Gordon <
[email protected]> writes:
>Andy Howell <
[email protected]> wrote
>>On 10/3/04 5:21 pm, in article
>>
[email protected], "Mark South"
>><
[email protected]> wrote:
>>> And if you go by the descriptions given by Krakauer,
>>> most of the party were babes in the wood who would have
>>> had difficulties surviving getting up and down Mam Tor
>>> on a sunny day in July from the upper car park....
>>
>>Kraujauer's book was spooky. Who on earth would turn up to
>>Everest base camp either never having worn their boots
>>before or never having used crampon? !!!
>My first day's hill walking was over the Langdale Pikes,
>with a group from work, one of who wore a lounge suit, and
>ordinary shoes, and (sensibly!) a smart raincoat. He made
>the full trip. Another guy had brought along his
>girlfriend, forgetting to mention that she had an
>artificial foot. She made it as far as the tarn,
>(Stickle?), before letting the leader know she was
>struggling, bless her heart, and they had to be escorted
>down to the valley before we continued around the tops,
>although we had to abandon the planned walk.
If you're organising remote expeditions with people from all
over the country, or world, it can be difficult to
physically inspect their gear and test their expertise
before they arrive, and if you're relying on self-certified
competence, some of them will lie their heads off.
If I was organising such a remote expedition with unknown
self-certified folk I'd insist on some kind of induction
preliminary test to discover who weren't up to it, and that
all had agreed they would get left behind of they were tried
and found incompetent.
Just with my own friends and relatives I've been startled
by the extent to which some people will offer up
completely barefaced lies about competence and clothes
etc. just because they want to go and think you're being
an old fuss pot.
--
Chris Malcolm
[email protected] +44 (0)131 651 3445 DoD #205
IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK
[
http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/]