LAMRT Incident Report

Incident/Location	Date/time	LAMRT manhours	What happened
1. Fellwalking Crinkle Crags, Gt Langdale	7th January at 16.08	7	A party of three reported themselves lost on Crinkle Crags. They had a tent. Repeated attempts to contact them by mobile phone failed, and eventually the decision not to search for them was made. However, when they still hadn't turned up by 11am next day it was decided to organise a search for them. Inevitably, they turned up at a remote farmhouse at around 12am as the search was being organised. They had spent the night in their tent.
2. Fellwalking Broad Crag to Langdale	7th January at 18.15	5	A party of around 15 had left the summit of Broad Crag to descend to Gt Langdale when they realised that they had left one of their number behind. Most of the party continued their descent back to Langdale, but 4 broke off to look for the missing man. All 5 were reported overdue at around 18.00. Initially Wasdale MRT were contacted, but once it had been established that they were all most likely on the Gt Langdale side, the problem was handed over to us. An initial check of cars established that all 5 were still on the hill, but it was decided to let time pass to give them all chance to make their own way down. This is what happened, with the lone man arriving at about 18.30, and the other 4 making their way off at 20.30. Although neither of the previous incidents resulted in a full team callout, they are recorded here because, although they involved a small number of people, they consumed some considerable amount of time.
3. Fellwalking Far Easedale	12th January at 16.30	33	A young male phoned for help when he became very wet and cold at the end of Far Easedale. He was able to give us an approximate grid reference. A group of team members located him, warmed him up and escorted him down. His rucsac was huge, and with the water it had soaked up, also very heavy!
4. Fellwalking Orrest Head Windermere	14th January at 12.03	24	A 65-year-old woman slipped and sustained an ankle injury. She was treated by team members and evacuated from the fell by stretcher to a waiting ambulance.
5. Fellwalking Crinkle Crag Gt Langdale	19th January at 17.39	50	Two men became benighted on Long Top. Despite being able to give us a ten figure grid reference from their GPS, they were unable to locate a way down. Concern was expressed by one of the men's family about his diabetic condition so team members battled 65mph wind and heavy rain to retreive them. They were escorted back to Wrynose Pass and driven back to their car. Team members were blown over numerous times and experienced the rare phenomena of water blowing uphill on the 'Bad Step'.
6. Fellwalking Stickle Ghyll Gt Langdale	3rd February at 15.36	8	we were requested to assist the ambulance service after a they were called to help a woman who had sustained a dislocated knee after a slip. She was evacuated to an ambulance in the valley bottom, and were assisted by RAF Valley MRT
7. Fellwalking Crinkle Crag Gt Langdale	3rd February at 16.49	98	A couple became cragfast on Crinkle Crags, then benighted. They weren't able to give us a particularly helpful position, so a lengthy search ensued before they were located at 9.30pm. We had been assisted by RAF Valley, 5 SARDA dogs and a helicopter from RAF Boulmer. After the couple had been located by team members the helicopter evacuated everyone to the valley bottom, saving another couple of hours while we rounded everyone up! It was a fine, cold, moonlit night, only complicated by patchy ground mist making landing the helicopter in the valley bottom a bit tricky.
8. Fellwalking Scaw Crag Grasmere	5th February at 14.49	26	A 70-year-old woman slipped on an icy path and sustained a suspected fractured ankle. She was treated by the team and evacuated to the roadside where we were met by an ambulance.
9. Fellwalking Blea Moss Gt Langdale	7th February at 16.37	28	A man slipped and sustained an ankle fracture on an icy path. He was treated by team members and then transported to hospital.
10. Fellwalking Stickle Tarn path Gt Langdale	16th February at 15.04	12	We received report that a woman had fractured both ankles after she had jumped into the ghyll. We arrived but were unable to find anyone! An investigation revealed that the pain had subsided and she had been able to make her way down with help from her companions and had been taken away in a minibus. We went home. A remarkable recovery.
11. Fellwalking Oak Howe Gt Langdale	16th February at 15.04	18	We were requested to assist the ambulance service when a man suffered chest pains on a path near Oak Howe. The team attended and helped load the man into an air ambulance for onward transport to Furness General Hospital.
