14/11/04 (1145 hrs) - Sunday

The remembrance Sunday gathering on the summit of Great Gable had just concluded and the 500 plus fell goers and climbers were descending their various descent routes.  Cloud was down to Styhead Pass and it was raining, very windy and cold (5 degrees on the summit). A 59 year-old male walker from Lancashire accompanied by his wife had attended the gathering, descended from Gable and were just climbing up Green Gable when he collapsed and lost consciousness.  Three walkers close by administered immediate first aid and summoned help.

A Keswick MRT team member was in close proximity and called on the radio "any Wasdale MRT member on Gable?"

Approximately ten Wasdale MRT members had been at the 11 o'clock gathering and were therefore close to the casualty site.  Within 5 minutes the first Wasdale team member was on scene to assist followed quickly by a second who had a large bivvy tent, the remainder of the Wasdale members followed in quick succession.  The stretcher and casualty bag from the Styhead stretcher box had been collected by three of the Wasdale MRT personnel who had already descended to Styhead.    

Within a short period of time the casualty was revived and although still very unwell able to talk.  A medivac helicopter was requested along with a call out of the full Keswick MRT.  The helicopter from Great North Air Ambulance landed at Styhead Pass (cloud base) after ferrying Keswick team members up from the valley bottom.  The joint teams sledged and carried the casualty down the Arron Slack gulley.  The casualty was put on board the helicopter and was airlifted to Carlisle.  The incident was closed down by mid afternoon.   At the time of writing this report his condition is unknown. [now understood to have been a heart attack].   The Great North Air Ambulance press release is included below.

click on photos to enlarge

Casualty in safely on board and off to Carlisle Cumberland Infirmary

for more photos see here

4/48: 6/11/04 (1920 hrs) - Saturday    

The team leader was called by Cumbria Police to deal with an incident in Eskdale.  A group of three male walkers who were returning to their car at Brotherikeld from a walk up Scafell heard whistles and lights on the valley side opposite them in the area of Brock Crag.  A limited callout was made to investigate the findings and five team members and a search dog went up to the Farms.  The team located two walkers who were benighted and calling for help.  They were located and safely walked back down off the fell to their car at Brotherikeld.  There were eventually a total of eleven team members on the rescue including the five who turned up at the base and were stood down as sufficient numbers were already dispatched to the limited search.  Rescue completed by 2200 hrs. 

4/47: 30/10/04 (0126 hrs) - Saturday    

The team were called out by the police to rescue an injured person on Yewbarrow.  The casualty was a male walker/ scrambler in his mid to late 20's.  The alarm had been raised by his two friends.  The group had set off in the early evening from Overbeck car park to go up the fell and climb Yewbarrow.  One of the parties had fallen and was injured.  The team commenced a search of the mountain to locate the injured person via two dog teams.  A search helicopter was requested in case the location was incorrect.  This was done to reduce the search time in any new location.  The police helicopter was scrambled but before it was airborne, one of the team's search dogs found the unconscious man at the foot of Bell Rib, a large buttress on the southern end of Yewbarrow.  He had taken a major tumble fall and did not survive.  The casualty was carried down the mountain by stretcher to the ambulance at the road-head.  The rescue was concluded at 0630 hrs.

4/46: 26/10/04 (1530 hrs) - Tuesday    

The team were asked by the police to recover a body from the fell near Skalderskew Farm, Blengdale.  The man in his late thirties collapsed and died.  12 team members attended and recovered the body to the roadside. 

4/45a: 18/10/04 (1600 hrs) - Monday    

This story is being reported here, not as an official incident, but to give recognition to those walkers who make their own way off the mountain rather than just call the rescue teams.  The team leader and a friend were out for a scramble on Scafell when they came across a 70 year old man on the Foxes Tarn descent route.  The man from Lancashire, had been dropped off at Boot, Eskdale by his wife and was heading for the Band on Bowfell to be picked up again at Old Dungeon Gill, Langdale.  He had taken a fall but was alright and was slowly making his way down.  Noting the lateness of the day, that he was moving slowly and that he did not have a light the Team Leader decided to walk down to Sampson's Stones with him (Upper Eskdale), lend him a torch and see him safely on his way across to Three Tarns.

When the Team Leader got home he called the leader of the Langdale Ambleside team to advise that the guy would be making his way down in the dark but was fine.  If there were calls made to the police for whatever reason then at least he would know about the person and intended route.  Nothing further happened until early the next morning when the man's wife phoned the police to say she was worried about him being so overdue.  Shortly after the wife's call to the Police, the man phoned his wife on the mobile to say he was safely on his way down. He eventually got down safely the next day and called the Team leader to thank him for the loan of the torch and to explain the events of the previous day.

He had made his way to Green Hole (at the top of Eskdale), worked his way up and into the crags and mist and lost his route.  Recognising that he would not get off the mountain that night, he descended to a safe area and phoned his wife to say that he would not be down to meet her that night but not to worry as he was happy to find a place to sleep in the shelter of the rocks.  At first light he started back up but was unable to call his wife on the mobile to reassure her due to no signal.  She had started to worry about his condition again in the morning when she had not heard from him so called the police.  He called her as soon as he got a signal and then made his way down the Band.  A story with a happy ending. He was well equipped ( apart from having to borrow a torch from the Wasdale Team Leader) and is a good example of how some walkers are quite hardy when it comes to looking after themselves, even at the grand age of 70!

Thanks for the story Julian.

4/45: 11/10/04 (1900 hrs) - Monday    

The team were called to assist a couple who were struggling to locate the Corridor route descent path from Scafell Pike.  They were on their mobile phone and were directed by the team leader until they found the path.  They were just below the rock step above Great Gill.  As they were still a little unsure, the team leader plus another team member took the Landover up to the bottom of Great Gable to see that they moving down the mountain.  They could see their torch but it was static so they proceeded to walk up the fell.  A limited call out was made for back up.  When they got to the benighted couple they were staggered to find that the torch that they had used to attract attention in the valley bottom was of the 99p variety and smaller than a cigarette packet.  It goes to show that even an inexpensive torch can be a godsend when trying to attract attention.  They were escorted safely off the fell and the incident was closed at midnight.

4/44: 9/10/04 (1530 hrs) - Saturday    

The team were called to rescue an 18-year-old woman who suffered an ankle injury in Miterdale, in an area known as the Amphitheatre.  The woman, who was taking part in activities as part of the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, was stretchered for two miles to the bottom of the fell.  She did not require hospital treatment.

