Tryfan under the impression that it was an easy way down, when one of the boys stepped on grass ledge which collapsed. He fell several hundred feet and was killed.

A scoutmaster with several boys was descending the north ridge of Tryfan when he decided to leave the crest and descend the west face. They were a scrambling party and carried no ropes. One boy found himself in trouble in a gully, and the master went to his assistance. In doing so, the man slipped and fell one hundred and fifty feet. His skull was fractured and he died on the stretcher.

As each accident was reported alarm mounted among experienced mountaineers. In September 1960, Mountaineering, the organ of the British Mountaineering Council, said in its rescue report for 1959:

“There is an increasing tendency for educational authorities, schools and other bodies to introduce boys and girls to hill walking and mountaineering, and to use these means for developing character and initiative.

“The Committee of the B.M.C. regards this an admirable and has no wish to discourage, in any way, the seeking of adventure and satisfaction from overcoming difficulties presented by the mountains and crags, but wishes to emphasise, most strongly, that parties of novices should be in the charge of thoroughly experienced mountaineers, and should be of such a size that adquate control can be exercised by the leader in all circumstances. Recent tragic happendings lend particular emphasis to these remarks.

“It is also important that all members of a party should be suitably shod, clothed, and carrying emergency supplies of food and spare clothing. Some tuition in map reading and compass work is a prerequisite to mountaineering.“

A few days after this issue of Mountaineering was published, it was followed, on October 4th, 1960, by a letter addressed to the Daily Telegraph and signed by Sir John Hunt, by the President of the British Mountaineering Council, and the Chairmen of the Association of Scottish Climbing Clus and of the Mountain Rescue Committee. The letter was on similar lines to the article but it went into greater detail regarding the limit to the number of novices the expert can supervise:

“...In easy mountain terrain it is not possible for one experienced adult to supervise more than to novices; where the grade is more difficult, the maximum ratio may be as small as one to three.“

But the number of accidents continued to rise. In 1959 there were 56 reported in England and Wales, in 1960 there were 75. In 1961 Mountaineering repeated its warning concerning young people and the need for organisers of such parties to consult experienced mountaineers. Some did.

The Army and also some Education Authorities enrolled potential instructors at reputable mountain centres. Private people who wanted to instruct - for instance, organisers on the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme - employed private guides. On one occasion Sandhurst employed civilian guides on manoeuvres.

But the number of potential instructors who took expert tuition themselves, or were sent by their employers to take courses at a centre or with a guide, was only a handful in proportion to the whole. The expert mountaineer, the guide, was coping with more and more accidents which could have bben easily avoided. The personal service of rescue is an obligation all climbers accept, but although it was being given as freely as ever, there was a strong feeling of resentment that it should be demanded by the incompetent and the negligent. Such men and women, instead of taking steps to ensure that they acquired enough ability to lead a party in the hills, ignored the necessity for competence and depended, in the last resort, upon the rescue team.

But the fault of negligence might lie with parents and the Continue to page 4