10-15 mins of flight all in. The helicopter is Royal Air Force owned and operated and I'm not sure you can donate to them as such, but we pay plenty in taxes that goes to fund them so I don't feel too guilty, especially since the call out and ride was not my fault or choice.

[@clauswolter3946]

Incredible job by the rescue crew. I can't believe how steady the pilot held the bird. Such a rescue requires coordinated teamwork of highly trained personnel. Outstanding!

[@andypianoman2732]

I would say, don't do Crib Goch unless you would be happy climbing on your roof to adjust the aerial without a rope in gale force winds

[@1RebelDog1]

lol, slight exageration there :) it can be a bit blowy but its fine really

[@tonyubr]

There's no way I'd get on my roof. Done crib every which way though in all conditions. HIP HIP for the RAF rescue 🇬🇧💪

[@ChrisSummerfield]

I spent 5 years in the RAF mountain Rescue at Valley. possibly the best job ever

[@akaAlexthekid]

Was it you that wrote the piece on the ukc website about MR and crib goch?

[@ChrisSummerfield]

No I don:t think so Mate

[@GuyTierney]

Chris Summerfield Video!s International not that I remember

[@Auxinelectro]

i can only imagine what the young lad and the family went through, the rescue team are true hero's

[@rowgli]

G dizzle 35 mph winds too and that helicopter is barely twitching!

[@Galaxyofbrian]

Relieved they got the people down safely, The RAF don't mess about and I take my hat of to them. ✌️ 💙

[@Trylobyte]

These guys are great I remember heading down off the Glyders as bad weather closed in -in my hurry I began down a dangerous way and it took me a while before I realised my mistake. They watched me until they saw me find the right way before flying off. They know all the dodgy places where people get into trouble

[@RBWill1]

Great pics. Thanks.

[@GuyTierney]

you're welcome :)

[@andym7713]

Kudos to the RAF Mountain Rescue Squad!

[@MrPhotodoc]

I strayed off the official path and got caught on a "slider" rock in Starved Rock State Park in Illinois USA as a youngster. I was discovered by of all things a Boy Scout Troop and pulled to safety. Not the same but I understand why the rescue happened. I got clean pants later that day.

[@GuyTierney]

FYI: some more pics including some great panoramics and helecopter shots have been added to the Flickr album

[@Cloudminster]

People being keyboard heroes and trolling this group, you’ve fuck all idea what they were going through at all. There is a plethora of reasons for rescue and most don’t involve blood and falls. WTF has happened to people, makes me want to spew the way the soundbite, blame culture has evolved.

[@johnbowkett80]

"Man's gotta know his limits" : Clint Eastwood . 😜

[@joshuaallan386]

considering your clinging on for dear life you manged to use your camera well.

[@GuyTierney]

+Joshua Allan I was properly wedged into a crevice. The pilot was pretty good; he hovered directly over me far closer than you see here and used the blast to force me to hunker down before backing off to where you see him in the video and starting the rescue.

[@tonydanis1480]

What am I missing? I'm easily frightened by heights but this looks totally doable.

[@andyonions7864]

Under no circumstances go up Crib Goch then. It's an 80 degree knife edge in places and an all 4 limbs scramble (near climb) in many places.

[@tonydanis1480]

@@andyonions7864 Yes, I really enjoyed researching it after watching this video. Extremely impressive and delightfully terrifying. A big no-no in many places for me. However, in this video, as evidenced by the description, it was more of a young person having a panic attack under adverse wind conditions causing them to be unable to proceed further. Rather than a daunting climb in itself. The slope doesn't look impossible and they're just feet away from a gentle gradient the summit. This happens all the time in the San Francisco Bay Are where seaside cliffs of several hundred feet in height are very common. People either walk too far over the edge, which usually doesn't seem intimidating at first, or climb from the beach upwards and get stuck. A lot of them are stoned and get in trouble that way. Many just manage to get frightened by a situation that really isn't that harmful and become frozen with fear. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKKxqJ6lZ7Goo8k What's amazing about the UK is how the weather, time and time again, can turn an undemanding outdoor romp into a deadly struggle, even though the topography itself looks harmless and low altitude. I lived just outside Edinburgh at the base of the synthetic ski slope they have on a nearby hill, and 70 mph winds and freezing sleet would come out of nowhere on a sunny day and you'd be fighting to survive even though I could see my cottage 500 feet away.

[@andyonions7864]

@@tonydanis1480 re UK weather. Yep. Changeable. Proper hill walkers have waterproofs, jumpers, whistles, flashlights and energy bars. The guys being airlifted had waterproofs and given other commentary here, I suspect they had all the safety gear.

[@omgitstdawg9352]

Do you know what the reason for the 2 rescues were?

[@oldboy5001]

It's explained in the first comment.

[@tooclaws]

What was the reason they looked ok?

[@GuyTierney]

tooclaws their son got a bit freaked out. There was some discussion shortly after the event from them.

[@mizofan]

well done

[@jaredellis2754]

Cant work it out, if they are experienced climbers/hikers either they should know the conditions weren't favorable or not have panic attacks on the climb. If this is the result best stay away from challenging scrambles.

[@AndysEastCoastAdventures]

The best climbers in the world can get into trouble requiring rescue. It's one of them things, sometimes shit happens even to the best of them.

[@Englishman999]

Are you a robot? In the world of humans their are things called variables, unforeseen events and conditions, ever changing reactions to situations. None of us (humans) can every be 100% certain of our response to any event from one day to the next. Of course, if we were all robots we could probably react with more certainty :) Being unable to work it out just means that so far you've been lucky (or never left the comfort of your sofa), as a qualified climbing instructor and having climbed in many different settings can I say I've never 'frozen'? No... I've got stuck and needed help a few times, I'd not have gotten down without it. How's that sofa?

[@phyllisbiram5163]

@@Englishman999 Exactly. It's a disgrace anybody would criticise a rescue.

[@jorgebnuk]

Don’t forget that there’s a human factor too, as well as nature. That’s how accidents happen and can happen to anyone no matter how experienced you are.. full admiration to the rescue team always there to keep us safe in the mountains.

[@g7t]

Glad you found the video. We got some great shots too from my party and I.... www.flickr.com/photos/91892754@N00/ I got the story third hand, sorry if you feel my captions are insulting. We met another group on the ridge who were also suffering from the same panic attack. In fact I've never seen anyone so scared, he really didn't have control of his own legs and at points was shaking so violently that he looked like he was fitting. It took us over an hour to talk him along that first section of ridge, rock by tedious rock. Even with your explanation I still feel your skills as a group were lacking but that is only my opinion, I'm in no way trolling or looking to offend or start an argument but the number of "Crib Goch is easy" posts up here need some balancing out with "this is what happens to those who under-estimate the mountain or over-estimate their ability". Sometimes the ability to calm someone and push on would be less hazardous and eventually far more rewarding. But I understand your call even if I don't agree with it. IMHO "calling for advice" means you were hesitant in taking active leadership. As soon as you dial that number you are flagging yourself as a person in need - an SOS if you like. Hesitation in decisions when climbing cost lives or in this case resources. We were all relieved that you weren't injured and wish you many more happy days out in the wild. All the best Guy :)

[@nosek666]

Love these stories...all experienced,but none would check on weather forecast or use a common sense and not take a kid up the sharp edge ridge when the winds are picking up the speeds at this level?