A social media inspired wild camping trip ended in a mountain rescue call out over the weekend.
Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team were called by Cumbria Police to a group of four males on Saturday September 14, at around 11.58pm, after they were caught out by poor weather conditions while trying to wild camp on Sheffield Pike, overlooking Ullswater.
The group had set off from Glenridding late in the evening with the intention of climbing the pike to watch the sunset and then camp overnight after seeing the location on social media.
After their walk up the fell took longer than they expected – they eventually got to the summit just before midnight, in worsening conditions of rain and strong winds.
Patterdale rescue team’s duty leader contacted the group and established they were sheltered, but wet and cold after being unable to put up their tent.
A phone find was sent to pin point their position to confirm where they were and after speaking with the group, they were advised it would be a couple of hours before the team could reach them.
The group were asked to get inside their tent even though it wasn’t pitched to keep warm while waiting for the rescue team to arrive.
Once team members arrived at the base, the duty leader spoke with the group again and found them to be in better spirits and now in their tent and sleeping bags keeping dry and warm.Between the group and duty leader it was decided that it would be best for them to stay as they were until morning when the weather forecast was better to allow them to walk down to safety by themselves.
A Patterdale Mountain Rescue spokesman said: “We would like to remind anyone heading onto the hills to check the weather forecast and take appropriate kit with them for the duration of their walk, especially as the seasons are changing, it’s getting darker earlier and the weather is becoming cooler.
“For more information on staying safe in the fells check out Adventure Smart.”
The incident lasted one and a half hours and involved four team members.
