Rescued Scafell Pike hikers urged to pay hotel bill and return head torches | Lake District
A mountain rescue team has appealed for two rescued walkers to pay the hotel bill they owe, return the head torches they bought and collect the hospital crutches one of them used to climb Scafell Pike in challenging conditions.
Wasdale mountain rescue team says: ‘We avoid judging those we rescued’ in a statement. “But we struggle to understand when the rescued people benefited from the hospitality provided by our supporters in the valley.”
Over the weekend, it was revealed that the seven-hour rescue took place overnight on December 29-30 and was the team’s last rescue operation for 2025. The team said the incident involved two young male hikers and was entirely preventable because of “treacherous winter conditions underfoot”.
The walkers were high up on Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain, and were safely transported “wet and hungry” to the bottom of the valley in the early hours.
The team said the bar manager of the Wasdale Head Inn offered to stay late to provide the men with snacks and let them stay in a room for a 35% discount. More than three weeks later, the bill remained unpaid, rescuers said.
“Unfortunately no payment has been made to the hotel for the outstanding room charge of £130 or thank you Steve. [the bar manager]” said the mountain rescue team. “The phone number given to Steve didn’t work either. As a volunteer organisation, we also miss the two torches that were lent to them to get them down the mountain safely.
“We also want to return the hospital crutches left in our vehicle, which were used while climbing by someone with a previous leg injury.”
The duo accepted the payment but said their “money was in their tent on high ground near Green Gable,” according to rescuers.
They said the hikers asked the hotel for a further discount in the morning, “pushed hard for breakfast” and asked if transportation could be arranged to take them out of the valley.
In a Facebook post, the team said it felt obliged to pay the hotel bill despite Wasdale Head being “more than willing to absorb the damage”.
In an update, the Wasdale mountain rescue team said the post generated more donations than were needed to pay the bill. “We are overwhelmed by the generosity of your support,” the team said. “Any additional funds raised will go directly towards the team’s operational costs, which exceed £100,000 per year.”
