By: Blonde Two
By Blonde Two
We Blondes didn’t make it up to Dartmoor on Saturday after all. Which is a great shame because I am sure that it was bracing and beautiful.
There was a good reason … It was too cold!
Now you might read this and think, “Those Blondes are wimps to be scared off the moor by a little bit of wind and chill.” You would, of course, be wrong. You have to be prepared to adjust your plans to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all of your party.
We had some youngsters who were new to Dartmoor coming with us. This meant that some of their kit (despite lists) was not quite up to keeping them warm all day, in wind chill of minus four. Not their fault, it is all about experience and money. Thanks to wonderful schemes like Gift Your Gear, we were able to give some suitable items out; but trousers are more tricky than fleeces and gloves.
There is an important lesson to remember here. If you are an adult leader on a cold day, you are likely to have warmer kit than the youngsters that you are walking with. You might also have more food, a hot drink and the experience to tell you when to utilise all of these things. If you are going to get cold, they are going to get colder; and being cold on Dartmoor is not just about feeling uncomfortable or unhappy, it is about being safe. We have seen kids with hypothermia, it is a scary thing.
So well done to Mr Welsh who was in charge and made the decision to orienteering at Haldon Forest instead. I had a lovely day, and so did the youngsters. We even got to nibble a few cheesy chips!
Hmmm. Do you ever speak to your young charges about truth and the meaning of life? About the Shackleton spirit? The British middle-class attitude towards suffering? The stiff upper lip (stiff in this case because it’s frozen into position). It certainly beats opening the door and calculating the wind-chill factor.
Stiff upper lips are all very well if you are making an informed decision for yourself. Making it for those in your charge is an entirely different thing; especially when you have seen first hand the consequences of not doing so. And yes, Shackleton is a particular favourite of mine; Ten Tors is probably (but hopefully not) the closest any of them will get to that kind of spirit.
Well said. The walk across Exmoor to Hoar Oak Cottage is beautiful but long and across open moor and although we LOVE to encourage people to go and visit we also encourage them to NOT GO unless they’ve got reasonable kit and a map. Unlike when shepherd families lived at Hoar Oak Cottage and men women and children had to walk to HOC nowadays no one has to walk there. They just want to walk there. And we want them to walk there safely. Good article Blondes. Thankyou.
Well we are very pleased that we had a map and could go and visit Hoar Oak Cottage, it was a stunning walk.
Making well considered decisions, including deciding to turn back, based on a pragmatic interpretation of the facts is a sign of mature leadership.
Is there a recipe for cheesy chips?
Hi Conrad – We should have insisted that you had cheesy chips when you came up to Fox Tor Cafe! You just need chips (piping hot) and lots and lots of very tasty cheddar. Sprinkle cheese on chips and wait for it to melt just the right amount. We Blondes would then add salt and vinegar, but this is not compulsory!
Good choice, we did the same. Walked up to Crockern tor from the road and decided that carrying on to Littaford tor, down to and over the weir would be cold and not that pleasant (it was snowing horizontally when we made the decision). We went to Soussons instead!
Lucky youngsters – getting a first class example of how to make a difficult – and right – decision. I used to have Worcester Sauce with my cheesy chips – – – –
I’ll start this by making it clear that I’m wanting to question any of your decisions made at the weekend as only you can make them at the time, with the students you have but it does relate to a major niggle I have.
Nobody wants people going out poorly equipped and getting themselves into trouble or having a miserable time, however its the definition of poorly equipped that needs to be looked at.
Many outdoor leaders are guilty (myself included) of prancing around in the latest Gucci kit that is more suited to a Himalayan expedition than a day on the moor and give the impression that our charges won’t be safe or have fun unless they are equipped in the same way and this simply isn’t true and risks depriving some students of some great experiences.
Things take a bit more thought when you are out for multiple days but for a single day when you are never more than a few hours from the bus the most basic set of waterproofs will keep the wind off. If it’s cold, another layer is all that is needed, it doesn’t need to be a Polartec all singing all dancing fleece, a simple sweatshirt will do.
Over the last few years cancelled ten tor training appear to becoming more common and I wonder why? Sure it’s better to be safe than sorry but are people being over cautious?
Routes can be changed to stay off the tops to avoid the wind, routes can be shortened, groups can stop more often but for shorter lengths of time to keep everyone moving and warm etc etc.
We were out with 74 students on Saturday, the majority were new to the moor, most had very basic kit. We walked about 12km in a strong northerly wind, with alternating hard stinging snow and wet slush showers all of which was forecast. We didn’t change our plans much, we had a plan A and a plan B and all of our leaders are more than capable of creating plans c, d, e, f, g h, i, j… on the fly when needed. A few got a bit wet and chilly, but not really cold and all had a good time, would they have enjoyed it more if they had rammed raided a Cotswold store en route? I doubt it. Were they ever unsafe? Definitely not.
Hi Si. Blonde One and I agreed long ago that there weren’t any right or wrong decisions; just the ones that you make and have to live with. Great to hear that your lot had a good Dartmoor training session. I guess only May 8th will tell if ours have done enough.
Oh yes … and we would both love to see you ‘prance around’ sometime!