Adventurer found dead in Scottish wilderness

[Ashley Cawley]

"A MAN found dead in a remote bothy is thought to have been an adventurer who hoped to spend a year living alone in the Scottish wilderness. David Austin, 29, from Derby, was found dead in a hut by a railway worker a mile south of one of Scotland’s most remote stations, Rannoch in Highland Perthshire, on Hogmanay."

Full Story @ http://www.scotsman.com/news/adventurer_trying_to_live_like_bear_grylls_in_scot tish_wilderness_found_dead_1_2069431

Take Away quote near the end: Survival school instructor Ian Moran, who teaches extreme survival and bushcraft skills, said that it was extremely unlikely anybody could survive a Highland winter outdoors by living off the land.

He said: “It would be a tall order for even the most professional person who calls himself a survivalist.

“Maybe centuries ago, when Scotland was covered in woodland and teeming with wildlife, but not now.”

[rich290185]

i'd seen this yesterday, very sad.

[JonnyP]

Crikey.. I would like to know more of the facts on this. Very sad for his family and friends.

[CanadianMike]

"NED" comes to mind........ too bad he was motivated by a TV show and not by actual learning and studying what it takes to survive in extreme climates, let alone live comfortably in one.

[Terry]

A sad story indeed. and one would have thought he would have had a plan B in force

[comanighttrain]

Yeah I want to know the details... I donno what he planned to eat out there...maybe deer if he had a rifle and was a really, really good hunter.... Rabbits and maybe ptarmigin from the nearby hills...oofff...

and his plan B... jeese....

details aside... RIP brother...

[cuppa joe]

a lesson to be learned perhaps ?

[Silverback]

I saw this on facebook the other day too.. Mother nature and the weather.....mans harshest critics.

Sad story condolences to those he left behind

[Ben Casey]

I feel for his family but he must not have planned it right as it isn't something you can just go and do :(

[Saxon]

as it isn't something you can just go and do

Tragically, I think the problem was he convinced himself that he could do it. Not so much Bushcraft but the survival thing, I personally think gives certain types of people really false ideas.

A survival instructor shows a course student how to set a Rabbit snare.
Later he shows them how to skin and joint a Rabbit.
Later still he chucks them a Bunny with it's coat on and says, "There's your dinner"

What kills people who go off into the wilds thinking they're knowledgeable and up to it is, they've never actually really caught a Rabbit.

I feel sorry for his Mum and I hope he sleeps peacefully, and perhaps his death will save someone else from making the same mistakes.

[Opal]

I read this recently, I feel for his family, my youngest lad is 29 and I always worry about him when he goes walkabout (mostly fishing trips and motorcross stuff) I know he is well prepared but yer never know the minute. :(

[jus_young]

Rest peacefully.

[Metal mug]

"Mr Austin is thought to not even have taken a mobile phone with him."


That's a bit of an odd thing to report. I mean where do you charge a phone in the wilderness? :confused2:

[Opal]

"Mr Austin is thought to not even have taken a mobile phone with him."


That's a bit of an odd thing to report. I mean where do you charge a phone in the wilderness? :confused2:

I thought that too, my batteries last just over a day, I'd have to take a few spare ones. :(

[comanighttrain]

dudes, you get solar and winding mobile battery chargers now :P

[tadpole]

"Mr Austin is thought to not even have taken a mobile phone with him."


That's a bit of an odd thing to report. I mean where do you charge a phone in the wilderness? :confused2:

His phone would have helped him, were he to realise he was in the deep sticky brown stuff up to his neck (ill, injured or freezing to death) he could have taken it from where he stored it, turned it on, (turned off, and the phone would not use anything in the way of power) and phoned for help,
always assuming that the phone could get a signal, and the cold hadn’t killed the batteries.
As he didn’t take a phone no of the above mattered.

[cuppa joe]

His phone would have helped him, were he to realise he was in the deep sticky brown stuff up to his neck (ill, injured or freezing to death) he could have taken it from where he stored it, turned it on, (turned off, and the phone would not use anything in the way of power) and phoned for help,
always assuming that the phone could get a signal, and the cold hadn’t killed the batteries.
As he didn’t take a phone no of the above mattered. http://www.maplin.co.uk/freeloader-pico--lightweight-solar-charger-354195?c=froogle&u=354195&t=module

[Silverback]

The inference that we should rely on mobile technology across the t'interweb worries me.

People are all too eager these days to pick up the phone and dial 999 expecting a big paraffin budgie to swoop out of the night sky - in reality it doesnt happen that way and it certainly wont post 2015.

Hypothermia does weird things to the human body and mind, it decreases your blood O2 levels and increases your blood CO2 levels....its confuses and slows down your thought processes....to the point that people think they are warm when they arent, many Hypothermia victims are found partially clothed because of this.

Even with a mobile phone, with severe Hypothermia you would probably lack the manual dexterity to use it.