12. Fellwalking Helm Crag Grasmere	23rd February at 20.59	70	A couple contacted the Police to say that they were lost on Helm Crag near a 'monument'. The 'monument on Helm Crag' turned out to be the Trig Point on High Raise. At this point things got a bit busy. The couple were eventually retrieved by members of Coniston MRT who came through to assist after LAMRT were requested to attend a serious rail crash near Kendal.
13. Rail Crash Grayrigg Nr Kendal	23rd February at 21.12	133	The team was contacted along with many others to assist when a train derailed from an embankment near Grayrigg, Kendal. We assisted by ferrying the injured from a casualty clearing station to waiting helicopters, and searching surrounding fields for people who may have walked away from the train. It was a long night for all involved. We finally closed down our base a 6.30 a.m.
Team members wait with other emergency services to help. The wrecked train is just visible in the background on the left.
14. Fellwalking Scaw Crag Grasmere	2nd March at 15.00	17	We were requested by Cumbria Ambulance Service to assist a man who had sustained an ankle injury. We found him, splinted his leg and evacuated him to Ambleside.
Fellwalking Crinkle Crag Gt Langdale	3rd March at 16.22	1	We successfully talked down a couple who were lost on Crinkle Crag. They took a bit of a detour, but found their way down via Ore Gap and Rossett Ghyll
Team leader tests equipment before evacuation.
15. Fellwalking Dove Crag Ambleside	3rd March at 18.02	117	One of a group of 4 women couldn't move after she suffered a knee injury. They were in the area celebrating a 40th birthday. They called for help, but there was initial confusion when an emergency call handler got mixed up and called out a Yorkshire Cave Rescue Team! Eventually we were called and we went to find them. They gave their position as between Low and High Pike, but were located near the summit of Dove Crag. One was stretchered off and the other 3 were assisted down. We enjoyed a fine evening and an eclipse of the moon on the way down. We were assisted by members of Kendal MRT. On the way up to this rescue one team member disappeared up to his armpits in the 'infamous' Fairfield bog. We'll call him Olly to avoid confusion with any other team member. Olly later turned 30 (at midnight), but given that he was covered in mud and smelled bad, he didn't get too many kisses. He was made to stand down wind for the rest of the evening. We sent him home for a hosing down. Rumours that he spent the remainder of the night in his garden shed are yet to be confirmed.
Rescue with a view. The group are attended to in our bivvi tent, while the moon prepares to eclipse
Shiny happy people. A night out in Manchester was the alternative.
Packaged and ready to go.
16. Fellwalking Crinkle Crags Gt Langdale	3rd March at 18.05	119	Never content to deal with one rescue at a time, we were also requested to look for two men who had become stuck on Crinkle Crags. They weren't certain which hill they were on, and thought they may have been on Bowfell. They were located on Gunson Knott and escorted off. Base closed down at 2 a.m. Again, assisted by Kendal MRT.
17. Fellwalking Low Pike Fairfield	8th March at 21.00	35	A man became benighted when his torch battery failed. He was located just south of Low Pike and escorted down to our vehicle.
18. Rock Climbing Jackdaw Crag Grasmere	21st March at 13.47	36	A young male climber fell while trying to retreat from a route. His gear failed, allowing him to fall about 7 metres to the ground. He suffered spinal injuries, later confirmed as fractured T8 & T9 vertebra, and other multiple, less serious injuries. He was treated at the scene by team members, including full spinal immobilisation, and oxygen, and evacuated to West Cumberland Infirmary by RAF helicopter.
Head guard secured over casualty to protect him from helicopter down-wash.
Team members take cover as helicopter passes over! Winchman is just visible leaving the helicopter.
A quick chat with the winchman before departure.
19. Fellwalking Todd Crag Ambleside	28th March at 16.10	4	A couple lost the path on Todd Crag. They phoned 999 for help and the team was requested to assist them. We were unable to make contact with them by phone, so a small search was organised to find them, because we couldn't contact them it was unclear if there were any injuries involved. Before we found them, they spotted another walker and got directions back to the path they had lost. They then contacted the Police to say that they were OK. The team stood down. We eventually made contact with them and established that they were OK. We left them to it.
20. Fellwalking Silver How Gt Langdale	2nd April at 13.46	40	A woman slipped on a footpath and sustained a fractured tibia and fibula. Her injury was splinted and she was given pain relief, then stretchered to the valley floor with assistance from Kendal MRT.
