Dumb Asses Of Winter..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-h ... s-42379621

Along with the shorts and T Shirt Nevis climbers, this does my neep in!

We did a group activity last summer, sea kayaking in the gotebörg archipelago. They made us take one spare paddle between 4........ we didn't useany of them! Seemed sensible at the time tho.

'When he was found he was uninjured, but very cold.'

odd that. i feel for the people who have to go out and get these fools.

You are right TinTin. It is one thing going out as a group, but as a single expedition you should have everything you need. At the end of the day, you have decided you know what you are doing, so bloody well plan ahead!

Some things you cant prepare for. Should he take a spare Kayak just incase the one he is in gets a puncture? The rescue services are there for such accidents, fair enough if he was just on a lilo with a spade for a paddle then he deserves a slap and a swim back to shore.

I also feel for the rescue teams, having helped and also having friends in Mountain rescue teams i have seen some of the fools who should not be out the house, nevermind on a mountain side. Mountain rescue teams now stop attending if the victim has others with them to help them off the mountain.

TBH, there are reasonable precautions, and being stupid.

i.e. taking a spare tube on a two hour ride (sensible), spare tyre (really?), spare wheel (pillock)

Spare paddle when touring on your own is certainly in the sensible end of the spectrum. Even if it was simply a blade on a stick rather than a full on paddle.

Still, there is more stupidity in a city or town near you everyday using up the emergency services for no good reason. Why should this be any different.

This why we have sails

Solo without a spare paddle is misadventure. Simple.

Rescuers spend days at sea looking for idiots like this.

The winter is chock full of idiots running up hills with nothing but Google Maps on smartphones. They are going to kill outdoor fun for the rest of us, as they soak up limited resources.

Generally, mountain biking, you can walk back out if you get in trouble, likewise most gentle hill pursuits like walking. As counter-intuitive as that sounds!

Set out in a sea kayak with no option to self recover at all, for example no spare paddle roped on, and you could be a hundred miles out before anyone is looking for you.

I don't need to link to the hundreds of examples that didn't work out so happily as the case in hand.

Well at least he is safe and well

And in the guys defence he rightly notified the authorities of the incident before turning back. It is not as if he was just drifting and needed rescuing, but where is the dramatic storyline in that!? Good ol' bbc