The Great Outdoors Spring 2019

Signs of the times

Should we have more mountain signposts? Roger Smith looks at the arguments for and against

climbing the hills. NTS has found it very

diicult to abide strictly by the Unna Rules.

he question arises as to whether a set

of ‘rules’ drawn up 80 years ago in very

diferent times, when only a few people

went into the hills, should still be regarded

as sacrosanct today when popular hills like

those in Glen Coe, and Scafell Pike, swarm

with walkers year-round.

here is a particular problem with the

hree Peaks Challenge in which people

try to top Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben

Nevis within 24 hours, driving between

them. Many of the people trying this are

not hillgoers but runners who are taken

up and down the hills by ‘pacers’ acting as

guides. Because of the need for speed they

keep their load to a minimum so don’t tend

to carry maps (and oten seem to have poor

navigational skills). I found one website

giving advice to hree Peaks Challengers

that suggested doing a recce or hiring a

guide and only at the very end said “or

learn how to navigate.” It’s regarded as a last

resort, which is completely wrong.

Some years ago my wife and I climbed

Mount Monadnock in New England. It is

of very similar height to Scafell Pike (970m

to Scafell Pike’s 977m) and is sometimes

claimed to be the second most ascended

mountain in the world (ater Mount Fuji in

Japan) with an estimated 150,000 ascents

each year. Monadnock is a rocky hill and

is designated as a National Landmark.

Visitors can get a very clear, simple map

showing the main hiking routes, which

are marked by paint splashes on rocks –

a system easily maintained but one that

has never found favour in British hills.

Caution is being urged in the case of

MOUNTAIN RESCUE teams have lagged
up a problem with walkers making their
way of Scafell Pike, England’s highest
mountain. hey reach Lingmell Col at
740m and should turn let for the safest
route down to Wasdale Head. Instead,
many are being lured onto what initially
looks like the better path, but which in fact
leads to the diicult Corridor Route above
Piers Gill.
here have been more then 50 incidents
here in recent years, including several
fatalities, and Wasdale Mountain Rescue
Team feels that a simple sign at the col
pointing the way down to Wasdale Head
could reduce the number of callouts and
almost certainly save lives.
here is a parallel issue in that
increasing numbers of walkers are relying
on digital technology and either don’t
take paper maps with them or don’t have
the skills to use a map when they need
to. Technology is ine as a back-up but
it is too easy for it to fail in remote and
mountainous terrain, leaving the walker
with no option but to call out the MRT.
Debate is currently focused on Lingmell
Col but the wider question of signs in the
hills has rumbled on for as long as I can
remember. In Scotland it centred round
the ‘Unna Rules’, a set of management
principles laid down by Percy Unna,
whose generous donations made it possible
for the National Trust for Scotland (NTS)
to acquire iconic areas such as Glen Coe
and Ben Lawers.
Unna’s irst and strongest principle
was that “the hills should not be made
safer or easier in any way.” He didn’t want
signs, bridges or any other aids to people

Lingmell Col. Sam Stalker, senior ranger

for the National Trust, said: “To do that

[erect a sign] on Scafell Pike would have

ramiications across the whole National

Park.” Derek Cockell, secretary of

the Wainwright Society, while stressing

that they are against signs in principle,

said: “If there is a particular place where

the Mountain Rescue teams say a sign

could save lives then I don’t think the

Society is going to be so hard-hearted

that we will say ‘never’. We wouldn’t like a

sign on a post but perhaps something in

keeping with the landscape to mark the

route down”. It’s worth noting that there

are large stone signs at important points

including path junctions on Snowdon now.

I’d agree that caution is needed but I

am sure a compromise could be found.

To my mind if there is a sign at Lingmell,

all it should say is simply ‘Wasdale Head’

with a clear directional arrow. It should not

mention any other route. hat way there is

no dubiety. And it should be regarded as

a special case, not a precedent.

We need a vigorous campaign to get

people to show proper respect for the

mountains and to learn navigational skills

as an essential part of that process. Using

a map is so wonderfully enjoyable that I

don’t understand why people won’t do it.

Safety apps on mobile phones have their

place but should never be the irst thing

you call on. I hope we can all agree on that.

What do you think? Should we have

more signposts in our mountains? Or

is self-reliance more important? Send

your views to Roger at roger.smithwalk@

blueyonder.co.uk and we will evaluate them

for use in a future issue.

Scafell Pike, Lingmell and

Wasdale from Great End

Photo: Simon Whitield/Shutterstock

by Roger Smih

COMMENT

28 The Great Outdoors Spring 2019