'iPad saved our lives' says crime writer

Newbury man Alex Keegan said his iPad helped him and his group navigate when they were stuck up a mountain

A NEWBURY man who got stuck up a mountain in weather conditions so bad there was almost no visibility said his iPad saved their lives.

Alex Keegan of Lower Farm Court, Newbury, was well prepared for his walk up the 2,930 ft mountain Cader Idris, which lies at the southern end of the Snowdonia National Park in Wales.

The 64-year-old crime writer had packed emergency supplies and clothing for the trip even though good weather was forecast.

Mr Keegan, who was climbing the mountain with fellow Birkbeck University undergraduates, said: “The weather turned as we neared the top. We sheltered and took on more clothing but it looked to be getting slowly worse so we headed back down.

“I've never experienced weather like it. We were in the cloud and couldn't see more than 20 metres in front of us.”

The group, who were by this time walking in the dark on November 9, then discovered they had been walking off path for an hour and were completely lost.

“We were in an area where nobody goes,” Mr Keegan said. “I couldn't even see the mountain at this point.

“I got the iPad out of my bag, hoping it wouldn't get ruined by the rain. At first it couldn't pick up any satellites and I thought ‘Oh my god' but then it located us and we were able to find our way back after five-and-a-half hours walking.”

Mr Keegan said the outcome could have been very different. Just three days later a 47-year-old man from Southampton, Christopher Currie, died after falling 400ft while walking on Cader Idris.