Walkers on snowy Eryri peaks at -9C following Strava 'heat maps' very lucky to survive

Andrew Forgrave
·3-min read
Conditions on the Glyderau mountains were atrocious
-Credit: (Image: OVMRO)


Experienced climbers were left open-mouthed by ill-equipped walkers who headed up Eryri’s mountains in -9C temperatures. One party went astray because it followed a mobile phone "heat map trail" thinking it was a footpath.

Two pairs of walkers needed plucking from peaks in the Glyderau range in north Eryri (Snowdonia). Both rescues took place on Monday, November 18 - the day a Met Office alert for snow was issued.

In the evening, snow brought the A55 and A483 to a halt but on the Eryri mountains it began falling in the afternoon. Answering the two call-outs – they both came at the same time - was the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation (OVMRO).

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One involved two walkers who had summitted Tryfan and were descending via Nor Nor gulley. Here, they became stuck and, after deliberating for three hours, they called for help. With snow falling and temperatures plunging, OVMRO deployed two rescue parties.

OVMRO said on social media: “Due to the deteriorating weather conditions, a hasty party was deployed to climb in and locate the pair and supply warm clothing and headtorches. A second team was deployed with rope rescue equipment, and the pair were lowered down the remainder of the gulley.”

The other call-out involved a father and son who had climbed Glyder Fach via Bwlch Tyrfan. Mistakenly, they climbed down toward Nant Peris thinking they had reversed their route. After trying to climb down the steep and challenging slope, they thought better of it and called for help.

Three OVMRO members walked up via the Miners path before climbing back down to the stranded pair. “After supplying warm clothing and some fresh head torches, they were led back up to the summit, and then confidence-roped down Bristley Screes to Bwlch Tryfan,” said the rescue organisation.

Two more team members met the group with heat pads and fresh torches. They then helped the dad and his son down from Llyn Bochlwyd into the Ogwen Valley. Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone

Those rescued were 'very cold and wet'
Those rescued were 'very cold and wet' -Credit:OVMRO
OVMRO team members lead rescued walkers off the mountains
OVMRO team members lead rescued walkers off the mountains -Credit:OVMRO
Rescued walkers were given heat pads, warming clothing and a hot drink
Rescued walkers were given heat pads, warming clothing and a hot drink -Credit:OVMRO

It wasn’t until 4am the next day that all four OVMRO teams were back at their Capel Curig base to "defrost and debrief". A spokesperson said: “Both casualty groups were very lucky. With temperatures down to -9C, one group had no warm clothing or torches and were very cold and wet by the time they were found.

"A check of the weather forecast would have shown the amber warning, setting off earlier would have helped too. One group was navigating with Strava and followed a heat map trail thinking they were on a footpath.”

Users can follow Strava’s aggregated heat maps showing routes popularly used by others - though these don’t always follow footpaths. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox

Following this week’s rescues, OVMRO was saluted for “preventing fatalities” and Strava was urged to add safety warnings to its heat maps. A Colwyn Bay walker blamed social media for luring people to the mountains. “Silly season has started,” he said. “Pictures of a challenging mountain on Instagram.... no idea about kit or checking route or weather.”

A woman added: “To set off on Monday without warm clothes or checking the weather......what were they thinking?” OVMRO saves lives but depends on donations - you can help the team here.

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