After an orange survival bag played an important role in locating a lost walker, Dundonnell Mountain Rescue have urged walkers to avoid dark clothing in the hills
At this time of year, daylight hours are rapidly drawing in and walkers need to plan their routes carefully to avoid getting benighted. While night walking can be fun every now and again, for most of us it’s something to avoid – and a recent callout has illustrated how something as simple as visibility can make a big difference in an emergency situation.
At around 9.00pm on Friday 27 October, Dundonnell Mountain Rescue Team received a call from the police following concern for an overdue hillwalker in Glen Strathfarrar. The team created a detailed search plan to begin at 7.30am on Saturday.
The walker, who was from the Glasgow area and was described as well equipped, had to spend a night in the hills after making a navigational error. His survival bag proved to be a crucial item of gear both to protect him overnight and to help rescuers find him the next morning.
On Saturday, over 30 Mountain Rescue volunteers from five teams were deployed and found the walker safe and well at 11.30am.
Dundonnell MRT’s leader Donald Macrae said: “I want to thank all the teams that supported us in this search. The area we had to cover was potentially massive and being able to draw upon the support of neighbouring teams (Torridon, Kintail, RAF Lossiemouth and Sarda) showed great teamwork.
“The missing person was well equipped, including a bright orange survival bag and it was this that certainly contributed to him surviving the night and being found.”
Donald Macrae added: “I would encourage anyone venturing into the hills on their own to be confident in their navigational skills.
“In general it is challenging to see someone on the hill if they are wearing dark-coloured clothing. I would suggest if you are lost that, if you can, wear some bright colours as they can provide great contrast to a grass or heather background.”
Further information about the team, which is a registered charity, can be found on the team’s website: http://www.dmrt.org.uk