4/43: 8/10/04 (1704 hrs) - Friday    

 The team were called out to assist a walker who had suspected knee ligament damage.  The 30-year-old walker from Colchester got into difficulties on Great Gable, near Kirk Fell.  The team decided to use the Great North Air Ambulance (GNAA) to evacuate the casualty to West Cumberland Hospital as there was a suitably level area close to where the casualty lay (Beck Head).  This was the first time the Wasdale Team had used the GNAA.  The rescue went well with the helicopter being used to fly the Team's doctor to the casualty site and then to fly a further two groups of two from the valley bottom up to the casualty site.  Two team members also arrived on scene after climbing the fell direct.  A total of seven team members were involved at Beck head with the remaining team members held back in reserve in the valley.  The incident was closed at 1900 hrs. 

4/42: 27/9/04 (1917 hrs) - Monday              See photos of the rescue here

Whitehaven Police paged the Team to respond to  a call for assistance from a walker who had just run all the way down from Green Hole, Upper Eskdale - his friend had been descending from Crinkle Crags and whilst crossing a gorge had slipped and fallen 10m, landing badly and injuring his head.  The informant was at Brotherilkeld Farm.  A full team callout was immediately made and the team set off to the top of Eskdale, Green Hole being some 3 km from the road head which would be along walk (run) in and a difficult carry out depending on his injuries.  The cloud was down so a helicopter evacuation was not possible.

The poor visibility made locating the casualty extremely difficult and it progressed into a major search.  Langdale and Ambleside team were asked in to help who also involved Kendal team.  There were also a number a search dogs deployed.  In all there were probably 50 team members on the hill.  The casualty was found at around midnight, high up on the Eskdale side of Crinkle Crags, a long way off the path in Rusty Gill.  He had sustained a nasty gash to his head but had remained conscious.  He could not walk and was laying in the bottom of the very steep sided gill. He was extremely cold and wet after his ordeal in the gill but had warmed up quickly once in the casualty bag.  He was manually lifted out of the gill (he was a heavy man at 16 stone) and carried some 300 metres along the side of the crag on very steep and unstable ground.  In many areas the stretcher had to be manhandled between team members, hand over hand, which is a very slow process.  At around 0130 hrs he was safely down off the crags but there was still a long carry out to Cockley Beck via Mosedale.  A request for RAF helicopter assistance had been made on two occasions through the night but due to the very poor weather and imminent bad weather front, the crews were unable to assist.

All the team vehicles were sent round the Cockley Beck ( bottom of Hardknott Pass on the Wrynose side) and there were some 12 team vehicles there when the stretcher party arrived.  This included the Langdale Ambleside ambulance which was possibly going to be used to convey the casualty back over Hardknott Pass to the waiting ambulance at Brotherilkeld telephone box.  The casualty was eventually taken off to West Cumberland Hospital and is recovering well with relatively minor injuries and some heavy bruising to his back and knee.  The incident was over by 0400hrs which allowed team members to get home, have a shower and a nap before going to work. 

The local media were reporting the incident the following morning.  The Whitehaven News spoke to the team leader who gave them the details but also discussed the continuing existence of the Hard Knott British Telecomm Phone Box.  There is a proposal to remove it but the Team's view is to support it's retention.  There is no mobile reception in Eskdale, the first phone for 5 miles and used frequently by groups that get lost on Scafell and go down the wrong valley.  It is still in the middle of nowhere at the bottom of Hard Knott and is vital for reporting accidents quickly.  It was used when the RAF helicopter crashed in 1991 to sort out logistics and is used regularly to report road traffic accidents.   There have been two calls made from it in recent weeks for air ambulance jobs.  BT are planning to remove it within six months. 

4/41: 25/9/04 (0102 hrs) - Sunday

Whitehaven Police paged the Team to respond to a report of lights seen on Scafell.  The lights had remained static for around an hour.  A limited callout was undertaken to investigate the lights and when a small group of six team members had eventually gathered at Gosforth the decision was made to stand down the team.  The lights had stopped flashing  and it was noted that there were many groups of Three Peakers out that night.  The night was very mild with little wind so it was decided not to investigate further.  This rescue was to be the first that would involve the new radios as the low band sets had already been replaced earlier the previous day.  The following photograph was taken just before the incident was stood down.  One team member was being briefed on the capabilities of the new radios - also see general news

4/40a: 24/9/04 (1400 hrs) - Saturday

Whilst setting up the vehicles with the new high band radio sets a call came in from the Wasdale Head hotel.  They had received a telephone call from a lady in Shropshire who had been contacted by her husband and another walker who had been climbing Scafell Pike and had descended the wrong side.  They had walked out Brotherilkeld, Eskdale.  They were supposed to be meeting their driver at the Wasdale Head Hotel at 1200 hrs.  He would be somewhere in Wasdale, sat in his car getting very worried.  Could we help?

A team vehicle was already in the valley checking radio signals from different parts of the valley so it was dispatched to search all the car parks an locate the driver.  After a series of checks, the car and driver were located at the Wasdale Head Hotel car park.  The message was passed that his friend were safely down on the other side and were going to walk to Gosforth ( 10 miles).  He was given directions and he left to find his mates in Eskdale somewhere.  Not listed as a true incident even through resources were mobilised, however noted her to give the reader a true picture of the increasing demands on the team.  [ Worth noting that without the telephone box at the bottom of Hardknott the 'safely down' message  would have been raised a little later - the argument for keeping the box rumbles on].

4/40: 24/9/04 (2034 hrs) - Friday

Workington Police contacted the Team to respond to a call for help from two cragfast walkers.  The request was for Scafell Pike but their location was actually above Broad Stand on Scafell.  A limited callout of team member took place at 2152 hrs once details had been established.  Two team members went up to Mickledore and two up Lord's Rake when a flare was sent up at the Woolworth boulder which was quickly followed by whistles for help from Above Broad Stand somewhere.   The Mickledore two climbed Broad Stand (which was damp and slippery) and located the cragfast walkers at around midnight.  They guided them up and over Scafell and back down to the Wasdale campsite.  The incident was closed at 0430 hrs.

