Smoking a joint while hiking the ranges across the Cape Peninsula is not all that uncommon – although most of us don’t get paranoid enough to call the Mountain Club of South Africa to rescue us.

But when four men became “incapable of walking due to cannabis use” and called the local police at around 6:30PM on Saturday to rescue them, the Cumbria County police weren’t too impressed.

The crew had climbed Scafell Pike, a 978 metre peak in the Lake District and also England’s highest mountain, explains The Guardian.

[Just a little comparison – Table Mountain stands at 1 085 metres. Cute, hey?]

Writing on Facebook, a spokesperson for the force said:

“Persons phoning Cumbria police because they are stuck on a mountain, after taking cannabis. Now having to deploy [mountain] rescue, air support and ambulance to rescue them. Words fail us …”

Working with the Wasdale mountain rescue team, they managed to bring the men safely down at 9:45PM – but the social media post provoked furious reactions:

[S]ome users suggest[ed] the group be asked to cover the cost of the rescue operation. The comments prompted Copeland’s local police force to respond that they “always ensure people are safe, regardless of choices they make that put them in a dangerous position”.

Of course, issuing a bit of safety regulations, Superintendent Justin Bibby said walkers should never underestimate the mountains and always be prepared before setting out:

“Mountain safety is your responsibility,” he said. “Carry the right equipment and food, and know how to use it. Our priority is your safety. The Wasdale mountain rescue team had a particularly busy day yesterday dealing with this and other incidents.

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

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

But what is hiking without getting a little high? One can only imagine the amount of paranoia that hindered the group from making the mission down.

Apparently, this year alone the Wasdale mountain rescue team has been called out nearly 80 times to help people stuck on the mountains in the area:

Commenting on the story on Facebook, the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association, the umbrella body for mountain rescue teams in Cumbria, said such callouts were “becoming a joke”.

Personally, I would rather be called out on a rescue mission for reasons relating to cannabis than stupidity.

[source:theguardian]