101 uses for a mobile!

[Fellhound]

I was with a close friend when he passed away a couple of years ago and still get flash backs about the events that night. The one thing that has kept me sane is the knowledge that we did everything we could have done to help him. I hope the people posting flippant comments on here are never in a similiar situation

Richard, I am truly sorry to hear about your friend but that doesn't alter the wider issue here. In 1999 I fell over 100 feet from Sharp Edge and suffered multiple injuries. The most life-threatening of these was internal bleeding in the chest cavity (haemo-thorax?). A walker on the ridge called mountain rescue on their mobile phone and thus probably saved my life (I had almost a litre of blood in the thorax when I arrived by helicopter at the Carlisle hospital - a very-nearly fatal amount). Despite this I'm STILL opposed to the compulsory carrying of mobiles in fell races!

Adventure, self-sufficiency and an element of risk are central to this sport. Anyone (especially those who work in safety circles) knows that the very top of the hierarchy of risk control is elimination. So, if you want to get rid of the risk don't go out in the hills! Obviously, in our sport a balance has to be struck but I think the word used by Luv Shack is a good one - OVERKILL!