Mountain rescuers issue warning to novice walkers after spate of panic attacks
22 July 2024, 08:15 | Updated: 22 July 2024, 08:23
A mountain rescue team has issued a warning to inexperienced hikers after being called to a spate of people suffering panic attacks.
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Ogwen Valley mountain rescue team has been called out 97 times this year, with the latest rescue involving a walker who couldn’t move because of a panic attack near the summit of Tryfan - a peak in the Ogwen Valley, Snowdonia.
Rescuers helped four people who were stuck 600ft from the summit - and got them off the mountain safely.
The party of four became stuck in the waterfall gully area on Tryfan’s north ridge.
“The four were located and assisted back to the main path and then on down to the road,” an incident report states.
In an online message to visitors, the Ogwen team said: “The team have dealt with a number of panic attacks on Tryfan recently.
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Callout 97: 18 Jul - Tryfan. A group were 200m from the summit of Tryfan when one of them had a panic attack and couldn'...
Posted by Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation on Saturday, July 20, 2024
“Tryfan has considerable exposure with lots of climbing over or around ridges and edges. Will any of you be overly-affected by this?
“Tryfan is difficult to navigate over in a traditional manner, especially in poor weather. Are you able to navigate and relate map to ground?”
The mountain rescue team warned: ”There is no straight line to the car park – don’t be tempted to descend gullies just because you can see the valley floor.”
They believe social media is encouraging more novice walkers to attempt peaks that are beyond their skill level.
