Daz you dont fancy being a leg 4 donkey at the weekend do you??
Daz you dont fancy being a leg 4 donkey at the weekend do you??
When all else fails and your soul needs a lift - head to the hills
Been following this thread on and off and the above suggestion I think is a splendid idea. :thumbup::thumbup:Originally Posted by wynn
Paul C.
... continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.
Sorry wynn i would if i could but can barely walk after duddon.
lol.... it'd do you good!! loosen all them tight tendons and gritty bits!!
When all else fails and your soul needs a lift - head to the hills
[QUOTE=Mike T;415641] No one is suggesting that major changes be made, and some very simple guidelines may well be all that is needed to significantly reduce risk on the hills( ... who is pairing up with whom? .... who is carrying what? ....).
So a combination of thinking about this and the 'other' thread and some late pregnancy induced insomnia (still no baby....) and I have been wondering if we are looking at this through the wrong end of the telescope - that is: Is the BG actually 'risky' and full of accidents waiting to happen? - or is it in fact an unusually safe way of being in the hills with a very low accident count?
The numbers (all guestimates)
2010 = 88 successful rounds- if we assume 2 pacers per leg (probably an underestimate) + 1 contender and assume a 23 hr time each - then each successful round = 69 hrs of fell running x 88 = 6,072 hrs of running
If 1:2 attempts are successful then lets assume 88 unsuccessful attempts last year, again 2 pacers per leg, and lets assume and average of 12 hrs per attempt = (3 x 12) x88= 3168 hrs fell running
So 2010 probably a conservative estimate of running hours on BG attempts = 9,240 hrs of fell running - so now we can ask how many accidents should there be? - how do BG accidents compare in quantity to other fell running accidents (races? Mountain marathon?) and when will this baby come and i can stop being kept away at night by such weird calculations?
my suspicion is that the BG is alarmingly safe and there is no need to introduce more rules to protect us all from ourselves
right definatly bed time
Apart from the incident on Blencathra that is being talked around here, I know of just one other incident in the last eight years or so that required hospital treatment and they got themselves off the hill so no MRT. Of course there may have been others but it is still a very low incident rate.
I'm also aware of one incident on the Paddy Buckley in the same time period.
Bob
http://bobwightman.co.uk/run/bob_graham.php
Without me you'd be one place nearer the back
...
Now there's a thought... would anyone really object to a contribution from FRA subs going to Mountain Rescue? Sounds very positive to me.
The only thing against that is that it's imposed giving. I give anyway (Patterdale Supporters Club), as I'm sure loads of fell runners do. There's only so much you can afford to give.
I'd prefer to leave it down to the individual.
If this is specific to BG attempts, then the BG club may consider a fee for doing the round? This could then be donated to MRT. I know that some fell races donate amounts.
Or perhaps the BG club might consider an insurance policy for all attempts so that MRT could recoup any expediture due to a BG round call out. Only joking!
Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.
To the best of my knowledge, Nigel's accident was the first time that MR has ever been called to assist either a contender or a pacer on a Bob Graham attempt.
Nigel's sensible behaviour on the fell and good decision-making by those in the valley ensured as good an outcome as might be imagined from his fall. That result did not happen by accident.
Like any mountain activity, a BG attempt is full of theoretical risk, but those risks are usually mitigated by good planning and experience.
On the other hand, like any mountain activity, some people will get by more from good luck than from good judgment.
My view is that for those who rely on the former, no amount of paper-based explanations or guidance will help them to a position to exercise the latter.
I don't anticipate any significant revisions to the BG Club Guidance Notes as a result of recent events.
Morgan
The only one who can tell you "You can't" is you. And you don't have to listen.
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