When it comes to mountain SOS calls, the UK broke two records in 2024, and officials are pointing fingers at social media and map apps.
England and Wales earned their high scores for receiving SOS calls from risky locations every single day last year — the first time ever for those countries, reports The Guardian. As for Scotland, more than 1,000 emergency calls by people needing to be rescued from mountainous terrain were made — again, a first for them.
And although some elderly folks were in the mix, the number of people in distress between the ages of 18-24 has nearly doubled in the region since 2019. They even leapfrogged the adventurous 50–54 age group. So what gives?
Although he can't say for sure, the head of Mountain Rescue England and Wales has his suspicions. "We know from incident reports that more and more people are tempted into risky locations by Instagram posts and the navigation apps being used aren't always suitable for an outdoor environment," said Mike Park, via The Guardian. "Add to that a tendency to follow popular routes online without knowing the hazards and context, and it's not surprising that those likely to be relying most on their phones are the ones getting into difficulties."
From The Guardian:
Rescues jumped by 24% between 2019 and 2024, according to data from Mountain Rescue England and Wales analysed by Ordnance Survey and shared exclusively with the Guardian. The rise was most stark among the 18-24 age group, where rescues almost doubled, from 166 to 314. …
Mountain Rescue put the increase down to the growth in popularity of "honeypot" locations – beauty spots and photogenic places popular on TikTok and Instagram – as well as younger people relying less on paper maps and more on apps that lack detail or do not work offline. …
Giles encouraged anyone planning to head to a remote area to have the OS Maps app and a paper map to "guarantee yourself a wonderful adventure without getting stranded or lost".
Previously: "Terrified" hikers rescued from Scotland's 2nd highest mountain — hours after turning rescuers away
