Two teen boys rescue group of adults stuck on snow-covered Mountain slope while wearing jeans and sneakers
Two teenage boys are being widely praised after stepping in to help rescue a group of ill-prepared adults and a small dog from the snow-covered slopes of Helvellyn in England’s Lake District.
Fifteen-year-old Rowan Kay and 16-year-old Caelan Blades were climbing the 3,117-foot mountain on January 10 when they encountered five adults struggling in dangerous winter conditions. According to reports from The Times group was dressed in jeans and trainers, without gloves, and lacked essential climbing equipment.
The teenagers, who had been ice climbing, were beginning their descent from the summit toward a narrow ridge known as Striding Edge when they spotted the group in difficulty. With a Coast Guard helicopter and an air ambulance already dealing with a separate emergency elsewhere on the mountain.
They decided to help directly. Later that day, it was reported that a man in his 70s had collapsed and died on the mountain. Blades, whose father is an experienced hiker, told The Times just how shocked he was by what they saw.
“We were seeing more and more unprepared people as we came down and then Rowan pointed this group out to me and it was like, ‘Oh my days,’” he said. “I was extremely shocked, we couldn’t believe what we were seeing, they didn’t have any correct clothing or equipment.”
The language barrier added to the challenge. “We were asking them, ‘Do you know where you are?’ and ‘Do you need any water or clothing?’ They didn’t really understand us because they didn’t speak much English, I think they were eastern European,” Blades explained. “I was watching this lady slipping around in the snow like she was on a treadmill.”
Another climber told the boys he had spent several minutes helping a woman from the group who was carrying a small dog. The woman, Blades said, had to be guided “down step by step” because she was “frozen up with no gloves, no crampons and she was having a panic attack.”
Footage shared by the Craven Herald shows the teens carefully guiding the group along the snowy ridge, with one person holding onto their dog. Kay and Blades helped them descend in a zig-zag pattern, taking around 30 minutes to reach a safer path leading down toward a nearby village.
Even after that rescue, the pair encountered more concerning situations. They said they came across three additional groups attempting to climb, despite only 90 minutes of daylight left. “None of them had ice axes or crampons, and we were warning them not to do Striding Edge,” Blades said. He added, “Some of them said they didn’t even have torches.”
Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team later praised the boys in a Facebook post, writing: “Helping the people off the mountain was a kind thing to do – they showed some strong mountain skills along with maturity.” The team also reminded the public that trained rescuers are available around the clock and have the equipment and experience needed for such conditions.
They concluded: “Great to see two young people, with appropriate knowledge in the outdoors, wanting to develop their skills and experience, they could be the mountain rescuers of the future.” Following the incident, the rescue team invited Kay and Blades to visit their headquarters.
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