TIKTOK and Instagram influencers have been slammed over record number of rescues from Snowdon as “completely unprepared” climbers take on the peak.
Rescuers said the dangers of tackling England and Wales‘ highest mountain, where an average of nine people die a year, are not reflected by frivolous social media posts.
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Nick Phillips, the volunteer and communications director at Mountain Rescue England and Wales, said “social media and primarily the influencer community on TikTok and Instagram” had led to the increase in young people needing rescuing.
He added while it was great to see more young people enjoying the outdoors, in many cases it was “without being too prepared and not really having the knowledge”, with 18 per cent on call outs last year looking for missing people.
Pictures show swarms of people queuing to touch the brass plaque that sits at the highest peak of Snowdon as well as hectic crowds at the summit.
A quick scour of TikTok and Instagram displays a plethora of picturesque videos of the mountain as hikers pose for the camera.
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But Llanberis mountain rescue team warned that posts online could make a hazardous and exposed Grade 1 scramble “look like just another route to the summit”.
They said: “What it doesn’t show is how intimidating that ridge can be in cloud, rain or strong winds or how quickly a manageable situation can become a serious emergency.”
The rescue team, which respond to emergency call outs on Snowdon and Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park, North Wales, said their rescues have almost doubled in the past four years.
The volunteer group are heading for 440 rescues this year – with 59 recorded in August alone, the busiest month in their history.
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The Llanberis team took to socials and penned: “After 59 call-outs in August, the busiest month in our history, we think it is time for a serious conversation about what is happening in our mountains.
“Our volunteers carried out prolonged rescues in darkness and poor weather, dealt with serious injuries, heat-related issues, assisted people stuck in serious terrain and, sadly, attended incidents where people and animals lost their lives.
“What concerns us most is the increasing number of people taking on difficult terrain while completely unprepared for what they are facing.
“The mountains have not suddenly become more dangerous. More people are visiting them, and the way routes are discovered and accessed has changed.
“Routes once mainly attempted by experienced hillwalkers and mountaineers are increasingly attracting people with little or no experience.”
They added: “We want people to enjoy Eryri. We understand the physical and mental health benefits of spending time in the mountains but accidents happen, even to experienced, well-prepared people.
“That is why we volunteer. But enjoying the mountains also comes with personal responsibility.
“Too often, people simply don’t know that a route may require specific skills, equipment, fitness, experience and judgement and how quickly conditions can change.
“Enjoy the mountains but please try to understand the environment you are entering and if the terrain or conditions don’t feel right, turn around.”
Snowdon visitors have skyrocketed since the pandemic and now sits at around 600,000 a year – as rescuers warn the number of ill-equipped walkers are increasing.
Last month, tempers on the mountain peak brewed over queue-jumping brawls as visitors likened the atmosphere at the peak to a carnival in recent weeks, due to the huge crowds flocking to the summit.
Videos of backpackers heckling brazen queue-jumpers racing to Snowdon’s peak divided viewers on social media.
One video shows Mark Screeton, from Manchester, being booed at as he ignored the queue, before he retorts: “Imagine queueing on a mountain? No chance.”
The stark warning comes months after two young men tragically died while hiking Snowdon in February of this year.
Eddie Hill, 20, and Jayden Long, 19, both from Norfolk, were sadly discovered by rescue teams after a major search operation in the North Wales mountain range.
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Llanberis mountain rescue team, Aberglaslyn mountain rescue team, RAF mountain rescuers were all involved in the extensive search operation.
The Sun has approached TikTok and Instagram for comment.