Group of mates climb mountain, get so stoned they have to be rescued

I’ve never climbed a mountain, but I imagine it’s quite hard, and takes quite a lot of effort. So I would forgive you if you wanted to indulge in a quick spot of relaxation once you got to the top. What that entails is entirely up to you - no judgement here.

Which is why I am not judging the four climbers who scaled Scafell Pike in the Lake District (England’s highest mountain), and then got too stoned to get back down again. Yep, they trotted up the giant 3,209ft behemoth and then pulled a massive whitey at the summit. As such, they called the police, got the emergency services involved and had to be rescued, the silly cats.

Cumbria police tweeted about the incident:

Note the time-stamps on those tweets there - yep, it took from 7.15pm to 9.39pm to get the lightweights down. Cumbria police said:

“We received a 999 emergency call at approximately 6:30pm” a Cumbria Police spokesperson said.

“Unfortunately a group of four people who were on Scafell Pike had run into difficulty.

“Cumbria Constabulary liaised the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team who were able to bring them down to safety at 9:45pm.”

The Lake District Search And Mountain Rescue Association said such call-outs were “becoming a joke”. 

Yes, in this case, quite a funny one, but also quite an irresponsible one, with a number of people calling out the quad for wasting mountain rescue time over something that could easily have been avoided. 

I say, simply get to the top, have a packet of Pringles as a reward, then head back down again - no emergency services deployed. But also no viral story. Swings and roundabouts.

North Cumbria Superintendent, Justin Bibby told The Telegraph:

“Mountain safety is your responsibility, bring the right equipment and food, and know how to use it. Our priority is your safety.

“The mountain rescue team had a particularly busy day yesterday dealing with this incident.

“They are volunteers, they do an amazing job and are always there to assist those who get into difficulty.

“Taking alcohol or any other substance that could impair your judgement significantly increases your risk of getting into trouble. It has no place on a mountain.”

Like I said, stick to Pringles and I rate you’ll be OK. Unless you eat like four packs to yourself - I’ve done that before and I certainly ended up becoming “incapable of walking”.

(Image: Clay Knight)