4/39: 19/9/04 (1618 hrs) - Sunday

Workington Police contacted the Team to respond to whistles heard at Dropping Crag, Scafell Pike.  A group of walkers were descending from the Pike towards Lingmel Col when they heard a lot of whistles.  They contacted the police and the police paged the team who were traveling back from a full days practice in Eskdale.  Whilst gathering further information from the informants, the convoy of three team vehicles made its way back to Gosforth to prepare itself for the possible rescue.  When back at base it was decided to wait for 30 minutes to see if further calls came in.  Nothing happened but it did give team members to have a bite and cup of tea in readiness to go back out.  By 1700 hrs it was decided to stand down and go home.  Later that evening, the original group who had raised the alarm contacted the Team Leader, whose number had been retained in their mobile, to ask for help getting them off the mountain.  They had dropped down to the top of Piers Gill and lost the path.  Fortunately the team leader managed to locate their position from the descriptions over the phone and send them back on their way to Lingmel Col and back to Brackenclose.  They phones up later that evening to thank him and say they were down safely in the Wasdale Head Inn having a pint.  There were no further calls that evening regarding whistles or missing persons. 

4/38b: 15/9/04 (2142 hrs) - Wednesday

Workington Police contacted the Team Leader to search for a missing 80 year old who was long overdue from his walk in the Pillar area.  The team were called out but whilst team members were leaving home to make their way to the base at Gosforth the missing person turned up safe and well.  The incident was stood down and team members returned home.  Again, not recorded as a formal incident as no team members went on the fell however noted her for information.

4/38a: 15/9/04 (2013 hrs) - Wednesday
Workington Police asked the team to deal with an overdue group on Scafell Pike.  Whilst the team leader was collecting information the missing persons turned up safe and well.  Not recorded as a formal incident as no team members went on the fell however noted her for information.

4/38: 14/9/04 (1703 hrs) - Tuesday
Workington Police paged the team to respond to a call for help from an elderly married couple who were lost on Muncaster Fell at Ross's Camp (The large slab that forms a table).  The weather was windy with heavy rain showers. The couple in their early sixties, were on holiday in Keswick from Essex.  They had parked their car at Ravenglass earlier that day and taken a ride on the miniature railway to Boot.  They planned to walk back over Muncaster Fell but had got into difficulties when they lost the path.   They had raised the alarm by mobile phone and although well equipped and in good spirits were unsure of how to get down.  A limited call-out was made and two team members set off from the Eskdale end of the hill whilst another three set off from the Muncaster Castle end.  Both groups met up with the lost couple at Ross's camp at roughly the same time.  The couple were walked off the fell and driven to their car in Ravenglass.

4/37: 11/9/04 (1119 hrs) - Saturday
Whitehaven Police contacted the Team leader to rescue a middle aged male walker who had broken his leg on the Yewbarrow ridge just above Great Door.  The break was a serious dislocated fracture of the tib and fib and required a helicopter evacuation.  The cloud was down and so he was stretchered off the ridge down into the Overbeck valley.  The Royal Navy Sea King helicopter from HMS Gannet, Prestwick took the stretcher on board and flew him to West Cumberland Hospital.  There were around 14 team members involved. 

4/36: 6/9/04 (1311 hrs) - Monday
Whitehaven Police paged the team to respond to an incident at Wastwater lake.  A diving group had been concerned over the distressed  barking of a dog on the far side of the lake.  This continued for over half an hour and was then followed by shouts for help.  The cries were coming from high up the gulleys directly opposite Cross walls, the road junction at the mid point of the lake.   One of the divers, who was an accomplished swimmer, swam across the lake in his dry suit and proceeded to climb the Screes in an effort to locate the source of this distress.  He climbed half way up the Screes before disappearing out of sight behind the gulley sides.   The police were already on scene when the team arrived.

The advance group set off from the Pump house at the west end of the lake whilst the boat team launched the boat and ferried team members and equipment across the lake.  The advance group got to the diver after a grueling 45 minute scramble.  No other persons or animals located and it was thought that perhaps the person might have climbed out onto the top and then descended by the walkers paths along the ridge top.  As descent was not a safe option, the top group along with the diver, climbed to remaining 300 m to the top and carried on searching the various gulley tops.  Nothing was seen or heard.

The local farmers were contacted and it was confirmed that one of the farmers had in fact been out on the Screes earlier that day and "there were a lot of barking and shouting".

The incident was stood down at around 1700 hrs as a well intentioned false alarm.  The diver was taken back by boat to retrace his steps up the Screes and retrieve his flippers and dry suit which were reasonably well hidden on the Screes ( Tim and Ian did try hard to find them but with no luck).  The climb by the diver was a remarkable achievement considering the swim across the lake and the 500m ascent of some extremely steep, slippery and loose mountain side.  He was dressed in a thermal, quilted jumpsuit with relatively lightweight rubber diving boots and the temperature that afternoon would be up in the 20's and the Screes were bathed in sunshine.

The team practice that evening was postponed so that team members could catch up on things abandoned for the rescue such as lunch and work.  

4/35: 29/8/04 (0815 hrs) - Sunday
Whitehaven Police station contacted the team regarding two overdue fell walkers on Scafell.  Weather conditions were high winds and rain.  The team leader contacted the informant, who had needed to travel down the valley in order to get a mobile phone signal.  The two male walkers, 21 and 20 years old were completing the three peaks challenge and had already climbed Ben Nevis earlier the day before.  They set off up Scafell Pike at midnight and by 0700 hrs the person waiting at Wasdale Head became extremely concerned and called the police.

Under the circumstances then team leader believed that they probably made a navigational error and dropped down into the wrong valley on the Eskdale side.  He put two team members out to Wasdale Head and the remainder of the team on standby at home for a possible callout at 1100 hrs.   At 1033 hrs the two missing persons turned up safe and well at the Eskdale Youth Hostel and the incident was stood down.

4/34: 28/8/04 (1615 hrs) - Saturday
The team were already at the Head for the Lingmel Dash fell race (see General News) when the vehicle was approached at 1630 hours by a mother and three children who had become separated from the father and 14 yrs old son whilst climbing Scafell Pike.  The five had set off from Brackenclose and when they had crossed the stream crossing at the bottom of Brown Tongue, the son decided to head off up the path at 1300 hrs.  The father then went on after him leaving the rest of the group.  After some time the mother proceeded up the path junction at the top of Brown Tongue and decided to come back down, raising the alarm at 1630 hrs.  The team were dispatched to locate the father and son.  Shortly thereafter the father turns up at the vehicle to say that he had eventually caught up with his son on the top of the Pike but when they were coming back down he lost sight of him again at the Stream crossing, bottom of Brown Tongue at around 1700 hrs.  The team who were now on the fell checked with walkers if they had seen a young boy on his own and eventually located the lad making his way back up Scafell Pike to find his father.  The boy was walked off the mountain and the incident was closed when all five were reunited.