[Silverback]

someone else missing in the same area, lets hope its a positive outcome

http://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2012/01/23/police-appeal-for-sightings-of-missing-walker-after-two-day-search

[ianh]

very sad

[paulthefish2009]

The guy trying to live in the wild for a year was clearly a ill prepared idiot, this second guy sounds like he has suffered a accident of some sort,lets hope he is found safe and well

[Silverback]

this second guy sounds like he has suffered a accident of some sort,lets hope he is found safe and well

looks like the search has been stood down

http://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2012/01/24/search-for-missing-walker-called-off-after-three-days

[Brendan155]

That what happens when you listen to Bear Grylls.

[Juanodaxis]

http://www.maplin.co.uk/freeloader-pico--lightweight-solar-charger-354195?c=froogle&u=354195&t=module
Cuppa Joe, it happen in Scotland mate, no much use from solar power this time of the year, lol. Just kiding.
I don’t know what kind of background this guy had, maybe he is or was in the army, could be somebody with loads of experience, and a death wish (Be careful what you wish for) but even Bear Grylls would have a backup plan and a bloody back up team that is getting paid a fortune to be there just in case.

[Ben Casey]

I was always taught you tell people where your going your route and time plan and waht to do if they dont hear from you.

I do that now no matter what or where Im going and even if I was going to try and do something like that I would tell some one my plans and routes.

[paulthefish2009]

I agree with you ben, i always say where i'm going even if it's just over the common,Sapper, suprised they have called off the search although after 5 days i guess you have to suspect the worse. Not sure what the protocol is for the s/r teams? I can only think they have his kit list and have concluded that after 5 days it's game over??

[Juanodaxis]

A good example is that film "127 hours", the poor guy got his arm trapped and had to cut it off with a little tiny pocket knife. He told no one of where he was going. Now he still going out being crazy, with just one arm, but he makes sure every body knows of his intentions and location.

[Silverback]

Not sure what the protocol is for the s/r teams? I can only think they have his kit list and have concluded that after 5 days it's game over??

Paul MR and SAR dont set the parameters for the search the Police do. The Police have responsibility for all missing persons in the UK, in fact Grampian Police did some really good missing persons research recently.

It will be the Police that have decided to end the search until more information comes to light. A search is usually centered around the point last seen and radiates out from there, certainly in Urban/Rural environs. In mountain/ moorland terrain searches are usually performed first along likely routes of travel, or hot spots where people have historically turned up and then finally onto area searches, when all those areas have been covered then you are left 'searching the world'.

Cue the lecture....always tell someone where you are going, when you expect to return, and a date/time to alert the emergency services if you do not return/check in............breathe........Dont trust electronic gadgetry, learn to navigate, your mobile phone is not a get out of jail free card.......;)

[AdrianRose]

I have been watching this thread quite closely and a few things jump out at me.

Firstly, after having read the original article a few times and done a bit of further delving, the cause of death has yet to be determined. The article only goes so far as to say that it is "believed" to be hypothermia. Is it therefore beyond the realms of possibility that he could have ingested something potentially lethal/toxic.

Also, I worry a little for this poor chaps mental health condition. The first thing that came to my mind when I read the article was "the guy must have been crazy", which then lead to me to wonder if he actually did have some "pre-existing" issues.

I think Saxon, also made a very good point about the "instructor provided rabbit", whilst rabbit are very easy to catch and are certainly plentiful, they are by definition a dreadful food source. Google "rabbit starvation" and see why.

I have long believed that most bushcraft courses seem to have a very heavy bias towards fire lighting and shelter building and little in the way of wild food foraging and wild nutrition. Wild food is a real passion of mine and I have studied it for roughly 18 years now and I'm still stumped as to why more bushcraft companies don't give the subject more than a cursory side line in the course syllabus.

All this having been said, I hope that this poor chap has found "his" heaven and can rest at ease.

Ade.

[Silverback]

The other thing that jumps out at me Adrian is that it is the press who print he 'was trying to live like Bear Grylls'

Would the headline have had the same impact as 'trying to live like Ray Mears' ( or Nessmuk or live off grid) .....

[Smith]

Must be absolutely gutting for the parents. One of the main reasons I take such care in the wilderness is because I don't care to think about what my parents would do if that happened to me. Not big headed like, just reality, as any parent would.

Hope he rests in peace and his parents can find some calm in knowing that he died striving to do something he obviously had a passion for.

[Al21]

This is such a tragic tale. I feel very sorry for his family and friends.

I think it's time that folks who think they can just head off for extended periods to live off the land in modern Britain, and probably elsewhere, be told how their dreams are, at best, extremely difficult, and at worst, likely to end badly.

It's not without reason that in most tribal cultures banishment is often the ultimate punishment and seen as a death sentence.

Al

[bigzee]

I don't suppose Bare Girls is best pleased with having his mug plastered across the centre of this tragic story!

