Snowdon walkers dressed for supermarket, says rescuer

Mountain rescuers are urging people not to go ill-prepared when walking in Snowdonia amid a rise in callouts.

Calls to Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue are up about 20% this year to 110.

Volunteer Chris Lloyd said the route up Snowdon can "bite back" due to rough terrain, with neighbouring Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team "getting calls all the time" to help people.

He said some walkers were "dressed as if they're going across the supermarket car park".

"So many are totally ill-equipped and haven't really thought about where they are going," he told the BBC Radio Wales breakfast programme.

He said his team had been called out about 20 times in September alone, with 35 callouts for volunteers at Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team covering Snowdon.

Several rescues have been carried out on Tryfan mountain, with one man seriously injured, including a broken thigh bone, after falling on slippery rocks on Sunday.

A helicopter airlifted rescuers to beneath the cloud line, but they had to reach the casualty on foot and then use a stretcher to lower him down to flat terrain before carrying him off the mountain due to "atrocious conditions".

Mr Jones said he was "very lucky" to be located quickly as he had not been wearing waterproof clothing despite the weather forecast.

"Accidents do happen - they happen to the best of people," he said.

"But we really do get calls from people who really should be able to sort themselves out if they are properly prepared."

He said three rescuers had to escort a man to safety after his torch light had gone flat in the darkness.

"We are getting an increasing number of visitors to the mountains of north Wales... but so many are totally ill-equipped," said Mr Jones.