4/33: 27/8/04 (0049 hrs) - Friday
The team leader was called by Cockermouth MRT to assist in the search for two overdue walkers who were doing the Ennerdale horseshoe.  The father and his 17 year old son from London had set off late morning the previous day and their last contact had been at Brandreth (head of Ennerdale valley late afternoon).

Wasdale MRT were asked to search the Mosedale valley up the Blacksail pass ( a possible escape route for them).  Weather conditions were poor with very heavy rain squalls and cloud level down to the pass levels.  A limited callout was made and two routes were checked on the Wasdale side; Blacksail to Kirk Fell summit to Beck Head and down to Wasdale Head; Mosedale  - Black Comb Head - Scoat Tarn - Netherbeck - Wasdale road. The two missing persons were found at around 0630 hrs, safe and well just below Scoat Tarn and were walked out via Netherbeck to the road head in Wasdale.  There were around 15 Cockermouth Team members involved, 7 Wasdale members and a couple of search dogs.  The RAF had been called earlier that morning to rendezvous at Blacksail at 0800 hrs for a full search of the ridges and gulleys.  They were stood down once the missing father and son had been located.  Incident closed at 0830 hrs, back in work for the 1000 hrs meeting and back home again at 1600hrs for a snooze.  Fortunately no more callouts for Wasdale that day however Cockermouth MRT were called out again in the afternoon for an ankle injury.   

4/32: 24/8/04 (1604 hrs) - Tuesday
The team leader was called at work to respond to an incident where two people had capsized in Wastwater.  The team has a rescue boat and so a limited callout was done to bring in the boat squad.  Before the vehicle and boat left the rescue base at Gosforth the incident was stood down as a report came in that the casualties were out of the water and had been taken to West Cumberland hospital by ambulance.

The following day more information of the incident was received.  It involved two women walking the Scree path.  One broke or twisted her ankle and the team would normally have been called to assist.  Then along comes a passing canoeist - who offered to take the pair of them across the lake.  Apparently, he set off with one on the front and one on the back but somewhere in the middle, he capsized, dumping both in the water.

An Ambulance was called and got there but by the time the team received the request for assistance the group had managed to get to the lake shore, somewhere near cross walls.  The woman with the ankle injury was taken to West Cumberland Hospital in the Ambulance and the wet woman was taken to Wasdale Head (where she was staying anyway).

4/31a: 21/8/04 (2155 hrs) - Saturday
Workington police paged the team to deal with an overdue Grandfather and grandson on Scafell Pike.  Whilst the team leader was putting out a full team callout he heard the pips going on his phone.  He immediately took that call anticipating further details on the missing party and was informed that the missing pair had turned up safe and well but long overdue.  Recorded here for noting only and not recorded as a rescue (hence 31a)

4/31: 18/8/04 (1749 hrs) - Wednesday
A paged message received from Workington police to request assistance for two cragfast and lost walkers, initially reported as two girls but subsequently established to be a male and female in their mid twenties.  They had left Langdale earlier that day to climb Scafell Pike via Angle Tarn and Esk Hause.  They were on the summit of the Pike at 1630 hrs and whilst descending became disorientated and lost on steep ground.  They were contactable by mobile phone.  Conditions that day were extreme with thunder and lightning and heavy rain showers.  Cloud level was around Mickledore and they were lost in the cloud which put them high up on the fell above 850m.

They were poorly equipped with no real waterproofs and were wet through and cold.  The were sheltering under a blue umbrella but under the circumstances it was probably not the best thing to be under during a lightning storm.

With limited information we had, the deteriorating conditions and condition of the lost persons, we enrolled the help of the Keswick, Langdale & Ambleside and SARDA Search dogs.  Approximately 40 rescuers were involved. The lost walkers were located at around 2100 hrs on Rough Crag, around 200m below the summit of Scafell Pike on the Eskdale side, just above Penn.  Visibility was abysmal with heavy downpours.  The ground was very steep with loose boulders and scree.  They were walked off the mountain after being kitted out with clothing and warmed up in a bivvy tent.  We received refreshments in the Wasdale Head Hotel at midnight and they were then transported back to their campsite in Langdale.  The Wasdale base was closed down at around 0100 hrs.

Without their mobile phone and a good reception from their location on the crag, the alarm would not have been raised and it would have been the following day at the earliest before their shouts for help might have been heard.  A strong case for carrying a mobile phone as long as it is not relied upon to get you out of trouble.

4/30: 14/8/04 (2130 hrs) - Saturday
The team leader received I got a call from the Owner of the Wasdale Head Hotel to advise that two women from Wallsend
had left their husbands walking in the valley but were reporting them long overdue.  Missing persons were two males (one 54 yrs old and the other in his early 30's).  One was reported to be reasonably well equipped and experienced.  We believed they did not have torches.  Their intended route wasn't clear - whilst Great Gable and Kirk Fell had been mentioned it turned out they'd been dropped off at the path toward Scafell Pike, raising the possibility that they were intending quite a long round before coming back to Wasdale Head.

The two ladies were looked after the Hotel and a number of calls were made, attempting to locate them and discussing potential courses of action.  They turned up at the Woolpack Inn in Eskdale just before 2330 hrs, presumably
having made a navigational error and descended that way, rather than to Wasdale.

4/29: 7/8/04 (1630 hrs) - Saturday
Call from Workington Police to contact them to assist with overdue runners on Scafell Pike.  The Team Leader spoke to the informant who was extremely concerned that three runners doing the Bob graham round had failed to turn up at their food / water stop and were long overdue.  After a short period a full team callout was initiated.  As expected, no sooner had the call gone out and the team mobilised, the missing persons turned up safe and well.  Callout was cancelled and the team stood down.

4/28: 26/7/04 (1630 hrs) - Monday

Call from Workington Police at about 1630 hrs requesting assistance - a 46yr old woman from the Bolton area had apparently traveled to Wasdale with the intention of committing suicide.  She had used a mobile phone to inform her care worker in Bolton, who in turn contacted the Police in this area.  Indications suggested her location to be on the Wasdale Screes and she was quickly located by MRT members.  She hadn't actually taken action to cause self harm but was seen by Team Doctors and subsequently taken to the West Cumberland Hospital for further treatment. Twelve team members were involved and the base closed at about 1830 hrs.

