by Tomo Thompson
= Look Out (Kathryn) Lindquist
@lookoutlindquist
One of my favourite insta accounts (i do have a fetish for learning about wildfire).
And the adventures of Kathryn and Gus are informative and entertaining
Bedrock Sandals have published a long post by Kathryn about her fire season. A highly recommended read.
Marvin arrived yesterday …
I’d seen one of Marvin’s siblings on a missing person search recently – it turned a dark night in to bright day and made a significant difference. I thought one would be useful for both my rescue and rangering roles …
Marvin has a twist to close sphincter and a sign telling you not to reach in to his sphincter 😳
Wasn’t long on his first day at work before he got some action checking the margins of a fire site in woodland and showing off his lumens
and not much later he provided flood lighting to the fire and rescue service as they finished off extinguishing an abandoned campfire site that had reignited
*the model name is ‘Olight Marauder2’ and if you’re interested it’s 14000 lumen.
It would be fair to say i sensed tonight might be a bit busy. Some second sense made me change out of my approach shoes and in to my big boots too.
9.20pm ish two blokes with a fire camping in Burbage Valley. The fire was extinguished and they were invited to leave.
The drone pilot was asked to have a last look around the valley before we walked out …..
and reported a fire edge several metres wide further down south in the woodland.
Two of us went on foot and found an area alight and got to work on it with dry bags filled with beck water.
Four more rangers came by vehicle in from Packhorse. @syfireandrescue came in too with Scotty packs and water buckets.
Looks like somebody either today or through last night has had a camp fire and the breeze has reignited the smouldering peat. Had the drone not seen that and the response been swift that woodland would be well alight by dawn.
The fire risk has reduced but not disappeared. Nowt’s changed. Despite everything in the news of late people continue to light fires in the countryside.
A day spent leading a ‘Four Ethels’ walk for @cpre_pdsy as part of @sheffieldwalkingfestival ….
A lovely bunch of folks who got to hear me blether on about all sorts of things relevant and irrelevant whilst being guided on a circular walk from Hathersage to Higger, White Path Moss trig, Stanedge Pole, High Neb trig and back via North Lees.
Showers, 35mph+ gusts, sunshine and views for miles.
Thanks to the group for being good eggs and for their help in dismantling a firewood cache on Stanage.
Thanks to Neill at Stanedge Lodge for the photo of me at the Pole taken from his house.
A pleasure and a privilege to tell a few stories, point out a few things and natter with folks round 10ish miles of the Peak in its late summer garb.
Apparently some folks get paid to do this ….
….. a canny day out.
It’s that time of year again …
In the Gaelic calendar, the 20th September is traditionally ‘Bhuiridh’, the ‘Day of the Roaring’ as the stags begin vocal challenges to rivals.
If you find yourself near males that urinate on their own legs, puff their chests out and bellow at women …. and it’s not a Saturday night in Wetherspoons, read on …
Deer are iconic beasts of the moors – the largest land mammal in the UK – and September and October of each year is their mating season which is called the rut.
As deer move around the landscape before and during the rut the chances of meeting them in your vehicle increases – particularly at dawn and dusk. Please take extra care driving at these times.
During the rut mature male deer (stags) compete for the attentions of the females (hinds) and will then try to defend the hinds they attract. They put weight on, their necks swell, they urinate a mix of urine and semen on to their legs, and they rollin mud and collect foliage on their antlers to increase their attractiveness to the hinds and make themselves look more fearful to other stags. Rival stags challenge opponents through noise (belling) and walking in parallel to size up an opponent. If neither stag backs down, a clash of antlers can occur, and stags will occasionally be injured or killed in the ensuing fight.
We encourage visitors to enjoy watching the rut but please remember to give the deer space to behave normally and naturally.
Please follow these simple guidelines and you will be able to enjoy watching and photographing them in safety:
•Keep your distance! Do not approach any deer to within closer than 50m, and stay at least 100m away from rutting deer.
•Be inconspicuous – use binoculars for close up viewing and use zoom on a camera to keep yourself well away from the rut.
•If there are a large number of people present, do not surround the deer as it may make them nervous. Always leave them an open line of retreat if they need it.
•Take extra special care not to intrude on any rutting male deer which may be fighting, roaring, displaying or otherwise defending their hinds.
•We recommend keeping all dogs well away from the rut. If you must have your dog with you, keep it on a short lead and under close control.
•If a deer starts walking parallel to you and or glancing at you out of the corner of its eye, it is a sign that it may be considering you as a threat – move away slowly and safely and leave the deer well alone. Do not shout or wave at the deer.
•If a ranger or warden asks you to move away from the deer rut this is for your safety, please comply with their request.
The rut is a seasonal spectacle to watch and hear on the moors but please remember that stags are wild animals that can reach 200kg and stand more than 1.5m tall. Whilst fuelled by testosterone during the rut their behaviour needs to be observed from a safe and respectful distance.
Mind how you go.
