Two hikers are being urged to settle a bill with a hotel that provided them shelter after they were rescued from a mountain under perilous conditions late at night.
The Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team reported being called out for a seven-hour mission to assist two young men stranded on Scafell Pike, England’s highest peak, in Cumbria on December 29. The rescue, they noted, was ‘avoidable’.
Once safely off the mountain, the hikers were offered hospitality by the nearby Wasdale Head Inn, where the manager extended a 35 percent discount on food and accommodation.
Despite the hospitality, the following morning, the hikers expressed no gratitude towards the staff and requested further discounts, free breakfast, and transportation from the hotel.
Four weeks have passed, and the bill remains unpaid, with no communication from the men to either the hotel or the rescue team.
Although the hotel decided to waive the charges, the rescuers felt compelled to cover the costs themselves to ensure continued support from the establishment in future emergencies.
A spokesman for the Wasdale team said: ‘We avoid judging those we rescue but struggle to understand when the rescued take advantage of hospitality provided by our supporters in the valley.’
The walkers claimed they had left their money in a tent, which was left near Green Gable when they were rescued, but had agreed to send the £130 later.
A mountain rescue team helped two young men who became stuck on Scafell Pike in ‘treacherous conditions’
The men were helped down from England’s highest mountain (pictured) in a seven-hour rescue
A phone number they left with the hotel did not work.
The team said the pair also failed to return head torches lent to them by volunteers when descending the mountain.
‘We have tried contacting the two walkers to encourage them to settle their debt with the hotel but also to return the head torches,’ a team spokesman said.
‘We also would like to return their hospital crutch left in our vehicle that one of them with a previous leg injury had used on the ascent but again, sadly no replies to date.’
The team said they had been ‘bowled over by the generosity’ of support, having raised over £2200 already.
In a social media post, a spokesperson said: ‘The purpose of the post was to encourage the lost walkers to settle their hotel bill and return the missing torches and if this failed, raise funds to cover the loss. We have now received more than required.
‘The Wasdale Head Inn have been more than willing to cover the loss but we do want to reimburse them and honour our original promise to underwrite any losses.
‘Any additional funding raised will go directly towards the team’s operational costs which are in excess of £100,000 annually.’
Volunteers said the two men ‘took advantage’ of the hospitality offered by the team and a local hotel
A hospital crutch was left in the rescuers’ van by one of the men, from a previous leg injury
The team was called out to rescue the men from the Corridor Route just before the Bad Step – a steep scramble on the mountain.
The men had been found by a nearby wild camper who had heard shouts and sheltered them at his tent at Chriscliffe Knotts until the team arrived.
The rescuers arrived and gave the two men extra warm jackets and microspikes to help them make a safe descent from the mountain.
One of the walker’s had a previous knee injury which the team said worsened on the descent and he was given simple pain relief to help.
A spokesperson for the team added: ‘When they were safely returned to the valley bottom, wet and hungry in the early hours of the next day, Steve the bar manager at the Wasdale Head Inn kindly agreed to stay up, provide some snacks and let the two men stay in one of the unoccupied apartments at a significant 35 per cent reduced rate.
‘The two had already agreed to pay but their money was in their tent somewhere high on the fell near Green Gable.
‘Disappointingly, in the morning they offered no thanks for the efforts of the hotel, asked for further reductions to the cost, pushed hard for a breakfast and asked if they could arrange transport to get them out of the valley.
‘The answer was: sorry no extras and please transfer money when you can.
‘Sadly there has been no payment to the hotel of the £130 outstanding room cost or thank you to Steve. Neither did the telephone number given to Steve work.
‘We as a volunteer organisation are also missing the two head torches lent to them to get them safely off the mountain.
‘The hotel has already agreed to cover the loss thanks to Steve and hotel owner. However, as we had promised to cover any loss if the walkers failed to pay, we do still feel obliged to reimburse the hotel from our own funds in order that similar hospitality can be requested in the future under similar circumstances.’
