hiking - saying

“You cannot help someone get up a hill without getting closer to the top yourself.”

- General H. Norman Schwarzkopf

Route Cards

Here is an example of a route card!

WHY? You might know where you are going on the hills /mountains - but does any body else?

The purpose of a route card is to let others know where you are going, so that if you fail to come back off the hills the relevant authorities will know where to start looking for you if are you overdue.

You can make one as simple or as complicated as you want. The essential information to write down, (one copy for you to use on the route and one copy for others to know where you are going!):


Name of the Group Leader;

Other Members in your group;

Start Point + End Point (if different to start point);

What route you plan to take;

Time Out;

Expected Time Back!


Examples of routes cards:

1. Simple
http://www.mountainaid.org.uk/Downloads/Route_Sheet.pdf

2. More info
http://www.sandleheathseascouts.org.uk/route/route-card.pdf

Basic common sense stuff on hiking

http://www.kerrymountainrescue.ie/safety/index.html

from the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team. The same principles apply in the UK, Alps or Slovakia.

Mountain Distress Signal(s) - Do you know what it is?

The Slovak Mountain Rescue Service has their own EMERGENCY NUMBER: 18300

Tatras - photos

Video about ticks

Ticks can be found in many areas of Slovakia, so watch out for them!

Mountain safety

Mountain safety:cornices


Rule number one: treat mountains with respect and caution.

An very unfortunate incident happened over Easter in the Slovak mountains, resulting in a fatality and injuries. This was due to a cornice breaking off:

http://www.avalanche.org/~uac/encyclopedia/cornice.htm

Pictures of a cornice and one lucky skier: here