Snowdon and its surrounding peaks are ably looked after by the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team based in the small village of Nant Peris. The team is made up of a group of volunteers with the simple aim to help those in need in the mountains around Snowdon. The area draws in 700,000 visitors each year and as the popularity of mountain walking continues to grow, so does the number of incidents they’re called out to averaging between 180-210 incidents annually.

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There were mountain accidents on Snowdon long before there was an ‘official’ mountain rescue team. Ad hoc rescue parties were pulled together at short notice by Chris Briggs, the owner of the Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel, the local designated mountain rescue post. It wasn’t until 1973 when Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team (Tim Achub Mynydd Llanberis in Welsh) was formally recognised by the then Mountain Rescue Council (MRC). Llanberis is now the busiest mountain rescue team in the UK often dealing with several calls for help in a day.

Call outs vary from a twisted ankle or overdue persons on easy paths to serious accidents or fatalities on cliffs and steep ground. The response provided by the team might involve assistance by a handful of members or depending on conditions, seriousness and location, it may involve the majority of the team. On more complicated incidents the team may request support from the neighbouring rescue teams and also the Coastguard Search & Rescue helicopter.

Snowdon’s mountain rescue teams are all volunteers and rely on public donations to keep operating. If you’ve climbed Snowdon or even if you haven’t and feel you can help the members of the Llanberis Mountain Rescue team, you can donate by sending a text to 70070 with the code LMRT14 followed by the amount eg £5. You can also donate via JustGiving at https://www.justgiving.com/llanberismountainrescue

Find out more about what the team are up to and how you can support them at www.llanberismountainrescue.co.uk You can also find out about their latest rescues on Facebook or Twitter.

Llanberis Mountain Rescue