4/27: 22/7/04 (0040 hrs) - Thursday
Call from Workington Police requesting rescue of a 45 yr old man who had collapsed near Scarlathing, Upper Eskdale.  He was suffering from a medical/viral condition and had been lapsing in and out of consciousness.  When the '999' call came through to the police, an RAF rescue helicopter had been requested.  The casualty was airlifted to Carlisle Hospital rather than West Cumberland due to a weather front coming in from the west.  There were  14 team members on the fell and the incident was closed at 0500 hrs

4/26: 16/7/04 (1959 hrs) - Friday
Call from Workington Police regarding an incident on Brantrake Crag, Eskdale.  A 29 year old male climber had fallen on Central crack, Linbeck.  This climb is HVS with a 5a start and he had fallen off before he could place his first protection, landing badly and fracturing his left ankle.  Around 14 team members carried him off the fell to the ambulance where he was taken to West Cumberland Hospital for treatment. 

4/24a: 27/6/04 (0510 hrs) - Sunday

Call from Workington Police regarding a party of two, long overdue on Scafell Pike and doing the Three Peaks challenge.  Last seen at Mickledore at 0200 hrs but reported to be reasonably well equipped.  The Team Leader advised the informant to wait until later in morning before getting too concerned.  They turned up safe and well at 0610 hrs. Coupled with the number of calls relating to the previous event, the overall effect was one very disturbed night for the Team Leader.  One of the perks of the job ............ Not recorded as an official incident although still a '999' call.

4/24: 26/6/04 (2230 hrs) - Saturday

Call from Workington Police regarding a single 36 yr old male long overdue on Scafell Pike.  Last seen near the summit at
21.15 hrs but wearing waterproofs etc.  The group of Three Peakers had set off from Seathwaite and were intending to be picked up again in Wasdale.  Although they had split their group to search for the missing party member they were unsuccessful.  The Team Leader advised them to wait until morning but received no less than 7 more calls, at various times through the night, before he was eventually reported safe and well (in Seathwaite again) at  10.00 hrs the next morning.

As the Team had a scheduled practice on Sunday 27th June, we did undertake search routes relating to this missing person.  The search was undertaken with a full Police log being kept, however, as there was already a team practice scheduled, and sufficient numbers turned up at 0900 hrs, it wasn't necessary to do a Full Call Out bleep.

4/23: 23/6/04 (1310 hrs) - Wednesday

The team were called out to attend to a 46 yr old local man who had collapsed at the Woolworth Boulder with diabetic
related problem but now had central chest pain.    The party of four walkers had set off earlier that morning from the head of the Lake on the way up to Scafell Pike from Brackenclose.  The call was raised by mobile phone.  The collapsed walker remained fully conscious throughout but was concerned over his chest pains.  An RAF helicopter from Boulmer was requested, came to Brackenclose, landed and stood by with engines running.  When the cloud base had lifted sufficiently the helicopter took off and met up with the descending stretcher party.  The casualty was airlifted to West Cumberland Hospital where he is now recovering and in good spirits as I write this at 2100 hrs.  There were around 12 to 15 team members on the callout.       

4/22b: 23/6/04 (0520 hrs) - Wednesday

Call from Workington Police regarding two males reported long overdue on Scafell Pike (and doing the Three Peaks
challenge).  They'd set off from Seathwaite at 22.30 hrs and were supposed to get picked up in Wasdale at 00.40 hrs.  They had waterproofs etc and didn't sound to be "at risk".  The Team Leader advised them to wait for a longer period
of time and they did turn up at about 07.30 hrs.  Not recorded as an official incident although still a '999' call.

4/22a: 20/6/04 (0022 hrs) - Sunday

Call form Workington Police regarding a 56yr old male long overdue on Scafell Pike.  His wife was ringing from the
Wasdale Head Hotel and was very concerned because he hadn't been seen since 21.30 hrs. when he was just leaving the summit of the Pike.   He did apparently have two torches and waterproofs etc. but had become separated from others
in a Three Peaks challenge event.  The Team Leader advised the lady to wait for a longer period of time, as it was likely he
simply needed more time to sort out a navigational error.  He turned up by 00.55 hrs.  Not recorded as an official incident although still a '999' call.

4/22: 12/6/04 (2153 hrs) - Saturday

The team leader was paged by Workington Police to investigate an overdue fellwalker.  The male walker in his early thirties had set off from the Blackpool area at 0600 hrs that day to climb Scafell Pike and Scafell from Langdale.  He made his last call at 1300 hrs from the summit of Scafell Pike before moving across to Scafell.  The informant, located in Blackpool, advised that the missing walker would normally phone home when he was safely down the mountain.  So when no call had been made, along with some other information received from the informant in Blackpool,  there was a need to open up the base and carry out some routine but detailed checking.  Whilst considering the next stage, the missing walker phoned in safe and well at 2242 hrs.

4/21: 12/6/04 (1245 hrs) - Saturday

Whilst the team were preparing to undergo helicopter training at Wasdale Head, a mountain bike cyclist pulled up and asked where the nearest telephone was.  He advised us that a cycling colleague had fallen off his mountain bike whilst traveling from Tongue Moor to Brackenclose, a section on the weekend's mountain bike challenge.  He had sustained lacerations to his head but was conscious and slowly making his way off the mountain.  His location was to the west of Burnmoor Tarn.  The advance vehicle set off and the RAF Sea King started preparations to go an pick him up if found necessary.  The biker, a male in his late 40's from Barrow-in-Furness was already well down the fell when the advance met up with him.  He was assisted off the fell and taken back to Eskdale after a quick check over by the team doctor at Wasdale Head.   Incident closed at 1345 hrs.

4/20: 7/6/04 (1450 hrs) - Monday

The team were called by the police to attend to a male walker in his late 50's who had collapsed with a heart attack on the summit of Dent.  The Air Ambulance had already been called and arrived on scene before the team.  The walker was airlifted to hospital but had already died on scene.  The incident was closed by 1600hrs.

4/19: 5/6/04 (1630 hrs) - Sunday

The team were called by Workington Police to rescue a 29yr old male walker who had become cragfast on steep scree on Great Gable.  He had been descending when he lost his way in thick cloud.  He managed to call the team on his mobile (battery on low) and advised he was on the south slopes.  A limited call out was made but after the initial group had set out it became apparent, due to further information from the cragfast individual  that it might not be as straightforward  as initially thought.  A full team call out was made and a more in depth search plan was put together.

