Viper Marketing

Planning to go on an adventure?

Author: Jim Hardcastle

Jim has helped organisations and groups communicate more effectively for nearly 20 years. His background in the countryside and rural sectors provide him with a wealth of experience. Fueled by coffee with Post-Its at the ready, he’s here to help .

I could see her sat awkwardly at the bottom of the face. She still had her climbing helmet on but the ropes were tangled around her legs. I checked nothing was going to fall on us as we approached her. Gloves on. ‘Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? Keep your head still and keep looking at me’. I had to suspect a neck or spine injury after she’d fallen that far. ‘My colleague’s going to come behind you and hold your head to make you comfortable’. I was flapping but trying not to show it.

Her leg was sticking out at an old angle and she was clearly in a lot of pain. She was groaning so she had an open airway. Breathing was shallow but her chest was rising and falling symmetrically so I could assume no broken ribs. Pulse racing, pale colour and sweat so she must be going into shock. Shock’s also a sign of internal bleeding. I had to suspect this with the break of the femur that was visible. We got her on oxygen. A hands on inspection of her torso revealed a broken pelvis. This was definitely Big Sick now. She needed medical treatment that I can’t give at the bottom of a cliff face. I radioed back to control our situation, what I intended to do - strap her pelvis, splint her leg, move her into a vacuum mattress, and asked for extra resources. We needed a helicopter and more team members.

And relax. ‘Ok, your approach was good, you got immediate control of the c-spine and initial ABC assessment was thorough. Oxygen could’ve been used faster and don’t forget to get a clear respiratory rate reading.’ The instructor seemed pleased. My pulse rate began to return to normal. Running through these scenario’s is vital for getting the procedures right in a real emergency. ‘Can you let me out now?’ came a little voice from inside the vacuum mattress.

Slips, trips, falls, they all happen. Nice long pub lunch at the Swan on a Sunday with the family, then a stroll over Rowberrow. Chatting away and the dogs crashed into the side of your knee with a large stick. What would you do next?

Most accidents and mishaps can be avoided. Seems I spend most of my time encouraging people to get out there and have some adventure I thought I’d balance this with some good old fashioned common sense advice to make sure you come back from your adventure safe and sound.
Before you set out charge your phone battery! Many accidents occur towards the end of the day when both you and your phone may be low on energy. Check the weather forecast and local conditions. Leave your route plan (at least let someone know roughly where you’re going) including start and finish points, estimated time of return and contact details with an appropriate party. Think about the equipment, experience, capabilities and enthusiasm of your party members, taking into account the time of year, the terrain and the nature of the trip – and choose your routes accordingly.

Wear suitable clothing and footwear. Clothing should be warm, windproof and waterproof and always carry spare, including hat and gloves (even in summer the tops and open moorland can still be bitingly cold, and it's always colder the higher you climb). Take some sweets and drinks for a quick hit of energy.

A map and compass are essential kit and should be easily accessible – not buried in the rucksack!
A mobile phone and GPS are useful tools but don't rely on your mobile to get you out of trouble – in may areas there is no signal coverage. Take a whistle and learn the signal for rescue. Six good long blasts. Stop for one minute. Repeat. Carry on the whistle blasts until someone reaches you and don't stop because you've heard a reply – rescuers may be using your blasts as a direction finder. A torch (plus spare batteries and bulbs) is great for signalling in the same pattern as for whistle blasts.

Keep an eye on the weather and be prepared to turn back if conditions turn against you, even if this upsets a long planned adventure. Keep together, allow the slowest member of the party to determine the pace, and take special care of the youngest and weakest in dangerous places.

The icing on the cake is to learn some First Aid like I’ve done. Some basic First Aid knowledge is a true life-skill. You could save yourself and your loved ones with a bit of knowledge. I’ve had and seen plenty of mountain bike crashes to know that so far, I’ve been lucky, and I won’t mention the time I was running from Rains Batch on to Black Down, stepped on a submerged stone in a puddle and ended up crawling back to base. I had no phone and was only wearing running gear. It was a very long, cold, miserable experience. A bit of planning would've made the world of difference.

- Posted on Wednesday 10 Feb 2010 at 16:19 by Jim Hardcastle

Tags: adventure (21), communication (26), countryside (20), gps (4), map (7), mountain bike (8), rescue services (5), search and rescue (9)