The Munros Are Moving

[JTweedie]

Didn't see this, but surely there's no way of getting lost if you just stick to the path that you're already on? Even if a path branches and you take the wrong one, there's very little chance of being truly lost in most of Scotland!

You are assuming that all hills in Scotland have paths. I have to disagree with your statement.

But relatively speaking, being a small country it doesn't take that much to get back onto the right track. OK if you end up down the complete opposite side of a hill than where you intend to be, you're probably technically "lost", but you know what hill you were last on, you should have some knowledge of the hills around, and if you have a map with you, you should be able to work out roughly were you are.

In darkness or bad weather it can become really dangerous, but on a decent day it's hard to be truly "lost". I would say the person is just in the wrong place, but it wouldn't take much effort to get back to where you should be, even if it means walking a few miles further.

There are very few parts of Scotland that are truly remote and cut off from roads, farms etc, that's why I say in the majority of cases it would be hard to find yourself in a place where you've no idea where you are - that's what lost really means.

[IamAJMiller]

I would have to say that even if path branches were followed it is all too easy to get lost, very often paths peter out into nothing and retracing steps can be time consuming and leaving you disorientated. Beinn a Chroin can be quite complex so getting into difficulty in poor weather could be all too easy (although having the correct gear to get you out certainly makes a huge difference!! ).

I just watched this on iPlayer to see the rescue and despite the geographical errors it was very interesting to see things from the winchcrew's perspective. Although like so many of these shows they really stretch the material out to extend the program! It always reminds me of 'The Gift Shop Sketch' by Mitchell and Webb:

[tony.cee]

i do recall the bbc ''mistaking'' libya for india during the wests over throwing of Gaddafi. the bbc broadcast ''live'' footage from green sqare supposobly meaning to show libyans waving the new flag of libya protesting, but in fact it was old stock footage from a gathering somewhere in india showing people waving the flag of india. this wasnt an honest mistake but a well thought out attempt to decieve the public as to what is actually happening in the world. and to think i pay 145 quid a year for this state tv nonsense.

ps; the clip is on youtube and has to be seen to be belived, the bbc buried this under its very lumpy carpet.

[sloosh]

Didn't see this, but surely there's no way of getting lost if you just stick to the path that you're already on? Even if a path branches and you take the wrong one, there's very little chance of being truly lost in most of Scotland!

Blindly following paths is usually how I end up getting lost. Haven't ever gotten into serious trouble but that's because I eventually took the time to work out where I was and then correct the earlier 'path-following' mistake.