The sad death of a teenager on a training expedition in Dartmoor has been across the news this morning. Whilst the full details aren’t clear yet this incident should reinforce a key safety instruction:

Only cross rivers using bridges or at a safe place after performing a dynamic risk assessment, altering your route if necessary.

Unless you have received instruction on how to safely cross a river (and as an award participant you have not) you should consider any moving water above ankle height as unsafe. You cannot easily judge the condition of the river bed and can lose your footing and be swept away in less water than this. Perform an assessment, find the safest location and be aware of hazards downstream that you could be swept into. If in doubt don’t. We would much prefer that you walked kilometers upstream to find a bridge and arrive late than not at all.

Why do we insist you carry an orange polythene survival bag on DOE expeditions? Well, in the worst situations, this simple and cheap bit of kit can save your life. Mark Wilson has sent in a link to a BBC news article about a recent example; walkers escaping with their lives after a night in whiteout conditions on Ben Lawers. Check it out here.

Okay, chances are that if you’re out in snow on a DOE expedition, something has gone incredibly wrong, but don’t make the mistake of thinking these bags for just for “extreme” conditions. Imagine a scenario on day four of a typical gold expedition: you’re tired, eager to finish and just have to cross a high pass and some peat bogs, before hitting the final easy stretch. Someone falls and suffers an immobilising injury. The temperature is probably about 10º, but with a gusting wind, this can feel closer to zero. Add some mist and a rapidly cooling (now stationary), sweaty walker for claminess and hypothermia is just around the corner. If the injury was traumatic, clinical shock may compound the situation… This can happen on ANY of the hills/mountains in the UK, even the Preselis.

Don’t be stupid, take the orange bag.

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