21. Scrambling Dungeon Ghyll Gt Langdale	5th April at 13.21	60	A 64-year-old man was hit by rockfall in the bottom of the ghyll. This caused a serious lower leg injury. He was treated by team members with oxygen and given pain relief, then evacuated to hospital by a helicopter from RAF Boulmer.
Treatment is administered
Casualty is prepared for the arrival of the helicopter. You can start to see why it's called 'Dungeon Ghyll'!
Helicopter approaching.
And away.
22. Rock Climbing Raven Crag Gt Langdale	5th April at 22.38	3	Lights were reported as flashing on the crags above the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel. Team members investigated, but saw nothing but stars.
23. Fellwalking Just below Esk Hause Shelter Gt Langdale	9th April at 13.24	75	A 13-year-old boy with a group was reported as having collapsed and drifting in and out of consciousness. He was also reported as cold and exhausted. The team set off to find them. We received mixed reports about his condition while en-route, so requested a helicopter to assist. We find him, treated him and carried him below the cloud-base to Angle Tarn where we were met by a helicopter from RAF Valley. He was flown to Lancaster hospital along with one of the group leaders.
24. Fellwalking Ivy Crag Loughrigg	26th April at 12.25	5	A man sustained an injury to his hamstring while walking. His friend went for help and the team attended and sorted him out. We were assisted by Kendal MRT.
25. Fellwalking Crinkle Crags to Moasdale Langdale	28th April at 21.00	10	A group that started at 20, reduced to 14, then seemed to reduce to 7, were reported overdue and delayed by one or two of their party suffering from dehydration and ankle injuries. The whole affair seemed so complicated that we went to have a look up Moasdale, having had a brief chat with Wasdale MRT. We just arrived at the bottom of Moasdale when we were notified that they had all returned to their accommodation and all had been accounted for.
26. Fellwalking Rossett Ghyll Gt Langdale	3rd May at 22.45	58	A party of three men got into difficulties when one of them suffered a reoccurrence of a leg injury. They struggled on until the injured man could go no further and then called for help. We located the men partway up the Rossett Ghyll path and stretchered the injured man off. The last of us were back in bed by 3am.
Casualty spirited through the night.
27. Scrambling Middlefell Buttress Gully Gt Langdale	5th May at 19.56	52.5	A 17-year-old woman was scrambling up the descent gully adjacent to Middlefell Buttress with a group of friends. They encountered rockfall, and one of them was hit on the head. She sustained an open, depressed skull fracture and injuries to her hand and arm. Their shouts for help were reported from the valley below, and the alarm was raised. The team found her badly injured and in a precarious position, being prevented from falling further by her companion. She was treated with spinal immobilisation and oxygen and evacuated by helicopter to Furness General Hospital. We had intended to move her to a safer position for winching, but her condition deteriorated and she was airlifted immediatly, despite the significant risk of further rockfall. After assessment at Furness General, she was moved on to Preston Royal Infirmary for neurosurgery.
The team trying to stabilise the young woman, both medically and physically!
28. Fellwalking Far Easedale Grasmere	8th May at 15.50	6	A fellow walker reported a man as making very slow progress with a leg injury up near Greenup Edge. Although the man insisted he was OK the walker reported his concerns. We sent a small party to check on him and found him struggling down, in need of a drink. We escorted him the rest of way, and gave him a lift to his accommodation.
29. Fellwalking Upper Easedale, above Eel Crag Grasmere	14th May at 16.30	72	A Swiss woman, walking with friends, slipped and sustained a fracture right ankle. She was treated with pain relief, a splint and stretchered off. We were assisted by one Keswick, one Kendal and two Rossendale MRT members, who happened to be in the area at the time, and who offered their services.
It was a little wet underfoot!
30. Fellwalking Upper Dungeon Ghyll Gt Langdale	17th May at 16.15	36	A man in his 50's, who was part of a larger group, suffered a panic attack on the path at the upper end of Dungeon Ghyll. There was a little confusion as to whether they were in Stickle Ghyll, and we were unable to re-establish communications with the group. We received a message that part of the group were making their way down. Upon meeting them at the bottom, we were helped by the fact that the group were able to confirm the location as Dungeon Ghyll, but were pointing up at Stickle Ghyll! We eventually located the man, and with some 'encouragement' were able to get him down. The group were ill-prepared both in terms of equipment and experience for their trip and had been up on the hill for much longer than they had anticipated.
