I think that, after blowing the whistle, I was right to go on, because then I was too exhausted to survive the night. However, Mr. Duff* maintains, correctly, that one should not go on until it is necessary to tap those last reserves:

"....It appears that the chief factor in these deaths [from exposure] is not cold but physical exhaustion. Persistent and determined effort to carry on in the face of a high and cold wind to the point of exhaustion brings loss of control of the limbs, then loss of sight and hearing before the final collapse. Death which is, curiously, seductively easy follows in fifteen to twenty minutes. It is difficult to believe that in first-class physical condition, well fed and after a comfortable night in a warm sleeping bag we could not walk four miles down a gently sloping valley even against a very high wind. In such an attempt four strong men died at Corrour while a girl companion, under equal strain, survived unaffected. From their experience one can see now that such a wind cannot last for many hours and it would be wise to find shelter till it moderates. Cold alone (overnight) will not kill a fit person unless he is physically exhausted. Conserving strength by lying in the shelter of a windbreak or snowdrift or igloo is life-saving."*

Accidents resulting from exposure, often involving walkers, differ in one important aspect from rock climbing accidents. The latter are usually witnessed or a rough idea is held of the cliff where the missing party intended to climb. But lone walkers often go out without leaving word of their intentions. Sometimes, if they are on holiday alone, it may be a week or so before their failure to return causes any anxiety. These are the accidents which involve wide searches, frustrating in the extreme, for the search parties may have no idea of where to look.

On February 8th, 1951, a schoolmaster, Lewis Wallis, aged 31, left his lodgings in Chatham to go for a mountaineering holiday. He didn't return, and on February 18th he was officially reported missing. On the 21st the police at Chatham asked the Gwynedd Constabulary* to co-operate in tracing the man, and issued a description. When last seen he was wearing a white anorak, corduroy trousers, and shoes - but he carried boots in his rucksack. He was said to be an experienced climber.

Since his intention had been to visit Snowdon, the police were asked to make inquiries at the local youth hostels. There they drew a blank, and contacted Chatham asking what proof there was that the man had ever left the town.

The proof was a monthly return ticket to Llangollen issued on February 8th and the relevant half handed in at Llangollen.

Reports started to come in. On the evening of February 9th a garage proprietor in Llangollen had seen a man standing on the A5 and thumbing cars heading west. He had gone off in the direction of Corwen.

A bus driver on the A5 remembered a man, answering to Wallis's description, asking for a ticket to Capel Curig or Betws y Coed.

By February 27th climbers had been asked to keep a look-out for articles of mountaineering equipment on Snowdon and the Glyders.

A reward of £50 was offered for any information, and notice of it was printed in local newspapers.

The News of the World printed a story called `The Climber who Continue to Page 5

* D. G. Duff, F.R.C.S., late Surgeon Superintendent of the Belford Hospital, Fort William, and past leader of the Fort William civilian mountain rescue team.
* Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal, Vol. 25, No. 143.
* Snowdonia comes within the jurisdiction of the Gwynedd Constabulary.