UKC

In the recent heatwave the challenges of hillwalking, running and climbing in summer conditions have been uncomfortably obvious. From sunburn and dehydration to heat exhausion, we examine a number of hot weather issues and ways to mitigate them.

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=5676

In reply to UKC Articles: I think a warning about the dangers of rivers and the effects of cold in standing water should be mentioned in the article, given recent (and yearly) deaths of people cooling-off in water.

I also find a large brimmed hat helps massively when in direct sun. Offers protection and doesn't make me any hotter.

In reply to Martin1978: You mean from blood pressure changes?

Or cramping and drowning?

I know in ball sports people collapsing after coming off a freezing cold pitch into a warm shower or steam filled room can cause a huge drop in blood pressure and they faint.. so maybe it can happen the other way.

Good point re the drowning.. I'd never go into deep water immediately following a run just wade into a river.. I was in bad Tolz, Bavaria, last week and did a 10 mile session in 31 C heat and waded out into the ice cold river after the run.. it was glorious but it was also only a few foot deep.

In reply to Martin1978: Good point Martin, I've done a quick edit

In reply to UKC Articles:

or just MTFU!

In reply to Dan Bailey - UKHillwalking.com: Thanks Dan.

Iain, yes, it can operate in reverse. This is probably a better explanation than I could give:

http://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/training/Web%20Documents/RYA%...

In reply to UKC Articles:

I'd add, don't climb on Stanage! Have been amazed how many folk have been recently.

In reply to UKC Articles:

Just move to Edinburgh. Never worry about heat again, except for how to pay the central heating bills.

In reply to UKC Articles: Go DWS.

It's kind of self-regulating. If you get too hot you tend to grease-off & fall in, then you're no longer too hot...

In reply to UKC Articles:

All in all, in a heatwave it's much better to be a climber than hillwalker as there's always crags in the shade. They're often the bigger crags too so by climbing you can spend much of the day in the shade.

In reply to UKC Articles:

Isn't all of this pretty obvious or are most people complete gumbies?

In reply to Jamie B:

Why Stanage particularly?

In reply to The Pylon King:

No.. sadly its not. There's still a myth that drinking is the solution to heat exhaustion.. pedaled by 'experts' who should know better.

In reply to IainRUK:

It's deceptively obvious isn't it? Dehydration solution - more water ; heat exhaustion solution - less heat!

Soaking your head / t-shirt in a burn is a good help though.

In reply to Michael Gordon:

Well a stimulus for this article came from a recent debate on UKC..

This is from a Brecon Beacons survival expert.. he teaches courses in outdoor survival so did an article on 'staying safe in the sun'..

"and how to deal with it…

First and foremost, drink as much liquid as possible.."

He's later right when he says about getting in the shade.. removing layers etc.. but it just highlights how, even for supposed experts, drinking and heat and intimately linked, of cause being dehydrated will make this worse but it is more complex than that. He really put the emphasis (first and foremost) on the hydration..

Yeah, I like having a light weight cap if in the alps.. dunk in every stream and put it on.. keeps your head cool..

Its interesting reading about this heating spikes. There was report of one buy in an ice bath whose body was still getting hotter..

In reply to Jonny2vests:

It's south-facing and relatively low-lying, and grit loses its friction in the heat. It's not the only crag that this applies to, but probably the most unaccountably popular!

In reply to Jamie B:

But its mainly west facing and very open.. so it gets the typical westerly breeze smack onto it.. for the peak it's also fairly high..

In reply to Jamie B:
Hardly unaccountably popular. It's the greatest crag in the known universe and you're questioning why people would go on a lovely summers day.
Stanage has perfect conditions 2 weeks in March and 2 weeks in september, at other times we'll just have to make do

In reply to deacondeacon:


Yes I am. I agree that it's a top crag, but personally I like to stick to things. I used to live nearby and we would always head for shady moorland crags in such conditions. Or drive to the Lakes in search of mountain breezes and non-sweaty rock.


I think you slightly over-state this - I've climbed on Burbage in Jamuary, with friction so good it felt like cheating.

In reply to Jamie B: Of course I'm overstating it, hence the
I actually quite like the extra challenge of no friction and it sets you up for a good winter when everything feels easy.
And Moorland crags and The Lakes aren't exactly ideal for nipping out for an hour after work (although Peak Limestone is).
And lets be honest the majority of people climbing at Stanage on a hot summers day are the sub VS guys, they're going to be on nice jugs and cracks where you don't depend on the friction as much.

In reply to Jamie B: It's surprising the amount of people that flock to the popular end when it's 30°C.

At least it frees up the traffic on the sheltered crags.

In reply to UKC Articles:
The article missed this top tip: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23545291

Note hat worn by ella behind home page - looks very daft but was amazing in 100+ heat of el Cap (no wind at all for 3 days) http://ellakirkpatrick.com/

In reply to Jamie B:

So what's wrong in climbing at a quality crag like Stanage, and dropping a couple of grades to enjoy all those classics in the sun?

I am with Fredt on this one.

Maximum friction is only required if you are pushing your grade. You can do that on the 300 or so other days of the year when the sun isn't shining, surely?

Getting a few easy routes in with friends in the sunshine sounds perfect to me. But I am not obsessed with climbing that E7 that you couldn't get up if it were hot.

I think people who are so good at climbing (or think they are) that they wouldn't dream of climbing grit when it is hot are really, really cool. Super cool in fact. Nobody cooler.

In reply to papabear:
Got to agree with you here, nothing wrong with just taking it easy and doing a few nice routes in the sunshine.
I've recently been climbing routes that are typically known for needing good friction throughout this hot spell and unsurprisingly if you just try really hard you can still get up them.

In reply to Jamie B:

It's neither of those. Shady till around midday and gets any breeze going.

In reply to deacondeacon:
Left the Peak district yet?

In reply to James Oswald: Well Wharnecliffe isn't in the Peak, does that count? Went to Tremadoc a couple of times earlier in the year but it aint Stanage

In reply to UKC Articles:

Two weeks ago, I ran up the Campsies above Glasgow when it was 28C. Although I drank 2l of water, I lost 2kg. The next day I passed out, threw up and ended with a 39.7C temperature, dropping to 36, going back up, etc. The body temperature fluctuations went on for days and only now (two weeks later) are things sort of back to normal. The tips from the article wouldn't have helped: no shade on the Campsies and no streams either. Should have taken a hat, I guess. This article http://www.irunfar.com/2013/08/how-the-western-was-won.html has some good tips too such as the best places to put ice cubes (your pants).

In reply to deacondeacon:
We need to go climbing again!