31. Fellwalking Crinkle Crags and Bowfell Gt Langdale	22nd May at 20.56	36	A group of 3 teenagers became lost, somewhere in the Bowfell/Crinkle Crags area. We were able to contact them by mobile phone and eventually located them near the electric fence, near Red Tarn. They had set off quite late and were in danger of being overtaken by darkness. Everyone was heading for bed by midnight.
32. Fellwalking Bright Beck Gt Langdale	26th May at 15.45		A man sustained head injuries when he fell in Bright Beck. Another also received similar injuries when he tried to stop the first man falling. The team was called and treated both men and they were assisted from the fell.
33. Local incident New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel Gt Langdale	26th May at 17.49	3	As we were packing up in the car park having completed the previous rescue, we were approached by a family with a 4-year-old boy, who had severed the top of his finger having shut in a car door. No ambulance was available for some time, so we treated him and took him through to hospital in ours
34. Rock Climbing Lower Scout Crag Gt Langdale	28th May at 14.33		A 40-year-old man fell while climbing, ripping two pieces of protection on the way to hitting the ground. He sustained head, leg and arm injuries. An ambulance was initially called, but requested our assistance due to the location. The man was treated at the scene with spinal immobilisation, pain relief, his ankle was splinted and he was evacuated to the valley bottom for onward transfer to hospital by air ambulance.
Initial treatment.
Vacuum mattress and stretcher made ready.
Helicopter attempts to land at the scene, before giving up and landing in the field below.
Lifting on to the stretcher
Finally arriving at helicopter.
35. Fellwalking Stickle Tarn Gt Langdale	6th June at 8.46	21	A 22-year-old woman was camping with friends and had sprained her ankle the previous day. They spent the night at Stickle Tarn, hoping to be able to walk down. She was unable to bear weight, so we were called and evacuated her to the valley bottom. It was an early start. As a rule we're not accustomed to rescuing people before lunch. One or two ream members hadn't managed breakfast, and another showed signs of not having brushed his hair and teeth yet. We were assisted by 5 members of Kendal MRT
36. Rock Climbing Raven Crag Gt Langdale	8th June at 22.30	2	Lights were reported flashing on Raven Crag, seen from the National Trust campsite. We were unable to find the informant at the campsite, but an investigation revealed only climbers packing up, having walked down of the crag after a late session.
Some advise on flashing lights			Lights can 'flash' for many reasons. We once went to the top of Harrison Stickle only to find campers trying to hide the fact that they had been playing football by torch-light. A star, low on the horizon, can flash when observed by a slightly drunk person! Someone walking down a path after dark by the light of a headtorch can appear to be flashing their lights, as their line of sight alternates between distant to underfoot. This is a common cause of 'flashing' lights. In determining whether the lights are 'flashing' it's worth trying to work out if they are stationary or moving up or down. As a rule lights going uphill don't need rescuing. Lights going downhill PROBABLY don't need rescuing. Only stationary lights probably warrant some serious study. Obviously any flashing lights accompanied by shouts for help need further investigation.
37. Mountain Biking Loughrigg Terrace Grasmere	13th June at 13.55	22	A 24-year-old male mountain biker took a fall on Loughrigg Terrace. He sustained head and back injuries, damaging his helmet in the process. He was treated at the scene and transferred to an ambulance for onward transport to hospital.
38. Fellwalking Rydal Lake shore Grasmere	3rd July at 17.33	15	A young man sustained an ankle injury. He was recovered by the team.
39. Fellwalking Pike O'Blisco Gt Langdale	5th July at 17.33	18	A man made a navigational error and became exhausted on the lower slopes of Pike O'Blisco, above Blea Tarn. He called for help and was escorted from the fell by team members.
40. Fellwalking Fairfield Grasmere	5th July at 19.15	35	While the previous rescue was drawing to a close, we were requested by the Police to assist a couple lost in mist and rain near the summit of Fairfield. They were eventually located and escorted, unhurt, to the valley bottom. During this rescue we were made aware of two other missing persons. One was a possible suicide attempt or maybe overdue from a fishing trip who turned up! Another was overdue from Scafell, but turned up at dusk, before we became concerned about him.