Making use of his mobile phone and after a  period of whistling in sequence by the search parties on the fell, the cragfast person was eventually located, high on Great Gable between Great Hellgate and Kern Knotts, about 200m above the traverse path on very unstable scree.  Weather conditions were very poor and although cold and wet he was safely assisted down to Styhead and then down towards Seathwaite where he was handed over to a small search group from Keswick MRT.  Including the four Keswick MRT members, around 15 team members were involved on the fell.  The rescue base was closed at 2200 hrs. Click on photo to enlarge

Cragfast walker is assisted off the scree by use of climbing harness and tapes

Visibility was extremely poor which made it extremely difficult to locate his position

Safely back down on the Gable traverse- tired and very wet.  Still a long way back to the car though

4/18: 4/6/04 (1729 hrs) - Friday

The team were alerted by Keswick MRT who had been notified by the police to search for a missing 9yr old boy on Scafell Pike.  The missing boy had been last seen by his father at 1430 hrs when they became separated in mist.  They had set off from Wasdale Head that morning at 1000hrs, reached the top of Scafell Pike and then descended into upper Eskdale via Cam Spout.  They ascended to Esk Hause and became separated.  The team had assembled at Millforge and an advance group had already set off when the call came back in to say that the son had been found safe and well.  The advance group carried on up to Wasdale Head to meet up with the young boy and then walked up the Styhead path to meet the father who was returning from his own search of the area.  Once re-united the incident was stood down and Mill Forge base at Gosforth was closed at 2000 hrs.  

4/17: 15/5/04 (1648 hrs) - Saturday

Call from Workington Police requesting assistance from Ambulance Control.  75 year old male (from Barrow-in-Furness) had fallen approximately 10 metres down vertical rocks into the river Esk, near St Catherine's church (Eskdale).  Further information suggested he'd sustained a head injury, although his condition was not known until we got on scene.

A total of 11 WMRT members responded (although 3 remained at Gosforth) and we quickly located him near the "girder bridge".  He was treated by Team members, including one of A&E Consultant team Doctors and stretcher'd to our vehicles at the Church.  He was then taken by Ambulance to Whitehaven Hospital.

His wife accompanied him in the Ambulance whilst other family members were taken back to their vehicle, at Ravenglass.  His wife said he'd been concerned to keep their 3 yr old grand doughtier away from the drop but had fallen himself.  He'd apparently hit reasonably deep water (rather than the shallow, rocky area near by) and had been pulled out by other walkers who were luckily in the vicinity.

Being quite close to where we can drive to, the incident was dealt with relatively quickly.  Mill Forge rescue headquarters in Gosforth were closed at about 1900 hrs.

4/16: 2/5/04 (2200 hrs) - Wednesday

Call from Workington Police (using the committee group) at 1000 hrs.  regarding a 45 yr old male, reported long overdue from a walk to Scafell.  He'd left  Duddon Bridge at 0900 hrs and was going to do Harter Fell on his way to
Scafell.  He didn't have a torch and was apparently only be wearing shorts.  While discussing the details with the Team Leader of Duddon & Furness MRT he turned up safe and well.  Recorded as an incident as the teams resources were starting to be mobilised even though the team team did have to go on the fell.

4/15: 2/5/04 (1509 hrs) - Sunday

A call came from Workington Police regarding a 11 year old who had sustained a head and leg injury at Napes Needle, Great Gable.  The casualty was in the Tophet Wall area by the side of Great Hellgate.  Due to the nature of the injuries an RAF Helicopter was requested immediately.  It arrived on scene before the team got onto the fell as it was already in the air when it was requested..  The injured boy was treated on the scene by the RAF winchman, winched into the helicopter and transported to Whitehaven Hospital. The incident was closed at around 1730 hrs.  Photograph of the team ready to go at Gavel Knees (foot of Great Gable) and rescue story added.

4/14a: 25/4/04 (0300 hrs) - Sunday

Not logged as an incident.  A mixed group doing the three peaks became lost, were tired and cold and their lights were failing so they dialed '999' for mountain rescue.  0255 hrs call from Workington Police.   A group of five people (males and
females from Watford) had got "stuck" a third of the way down Scafell Pike.  They were doing the 3 Peaks Challenge but their lights had run out of battery power and they'd lost the path down.  The Team Leader rang to confirm no one was injured and that they were just cold. While on the phone, the informant said she could see another group of
lights coming up hill toward them.  He therefore advised her to ask that group for assistance and went back to bed.
They rang the Team Leader at home again at 0440 hrs, to tell him they were all off the
hill.  He went back to bed again.

Note from the Team Leader - Not one that will get an "Incident" Number but I think we should log these type of calls for public record.  I also think people should be reminded that we voluntarily provide an emergency service.  Whilst we will always respond without hesitation, for anyone who is injured or will come to harm if we don't; a group of five adults who only have to wait two hours until daylight are not at significant risk.  Mountain Rescue's role is not to provide a free guide service.

4/14: 21/4/04 (1520 hrs) - Wednesday

Not an incident as such but could  be classed as a proactive team response under the category of incident prevention.

1130 hrs a large party of children had been dropped off at Wasdale Head and set off up Mosedale - they appeared ill equipped but no action was taken apart from noting where they were going.

1530 hrs a telephone call came in from the Black Sail Youth Hostel, Ennerdale.  They had a 13 yr old child who had become separated from a large group and found his way back down to the valley bottom on the Ennerdale side.  He had fallen on the way down and was tired and wet.  He had a chest injury but it was not thought to be significant enough to require medical attention.  The child had become separated from a splinter group of one adult and another child who had set off down from Pillar towards Wasdale Head as they were too cold to continue.  The remainder of the large group (now 22 number) carried on up Pillar.  The Team leader thought it prudent to send a team member up Mosedale to intercept the Adult and child and advise them that their missing 13 year old was safe and well in Ennerdale.

After a good deal of co-ordination of messages and location of missing adults, the whole party were re-united at Wasdale Head.  The 13 year old child was taken to the Ennerdale Youth Hostel where it would be easier for the group's minibus to collect him.  The incident was closed down at 1700 hrs with all accounted for and the four team members involved returned home.   The leaders of the group had not requested assistance therefore, strictly speaking it was not a rescue, however team resources were deployed in the best interests of the 13 year old and to ensure it didn't develop into a larger scale incident.

It is worth noting that Wasdale MRT have experienced  similar incidents in the past with large groups of children who have required assistance.  This one had the real potential for turning into a full scale rescue.

4/13: 14/4/04 (1100 hrs) - Wednesday

Or should that be 13th April......