[Basha72]

Sad as it is he did not live like Bear, if he was he would have been on the move and away to the civ pol, in this instance he was trying to be like Ray ! living off the land in the same location

[Silverback]

Sad as it is he did not live like Bear, if he was he would have been on the move and away to the civ pol, in this instance he was trying to be like Ray ! living off the land in the same location

As I posted earlier I suspect the media tagged him with the Bear headline, journalistic licence and all that

[jus_young]

I think this guy has got it sorted, three days in in the jungle and the rest on the farm

http://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/meet-the-real-life-tarzan-dewet-du-toit.htm

[chris_lothian]

Oh dear, this is pretty tragic.
I gotta ask myself though, comming from Scotland and pretty much seen a hellava lot of it, WHY Rannoch moor/Glencoe area, this has to be one of the most hostile and barren areas i can think of off the top of my head. Even summertime up there is pretty c**p,and its usually a quick blast over the moor on the bike to get to Glencoe (and farther) where really, the weather conditions really aint that much better.

I do admit that "living the dream" sounds great, but come on, getting off a train there and wandering out into barren moorland with no permanent shelter and no supplies and, i am assuming(as he come from Derby) no real experiance(although he attended some bushcraft courses) of how harsh the scottish climate can be is proper dreaming and should come with a health warning(and possibly an idiots guide(i;e dont do it)).

There is ways and means for living in the wilds, but not without practice, patience,skills and preparation, just look at the cree indians in Canada or the trappers in Siberia..(film links are on frontier bushcraft page on facebook). These guys have got it sussed, and have been doing it a long time...lol.

My sencere condolences to his family all the same, but practice makes perfect and going on a course an being shown what to do and having a go at it does not make u skilled enough to be able to survive in the wilds, my rekoning on that is that u have to go out there and do it for yourself, for a day or 2 at first building up to a week etc, and do it many many times and even then expect the worse before even considering anything as mental as this.... And always let people know where u are going???

I know this might sound a bit harsh,but i know Rannoch moor..... Jesus

C

[comanighttrain]

know exactly what you mean chris...lived up that way and passed through on the whw...even during summer during the day rannoch moor is not exactly a hot spot!

[Adam Savage]

I heard of this a little while ago.

Although it is most likely that he was "inspired" by Mr. Grylls, I wouldn't like to say for sure, as there is a massive lack of evidence (as to his exact motivations), so as much as I dislike the teddy bear, I wouldn't say it was fair to imply blame on the guy.

My uncle lives up in the highlands, and they are always pulling bodies down. Sadly there are many more cases where the body is never found. It's probably the most dangerous region of out fare isle, and people just don't seem to grasp that. Weather can change in a few minutes, or in a hundred foot or so, even at some of the lower peaks and valleys.

The guy obviously wanted to challenge himself, but unfortunately didn't know enough about the terrain, or what was (or wasn't, more to the point) available to survive off of.

People should have enough sense not to try these things, without this poor fella having to give his life, becoming an example.

An old saying to differentiate squadies from special forces was, "A squadie will walk through a puddle, but a special will walk around it". In other words, the better the training, the better you are at avoiding situations. Even if you have the training to deal with that situation, it's always better to avoid it.

[JEEP]

Although it is most likely that he was "inspired" by Mr. Grylls, I wouldn't like to say for sure, as there is a massive lack of evidence (as to his exact motivations), so as much as I dislike the teddy bear, I wouldn't say it was fair to imply blame on the guy.

I very much agree.

[Ashley Cawley]

Although it is most likely that he was "inspired" by Mr. Grylls, I wouldn't like to say for sure, as there is a massive lack of evidence (as to his exact motivations), so as much as I dislike the teddy bear, I wouldn't say it was fair to imply blame on the guy.

I very much agree.
You know what.. your both absolutely right, I had mixed feelings when I posted this one originally and you've made me think on it a bit more. My main issue with Bear is imho he takes unnecessary risks and gives out potentially bad/dangerous advice sometimes under the name of survival - that I find frustrating but there isn't enough information in this case to suggest Bear Grylls is in anyway linked to this poor chaps death - obviously even if he did inspire him that doesn't make Bear responsible.

I posted the news-headline as the thread title, but now I regret it because the media like to sensationalise their headlines (for money), I'll leave the link up but change the title.

[Silverback]

I posted the news-headline as the thread title, but now I regret it because the media like to sensationalise their headlines (for money), I'll leave the link up but change the title.

Sensible Idea. In dealing with the press over recent years I have found that they will write what the need to write to sell papers - period.

Which seems like the best headline "walker injured in remote plunge" or " walker slid 30ft and broke an ankle" ?

The defence rests

[Metal mug]

Which seems like the best headline "walker injured in remote plunge" or " walker slid 30ft and broke an ankle" ?

The defence restsOr even... "Was injured walker felled by flying saucer?" :)

[ChrisP]

.


I think Saxon, also made a very good point about the "instructor provided rabbit", whilst rabbit are very easy to catch and are certainly plentiful, they are by definition a dreadful food source. Google "rabbit starvation" and see why.


Ade.

I had a little read of the Rabbit Starvation Article on Wikipedia :rolleye: ! Interesting stuff - It is easy to see how a little knowledge can give one a false sense of security in situations like this. The same i think would be true of the mobile phone in this instance. There does seem to be a limit to the amount of opportunities people (especially young people) can have to learn some basic skills to rely on themselves rather than this or that bit of kit to get them out of trouble.