The busiest mountain rescue team in Scotland has defended charity expeditions, despite admitting they can be a test of their resources.
Mountain rescue officials in the Lake District have condemned charity hikers for being under-prepared and committing basic mistakes, such as relying on mobile phones for navigation.
Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team covers Ben Nevis, which attracts many walkers every year, who are striving to reach the summit in support of various charities.
And a spokesman for the team argued it was “unfair” to criticise every charity walker – though they admitted the sheer number taking to the hills meant there would be an impact on their resources.
He added that many of the incidents to which the organisation was called were genuine emergencies which could have happened anywhere – but the mountain environment naturally made these mishaps more dangerous.
He added: “Our experience is that the vast majority of charity walks are well-organised with qualified guides and safety back-up.”
The team highlighted the growing popularity of the Three Peak challenge as one of the reasons for rising numbers of charity walkers.
This involves climbing Scafell Pike, Snowdon and Ben Nevis – the highest summits in England, Wales and Scotland – in 24 hours for charity.
The spokesman added: “If you see the caterpillar trail of people heading up Ben Nevis, mainly between May and September, on Three Peaks and other challenges, you would expect us to be out far more often than we are if these groups were not well organised and supported.
“There are poorly organised groups and we have been called out, quite a few times, to help the misguided, but these are by far the exception to the norm. It is unfair to criticise every charity walker.”
The Lochaber team argued that, as long as charity ensembles were sufficiently prepared for their challenges and properly resourced, they should be able to cope with rising demand on the country’s mountains.
The group is the busiest in the UK and its members have had to deal with more than 100 call-outs per year for the last five years – many on Ben Nevis itself.