Three men were going to camp at Sprinkling Tarn and were en route via the bad step on Crinkle Crags.  One of them decided to bypass the step by going over Long Top, whilst the other two carried on up the step.  They were meant to meet up again but didn't.  The two rang for mountain rescue assistance at about 1900 hrs the previous night and spoke to Langdale & Ambleside  MRT Leader.  They were advised to continue to Sprinkling Tarn and see if the missing person
caught them up there.  The Team Leader informed Wasdale MRT but it was agreed to wait and see what developed.

The two turned up at Wasdale Head this morning and contacted the Wasdale Team Leader 0950 hrs.  They had camped at Great End and searched the Sprinkling Tarn area this morning.  Wasdale was going to be their ultimate destination, so they had come down into Wasdale to raise the alarm again.  The Wasdale Team Leader waited until 1100 hrs, in order to give more time for the missing person to walk out.  He also put Langdale MRT back on stand by.

At 1100hrs both Wasdale and Langdale did full call outs and also contacted Kendal MRT and SARDA, the Lake District 
search dogs.  The intent was to cover Crinkle Crags, Bowfell, Esk Pike, Sprinkling Tarn, upper Eskdale, Scafell eastern routes.  Cloud level was less than 350 metres and it had been raining heavily over night.

The missing person (a 42 yr old male from Hertfordshire) turned up in Stonethwaite (Borrowdale) before we had deployed, so all teams were stood down again.   He had spent the night at Esk Hause and descended Langstraff in the morning.  He was tired cold and wet and quite shaken by the experience but un-injured.  He planned to contact his friends at the Wasdale Head Hotel

4/12: 11/4/04 (0300 hrs) - Sunday

Telephone call form Workington Police reporting two men, in their early twenties, overdue form a walk up the Corridor route and onto Scafell Pike.   The team were already mobilised (see previous incident) so there was a search of the car parks at Wasdale and the Police checked car parks on the Seathwaite (Keswick) side of the mountains.  Their vehicle was not found and there was no solid proof they were on the fell at all.  However, by the time the car parks had all been checked, there was already a group of WMRT team members near to Lingmel Col.   The group were tasked to walk
out, via the Corridor route.  On route the team members also spoke to more "3 Peakers"  who were descending from the summit and had not heard or seen anything.   With nothing found and no reason to continue the search, Mill Forge base at Gosforth was closed at about 0800 hrs.   At 1022 hrs the Police confirmed that the two missing men were found safe and well.  They had decided to stay in the Lake District another night and hadn't told the informant who was located in the Liverpool area and had raised the alarm.

4/11: 11/4/04 (0210 hrs) - Sunday

Call received from Workington Police concerning a party of "3 Peakers" who had just come down off Scafell Pike and had heard shouts for help coming from the Rake End area of Scafell.  They were all convinced the shouts were human although they hadn't established any form of communication (no other words used but "help").  The Team Leader carried out a limited group call-out as a full team call-out was not necessary to investigate the shouts in the first instance. There were seven team members involved in the search, covering the whole area from Rake End to Black Crag and Brown Tongue.  Conditions for searching were very good and the search groups were below cloud in those areas.  Sound was carrying very well amongst the crags  but nothing was found or heard.  The informants rang later in the day to see how we'd got on and were surprised we'd found nothing.  This is not uncommon due to sheep and occasionally a local vixen who is easily mistaken as a cry for help.  [See 8 rescues in 7 days 2003 - Incident 03/26 23 June 2003].  The incident was closed as a well intentioned false alarm.

4/10b: 5/4/04 (1750 hrs) - Monday

Not a callout as such (therefore not counted) but still a rescue of sorts - see general news

4/10a: 3/4/04 (2344 hrs) - Saturday

Workington Police put out a pager message regarding an incident.  A request had come in from a concerned partner about a male walker from the Midlands who was walking / camping in the Lake District.  The team leader took the call and after assessing the circumstances, discussing the details with a team member, decided to stand until the morning. It was a sound decision as the missing person was safe and well in Wales.   Although two team members were involved and the police spent time checking car parks, this incident has not been recorded as a formal incident but printed here for information regarding the team's activities.

4/10: 28/3/04 (2115 hrs) - Sunday

The Team Leader received a call from the Keswick team to assist in the search for two walkers who had become benighted on the top of Great End and had requested help using their mobile phone.  The Keswick team thought they may need to search along the ridge towards Broad Crag so required a radio relay from the head of the Wasdale valley.   This would assist when their group reached Styhead and made their way along the Corridor route which would be out of radio range.  The Team Leader and one team member took one of the advance vehicles up to the bottom of Gavel Knees (Great Gable) whilst another team member remained at Gosforth manning the base and telephone at Gosforth.  The two missing walkers were eventually found safe and well along the ridge towards Ill Crag, near the top of Calf Cove.

The Wasdale group relayed the recall message to the Keswick team members on the Wasdale side and then returned to Mill Forge Base at Gosforth.  The Wasdale involvement in the incident was completed at 2300 hrs.  The two walkers were safely escorted off the fell and down to their transport in the early hours of  the morning.

4/9: 10/3/04 (1605 hrs) - Wednesday

The police received a '999' call from a mobile phone to raise the alarm for a 38 year old male walker who had collapsed exhausted on a walk involving Scafell Pike.  The alarm was raised by his brother who had left the casualty in order to obtain a mobile phone signal higher up the mountain.  He said he was in the area of Little Narrow Cove (south east side of Scafell Pike).

A fast advance group set off up towards Great Moss, upper Eskdale from Taw House Farm while a larger back up group set off with the stretcher.  When the two walkers were finally located, they were in fact a lot further up the valley than Little Narrow Cove.  They were found at the bottom of the gulley which leads up, out of Eskdale's Great Moss, into Esk Hause (where we had passed 12 hours earlier that day on the way to incident number 8).

The casualty was given a full check up before being found to be fit enough to walk off.  As the casualty party were heading for Borrowdale, they were escorted up the gulley to Esk Hause where Keswick team were mustered ready to walk them back down to their car in Borrowdale.  

The brothers had set off that morning to climb Scafell Pike, taken the wrong turn whilst descending and ended up in Great Moss.  They had then set off back up to head for Esk Hause once they knew where they were.  The cloud base was well down the fells.

The incident was closed down around 2230 hrs.  It is worth mentioning that the casualty location is probably the furthest point on the team's patch for a carry down (around 4.5 miles).

