Should I keep walking to find the path after I've called mountain rescue?

No, stay put once you've called for help. The rescue team is planning to find you at the location you gave them, so if you keep moving you'll be somewhere else entirely and they'll be searching in the wrong place.

Is it better to send the fastest person down for help while the rest stay with an injured walker?

No, keep the group together. Mountain rescue teams call this "turning one emergency into two" because now they have to worry about the injured person plus someone traveling alone who might get lost or hurt themselves.

What if I can't get mobile phone signal to call for help in the mountains?

Try moving just 50 metres, climbing slightly higher, or trying a different network if someone has a second phone — you can often find signal without going far. Someone can look for signal while staying within sight of the group, which is very different from sending them off entirely.

If Things Go Wrong

What Mountain Rescue Wants You to Do

Mountain rescue teams would rather you called early than late, stayed put than wandered, and kept your group together than sent someone for help. Their operational priorities differ from what most walkers assume, and understanding what actually helps them helps you.

27 July 20268 min read