Clocks have gone back, so take a head torch: it's how rescuers found a walker in Upper Eskdale Clocks have gone back, and Wasdale rescuers say a head torch is how they found a walker in Upper Eskdale
Marra Mode is how we'd tell you this in the Co-op. Switch it off for the straight version.
The clocks went back last night, so it's dark by about five now. Rescuers found a frozen, worn-out walker in Upper Eskdale on Saturday morning only because they saw his head torch flashing.
This one's for anybody heading up the fells this half-term, Scafell Pike, Wasdale, Ennerdale, Eskdale, the lot.
The clocks went back an hour at 2am, so it's dark by about five on the coast now, and sooner down in the valleys.
Wasdale Mountain Rescue got the call at 10.16pm on Friday, after the police got word a fella hadn't come back from Scafell Pike. He'd last been at Taylor Gill Force at half ten that morning and they couldn't find his phone, so five rescue teams went looking, with the coastguard helicopters as well.
About 2.40am, the Duddon and Furness lot saw a head torch flashing and found him in Upper Esk. He'd been sat there since about six, frozen and knackered, with all his spare clothes on, and his phone and power bank were both dead. Coastguard Rescue 912 airlifted him down the valley. The whole thing took more than nine hours, and there'd been snow on the top of Scafell Pike that day.
Wasdale MRT said: "In this case, the head torch is what allowed rescuers to find him."
On Thursday, 16 of the Wasdale team spent five hours getting a fella who'd hurt his upper leg near Burnmoor Tarn back to his car on a stretcher.
Matt Cox, who leads Patterdale's team, reckons folk don't realise how early it gets dark now. He told the BBC: "People at the moment will be going out and thinking I'm fine until half past six and in reality, they're not".
What you can do: be off the tops well before it gets dark, and take a proper head torch, extra warm layers and a charged-up power bank. Your phone torch isn't enough. If it goes wrong, ring 999, ask for the police, then mountain rescue.
With the clocks back an hour and darkness now falling around 5pm, mountain rescue teams are urging walkers to carry a head torch. A cold, exhausted walker was found in Upper Eskdale early on Saturday after rescuers spotted his flashing torch.
This is for anyone heading onto the western fells this half-term, from Scafell Pike and Wasdale to Ennerdale and Eskdale.
The clocks went back an hour at 2am today, so it now gets dark at around 5pm on the West Cumbria coast and earlier in the valleys.
Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team was called at 10.16pm on Friday 23 October after police had a report that a man was overdue from a walk on Scafell Pike. He had last been at Taylor Gill Force at 10.30am, and his phone could not be found, so five mountain rescue teams searched, with coastguard helicopters.
At about 2.40am, Duddon and Furness team members spotted a flashing head torch and found him in Upper Esk. He had been sitting there since around 6pm, "very cold and exhausted". He had put on all his spare clothes, but his phone and power bank had both run flat. Coastguard Rescue 912 airlifted him down the valley. The callout lasted more than nine hours, and there had been snow on Scafell Pike's summit that day.
Wasdale MRT said: "In this case, the head torch is what allowed rescuers to find him."
On Thursday, 16 Wasdale team members spent five hours helping a man who had hurt his upper leg near Burnmoor Tarn, carrying him on a stretcher back to his group's car.
Matt Cox, leader of Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team, warned on Friday that people underestimate how early it now gets dark. He told the BBC: "People at the moment will be going out and thinking I'm fine until half past six and in reality, they're not".
What you can do: plan to be off the tops well before dark, and carry a head torch, spare warm layers and a fully charged power bank. Don't rely on your phone torch. If you get into trouble, ring 999, ask for the police and then mountain rescue.