People continue to underestimate how difficult it is to travel in snowy conditions, the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team has warned.
Blankets of snowfall have caused disruption all over Ireland today and mountainous parts of the country are particularly impacted.
Speaking to Josh Crosbie for The Hard Shoulder, emergency medical technician Philip Conroy said the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team has been “particularly busy the last couple of days”.
“Myself and Seán were out last night on a call to take some people out of a car,” he said.
“Really, really poor road conditions - we actually had to hike the last kilometre in to get them out because the snow drifts were so high.
“So, it’s been an interesting couple of days.”
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Given how rare snow is in Ireland, even experienced mountaineers struggle in such unusual conditions.
“We had one of our Land Rover defenders out, full snow chains, full gear and a very experienced driver,” Mr Conroy said.
“We could only get so far. I think maybe people don’t realise that the road conditions that [are as bad as they are].
“The further up the hill you get, they’re going to get significantly worse.
“So, I think people sometimes don’t appreciate how bad it’s going to be.”
Dublin/Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team.
70 Volunteers, on call.
24 hours a day,
7 days a week,
365 days a year.#dwmrt #dublinwicklowmountainrescueteam#dublinwicklowmountainrescue#dublinwicklowmrtsearchdogs#phecc#volunteers#mountainrescue#mountainrescueireland pic.twitter.com/8iMMUSLw3r— Dublin & Wicklow MRT (@DWMRT) April 1, 2022
Mr Conroy said that most of the year his team’s “bread and butter” is helping people with leg injuries and those who have got lost.
“We’re very well-equipped to deal with that,” he said.
“What we find in the winter is that often people will drive out to a point where they can’t get out of and they’ll basically get stuck.
“They won’t be able to get further, they’ll struggle to get out and there’ll be a couple of cars that will block the road as well.
“We’re not a tow truck company; so, if we go up and get people, we get them - we don’t get their vehicles.”
Met Éireann has forecast further snow showers overnight as temperatures plunge to between 0 and -5°C.
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Main image: Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team. Picture by: Josh Crosbie.
