Mountain rescue warn public to wear proper footwear

Mountain rescue warn public to wear proper footwear


Anton McNulty

THE Mayo Mountain Rescue were busy last week after they were called out three times to attend to incidents which took place on Croagh Patrick - including having to call the Coast Guard helicopter to rescue a woman in her seventies.
The good weather over the last two weeks has resulted in hundreds of people flocking to climb Croagh Patrick with a group of 300 people arriving from Tyrone over the weekend. Dick Harnedy, PRO of Mayo Mountain Rescue told The Mayo News that a number of people were climbing the 2,510 ft mountain unprepared for accidents which result in injuries. He said that a number of measures should be put in place before starting the climb.
“This has been a busy week and our advice to people thinking about climbing Croagh Patrick or any other mountain would be to definitely wear boots instead of runners. Runners give no support at all and with the path being very busy it has got quite slippery and loose. A lot of the call-outs we get are as a result of falls because climbers are not wearing the right footwear, which either results in head or leg injuries. We would also advice people to wear an outer-garment because it can be ten degrees colder at the top than at the bottom, and to bring water and some food,” he said.
The first incident of the day took place on Wednesday when a elderly couple from Colorado in the US got into difficulty while descending the mountain. The couple started the climb at 9am in the morning and on the way down the woman fell and hit her head. Her husband tried to assist her down but got into difficulty and the mountain rescue were called at 8.45pm.
Dick explained that a team got to the mountain and because of the injuries the woman sustained, it was decided to call the Coast Guard helicopter to transfer her to hospital at around midnight, while the mountain rescue stretchered her husband down the hill.
On Saturday afternoon, the mountain rescue were involved in two incidents in quick succession on Croagh Patrick. A French exchange student who was with a group of nine, suffered cramps in his legs while climbing the mountain and was unable to walk. The 15-year-old was brought down the far side of the mountain where he was met by his host family.
As that rescue was taking place the mountain rescue received a call that a 62-year-old woman from Blanchardstown in Dublin suffered a broken leg at the statue near the base. A splint was put on her and she was stretchered to the carpark, where an ambulance brought her to the hospital.