Then
and now …
If brands turned off sponsoring people based on their follower count and turned on sponsoring people based on their responsible approach to the outdoors, safety and nature, would the stats for mountain rescues go down ? would there be less wildfires ? would there be less flycamping ?
Being a dick outdoors pays.
Being a dick outdoors costs.
Don’t sponsor people that are being dicks.
How do experience, knowledge, safety and responsibility become cool as fuck ?
An article on choosing and using a headtorch that i wrote for Edale Mountain Rescue Team in 2024.
Bright Ideas
Tomorrow is ‘Mountain Rescue Awareness Day’ … and the clocks are changing too. It’s about to get darker earlier. Rescue Teams in Peak District Mountain Rescue Organisation – PDMRO and across Mountain Rescue England and Wales will doubtless be called out to rescue people who had either no lighting or lighting that was inappropriate for the type and duration of activity they were doing. Eating lots of 🥕carrots🥕 is good for general eye health but carrying a torch is still a much better way to see in the dark
Here are some free words of advice for you from us so that you can see in the dark and not require our assistance …
Torch Types
They come in various shapes, sizes, ‘power’ and types. For outdoor activities on two feet there are two types – hand torches (aka a torch you hold in your hand) and a head torch (aka a torch with a band on it that fits on your head like a headband). For most general outdoor users a headtorch is better because it leaves your hands free. Most of this article will focus on headtorches.
In Mountain Rescue we spend quite a lot of time searching for casualties and lost hillwalkers – we need to be able to see (and be seen). We use headtorches and handtorches at the same time. It’s not unusual in the darker months to find us with a small outdoor shop worth of lighting options being carried by each of us – headtorch on head, handtorch in hand, spare head torch, spare batteries for all of those torches, tiny torch for map reading etc etc … as well as some serious lumen torches on charge in our support vehicle.
How Bright ?
Brightness is measured in lumen. It’s the amount of visible light that the human eye can detect. Torches vary in lumen from about 50 lm to about 1500 lm. A car headlight is about 800 lm and 1500 lm on full beam. Newer HID car lights be up to 4500 lm. You don’t need to carry a car headlight round with you. A brighter torch needs a bigger battery and a bigger battery weighs more. This ‘triangle’ of options of weight v lumen v duration sits at the core of torch buying. There may well be one torch that is ideal for most of what you do. Equally there are full on torch addicts we know that own more torches than shoes ….
Brightness is altered by pressing a button on the torch or by purchasing a ‘Reactive’ torch (which senses the amount of light bouncinjg back to the torch sensor and auto adjusts the brightness and focus required). Adjustable focus (either manually or ‘Reactively’ ) is essential because the amount of lumen required to peer down a dark holloway is different to that required to read a map. Being able to use the right amount of lumen for the right job will also protect your own night vision which is important too.
As an aside, wherever you are and whichever torch you’re using it’s also good to have other ways of making yourself visible so your friends, car drivers, mountain rescuers or helicopters can see you. This might be a headtorch with a rear red light on it and or outdoor clothing with reflective piping. Being visible means being easier to find.
About 250 – 500 lumens is good for hillwalking. If you’re going faster (running or cycling) you’ll need more lumen. A torch that offers multiple brightness settings is recommended.
Power
The size of the battery you need is determined by your activity and how long you’re active for. As you use more of the battery the power output reduces. This steep decline in output can be reduced by using a rechargeable in-built battery, these also perform better in the cold, are more environmentally responsible and easier to charge at home via USB cable. Just remember that you may need to carry a charged replacement for your in-built battery too. Also bear in mind whether actually charging the torch (plugging it in) is a non-starter on your trip – in that case a battery that uses a rechargeable battery pack but also accepts disposable batteries will work better.
There can be a temptation to buy a torch that could light up all of the Dark Peak when you’re only walking up Win Hill…. it will exceed your requirement, cost you more, weigh a lot and burn out quickly. Read the product data, get advice from a torch geek in a good outdoor shop and be honest about what you’re using it for. And whilst you’re using it have it on the brightness setting appropriate for what you’re doing, thereby reducing battery use.
Look After It
For most of the year your torch sits in your rucksack ‘just in case’ getting covered in Haribo, bread crumbs, bashed about, sat on and thrown in the car boot … then you expect it to lumen in to action in a nano second. Look after it. Store it in a case or a dry bag if possible. Take the batteries out (but store them with it) if you need to. Give it a good check over before the Autumn nights close in. Use batteries and replacement parts from the manufacturer or reputable sources to avoid issues.
Knicker Elastic No More
There’s a story in the history of Petzl (they invented the headtorch) that in 1973 they bought some knicker elastic and started trialling ways to keep a torch balanced on a forehead with it. Must have been a sight to behold. You no longer need to ruin your best underwear as comfortable practical headtorches have been on the market for ages. Have a think about whether the band needs to go over a warm hat or a helmet. Wider headbands are comfier. Larger headtorches have a supporting strap that goes over the top of the head as well as round it. Have a try on in the shop with the batteries in. High lumen headtorches with heavy batteries may be cumbersome on smaller heads. There is also a myriad different ways that headtorches are operated from buttons to toggle switches to hand strokes in front of the lens, so again make sure these work for you – wearing your big winter gloves in the shop whilst trying torches out is a good idea too.