4/8: 10/3/04 (0046 hrs) - Wednesday

The police paged the team just after midnight to look for a missing walker assumed lost somewhere between Wasdale and Langdale.  A male in his mid-twenties had left Wasdale Youth Hostel to walk to Langdale Youth Hostel.  He had failed to turn up.  His route was not known.  

Wasdale MRT, Keswick MRT, Langdale & Ambleside MRT and SARDA (Search Dogs) were called out.  The missing walker was eventually located high on the crags above Angle Tarn in the area of Hanging Knotts (just below Ore Gap) at 0445 hrs.  Initially it was thought he may need to be rescued using ropes so a 120m rope was ferried up the fell.  He was carefully assisted out of his precarious position without need for climbing ropes and was walked down the valley to safety on the Langdale side.  The various groups on the search were recalled to their respective bases and the incident was closed around 0830 hrs. 

4/7: 10/3/04 (1535 hrs) - Wednesday

The team were called to respond to a mobile phone '999' call from three male walkers who had become cragfast on the Wastwater Screes.  From information received, they were initially thought to be located slightly above the lakeside path. A limited callout was put into motion and a group of around ten were mustered.  Once the full extent of their situation was established the rescue became a little more involved.  The group had set off that morning from the top end of the Lake to walk down the lake and had then decided to scramble up the Screes to the top.  They had managed to get themselves a quarter of the way up, then got into the terraces and become cragfast.  Their location was directly opposite the road junction.

The team's rescue boat was launched from the roadside of the lake whilst an advance group set off from the pump house at the west end.  The three walkers could be seen from the road high up on the Screes.  When team members finally got to them they were assisted down after being helmeted, harnessed and roped up.  They were taken back across the lake in the rescue boat and driven back up to their car.  The incident was closed at 1930 hrs.

/6: 3/3/04 (0305 hrs) - Wednesday

The team were called to support the Whitehaven Police who were urgently looking for a young 18 yr old girl with a medical problem who had collapsed somewhere in the town.  Her location was unkown but the Police were in contact with her by mobile phone.  By the time the team had assembled at the base in Gosforth, a call came through to advise that she had been located.  This was achieved by the collapsed person describing her surroundings, but particularly by being able to read the number plate on a car parked close by that could be tracked by the police.  She was found by the police and is recovering. The incident was closed at 0330 hrs.

4/5: 4/2/04 (1730 hrs) - Wednesday

The Wasdale Team Leader was called by the police at 1730 hrs. following a '999' mobile phone call from four male walkers in their forties.  They were lost on the ridge following their return from doing Scafell Pike and just 'needed some directions'.  They had set off that day from Seathwaite. When questioned on the phone it became obvious to the team leader that they probably were not calling from the Scafell Pike area (later that evening, following more questioning, it became more obvious that they were nowhere near Scafell Pike).  They were asked to retrace their steps back to Styhead stretcher box (the last real landmark they were sure of). They tried but said they were stuck with steep crags all around.  At this point (1850 hrs) the decision was made to call out the Wasdale team (18 members), the Keswick team (18 members), the Langdale & Ambleside team (6 members, the SARDA dog handlers (8 dogs).

They were eventually found by Keswick team members on the summit of Allen Crags, to the north east of Esk Hause, and nowhere near Scafell Pike.  This was now 2330 hrs and weather conditions were severe with high winds.  One team member was blown off his feet whilst tracking using his GPS which was also blown away and smashed.

[If lessons are to be learned from such an incident it would be the importance of good navigation skills and knowing when to start using them.  Once started, to keep on using the map and compass to verify your location on a regular if not continuous basis].

4/4: 17/1/04 (1500 hrs) - Saturday

The team were called by the police to respond to a call for help from a male walker in his early 60's who had slipped and injured his ankle whilst walking on the Overbeck to Dorehead path.  He was found by a passing walker who used his mobile phone to raise the alarm.  The injured person who was a local man, had tried text messaging SOS with accurate details of his location to '999' but he was laying in an area of weak signal.  The passing walker took his phone to a higher position on the mountain to get the signal and raise the alarm.  Interestingly, if you look at the photograph of where the accident happened you will be surprised that there was no signal.  The casualty had set off that day to walk Yewbarrow and then on around the tops.  When he got to the second summit of Yewbarrow he saw black storm clouds in the distance so wisely retraced his steps back down to the valley.  Rather than just return to the car park he decided to drop down to the lower path which runs alongside the beck.  He had only descended 10 metres down the wet grassy slopes when he slipped and fractured his leg. 

The injured leg was immobilized in an inflatable splint and after suitable anesthesia, the casualty was carried down to Overbeck to be taken to West Cumberland Hospital by ambulance.  Photos taken on scene give a good appreciation of the numbers of team members required to effect a rescue of this nature, relatively close to the road.  The incident was close at around 1730 hrs.  The walker had sustained a nasty double fracture of his lower right leg which required steel pinning.  When visited in hospital two days later he was comfortable but resigned to a long recovery period. [Interestingly another local walker had fractured her ankle the following day (Sunday) and was rescued by Cockermouth MRT.  She was recovering from her ordeal in the next room to our Wasdale casualty]

4/3: 23/12/03 (2334 hrs) - Tuesday

The team were called by the police to respond to a call from the Borrowdale YHA.  A male walker in his late 30s had set off from Seathwaite at 0900 hrs that morning to climb Scafell Pike and had not returned. Wasdale, Keswick, Duddon & Furness plus six SARDA dog handlers were called out to search the Scafell massif.  The missing person was found safe and well although cold and wet, at the stream junction of Greta Ghyll and Piers Ghyll at 0215 hrs.  He was fit enough to be walked off the mountain.  The incident was closed down at 0500 hrs.  Some photos here

4/2: 6/12/03 (1337 hrs) - Saturday

The team were called to respond to a '999' call and rescue a local male hunt follower  who had collapsed whilst following the local hunt, high on the fells above Mitredale.   When the team arrived on scene, his fellow colleagues had been trying hard for some time to revive him but had been unsuccessful.  The man, who was in his early 40's, was carefully carried back down to the valley bottom and the waiting vehicles.  The incident was closed at 1700 hrs.

4/1: 1/12/03 (1800 hrs) - Monday   

A number of calls reported to the police regarding 6 flashing lights on Lingmel (distress signal).  Very windy evening.  A small group was sent out to investigate but no further lights seen, no cars in car park.  Team stood down at 2030 hrs.  Well intentioned false alarm.  This rescue took place at the same time as our Monday evening practice ( search techniques!)