Beam Me Up
Most torches nowadays have Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) in them and most torches have more than one. A main LED will cast a focussed beam of light light towards your area of focus or the route ahead. Smaller LEDs, usually fitted around the sides of the main LED, provide a softer wider beam to illuminate a wider area. A torch with focussed and wide beams is the best option.
Light Discipline
Whatever you’re doing whilst out with your torch please be respectful of other walkers, runners, horse riders etc and don’t blind them with the 1300lm Mini Cooper headlight tied to your head (with knicker elastic). Reduce the output and point the beam at your feet. Night vision in humans takes about 30 minutes to fully return once it’s been ruined. If you see bright lights coming towards you it is a good tip to immediately gently close one eye (don’t screw it tightly closed) and that will retain your night vision in one eye. Wildlife can be traumatised and even miscarry due to very high lumen light shone at them. Be respectful of everything that’s out in the dark including the wildlife.
How Much ?
Like everything in the outdoors you can get the super duper brilliant just launched thingy that costs more than a monthly mortgage plan or you can shop around and get a good quality, reliable, durable torch that does what you need it to do for a sensible price. Visit a reputable outdoor shop and they will help you choose a torch that meets your needs and budget. About £40 to £80 will suffice for a good hillwalking headtorch. Think of the opportunities that the torch will provide you (star gazing, night walks etc) rather than the initial cost. A good one will easily last a decade of adventures. Not having one may well be a whole lot more costly !!!!
Black Diamomd, Petzl, Fenix, Silva and Alpkit all have comparison tables, advice articles and videos on their websites to help you choose.
On the Edale MRT patch Outside and Alpkit staff can help you choose.
Mobile Phone Torches
An iPhone light is about 40-50 lumen. If you’re using your phone to navigate, photograph, speak to your Mum, check your socials, put a reel on instagram and sort pizzas from Deliveroo for when you get home chances are that the battery is exhausted and its usefulness as a torch will be limited. It isn’t a torch. It’s a phone. Buy and carry a torch.
Conclusion
Stay safe and have a great Autum and Winter of adventures ⛑️👍
If you need Mountain Rescue in an emergency dial 999 and ask for
‘Police – Mountain Rescue’
* article on Edale MRT Facebook has lots of gnarly torch photos 😉
©️2024
Llanberis MRT posted this yesterday.
I have a couple of roles within media within mountain rescue and i don’t know what the answer is.
I don’t know what the endstate is either. Given the sharply rising trend of callout numbers since Covid, and given that we’re already at the point of ‘this isn’t sustainable’, what happens next ?
The annual update ….
Buying
I have warm used notes / vital organs available for
All prior to 1916
1920
Selling
I have these for sale
1932
33
34
35
36
37 x 2
39
40
41
42
43
44
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53 x 2
54
55
56 x 2
57 x 2
58
59
60 x 2
61
62
63
If you’ve absolutely no idea what this post is about perhaps read this
*i can recommend collecting almost anything else on earth rather than the endless, fruitless years of trying to collate a full set of Clarions.
On the 19th of February 1956, Tom Tomlinson, the first full-time head warden of the newly formed Peak District National Park and Fred Heardman, the landlord of The Old Nags Head public house in Edale, organised the first training exercise of Edale Mountain Rescue Team.
In February 2026 the Team held a 70th birthday party at the Old Nags Head with lots of retired team members joining the current team for a night of stories and celebration.
From late 2025 i have been running a project to get a plaque erected to commemorate the teams 70th.
I approached Leander Architectural in Dove Holes, Buxton for their services to design and make a plaque the design for which was a hybrid between a traditional blue heritage plaque and an original red, white and blue Mountain Rescue Committee RESCUE POST sign that were once commonplace in the hills and mountains.
I have to say that i was blown away by the craftsmanship of Leanders. In between visits to check on our plaque i would rummage through their collection of moulds for past projects – including the SBS memorial at Le Verdon-sur-Mer.
After 6 months of work i was relieved to finally get permissiom for the plaque to be mounted on the listed Old Nags Head Inn in Edale. The plaque was mounted yesterday by a team colleague, hidden behind a barmaids apron !! and unveiled today by the Team chairman at a little event.
It celebrates the 70 year connection between everyone that has served in Edale Mountain Rescue Team, the area and The Old Nags Head Inn.
A few days ago we stretchered a casualty off Kinder and popped in to the Nags for a much needed cold drink afterwards, just like Tom and Fred and the first team members did 70 years ago and have done ever since.
Chuffed that i managed to get this sorted and unveiled in the 70th year of the Team.
Give it a nod if you’re passing ….