41. Fellwalking Orrest Head Windermere	7th July at 16.45	12	An American woman slipped on a path below Orrest Head and sustained a fractured ankle. The team was called to assist the ambulance that had responded initially.
42. Fellwalking Orrest Head Windermere	11th July at 16.48	12	A French woman slipped and sustained a fractured ankle. The team attended and treated her. She was transferred to an ambulance for onward travel to hospital.
43. Fellwalking Pike O'Blisco Gt Langdale	14th July at 12.01	39	A woman from Yorkshire injured her knee on the top of Pike O'Blisco. The team was called and treated her injuries. She was stretchered off with assistance from Kendal MRT
Stretcher being assembled.
You can't get much nearer the top.
Nearly ready to leave.
44. Fellwalking Sergeant Man Gt Langdale	15th July at 15.15	30	A 13-year-old girl became separated from her parents while descending to Stickle Tarn. A search was organised with help from a RAF helicopter. She was eventually located after we received a report that she had been adopted by a passing couple, and had been taken to the hotel in Grasmere where the family were due to stay.
45. Fellwalking Easedale Tarn Grasmere	15th July at 15.20	1	While the previous job was ongoing we were alerted to the plight of a man who had become stuck on steep, bracken covered ground above Easedale Tarn. He didn't have a map, but was talked down onto safe ground by a team member.
46. Fellwalking Kellbarrow Grasmere	17th July at 08.00	15	A man became cragfast after getting stuck on steep ground, losing the path and not being able to find his way down. He spent the night out, hoping to get down first thing, but still couldn't. He called for help on his mobile phone and was located by the team and escorted down, unhurt.
47. Fellwalking Raise Beck Grasmere	22nd July at 14.23	28	A 70-year-old man collapsed, unconscious, possibly due to a faint while descending. His friends provided first aid and called for help. We administered treatment and requested the assistance of a helicopter that we knew to be in the area. The man was stretchered down to the road where he was transferred to the helicopter and taken to the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle
48. Fellwalking Harrison Stickle Gt Langdale	28th July at 20.20	2	A woman descending from Harrison Stickle saw and heard a dog barking incessantly and refusing to follow her down. She was concerned that it was doing a 'Lassie' and marking the position of its fallen master. She reported it and we started to investigate. It was soon discovered to be a lost hound that, we were assured by its owner, would eventually find its own way down. We packed up and went home.
49. Fellwalking Nr Easedale Tarn Grasmere	31st July at 16.30	18	A woman slipped and sustained an ankle injury. They initially called an ambulance and gave a grid reference 1.5 kilometres from the correct location. The ambulance service scrambled the air ambulance and then called us to assist. Three team members were airlifted to the cas-site to assist the air crew in moving the woman from were she fell to the helicopter. We then escorted her husband down to the valley bottom.
50. Fellwalking Blea Rigg Gt Langdale	31st July at 17.43	3.5	While the previous incident was going on we were requested to assist a family of 5 who were lost somewhere. A lot of detective work identified 3 possible locations. We gave them advise and directions and they eventually located a body of water which may have been Stickle or Easedale Tarn. They subsequently contacted us to say that they had made it down.
51. Fellwalking Wansfell Ambleside	12th August at 17.55	14	A man and a boy became cragfast on a steep, bracken-covered slope after losing the way down from Wansfell. They were from overseas and had a disproportionate fear of the local wildlife, which is much less dangerous and aggressive than they imagined.
52. Fellwalking Langdale to Scafell Gt Langdale	12th August at 21.03	8	A man and two boys where reported overdue from Scafell to the campsite at Great Langdale. A search was organised along with SARDA and Wasdale MRT, but was called off when the party where located in a taxi, having descended into the wrong valley.
53. Fellwalking Grasmere to Ambleside Rydal	14th August at 18.30	72	A young woman, reported as depressed, failed to return from her walk. There was concern for her well being, and when we managed to contact her, she was where she was, other than she was on steep ground and couldn't move. A search was organised and after some problems finding her she was eventually located, unhurt, on Lanty Scar, near Rydal.
54. Fellwalking Esk Hause Gt Langdale	15th August at 18.30	1	A mother and two young children, 6 and 3 years old, were reported missing. We were requested by Keswick MRT to assist in the search for them. They turned up as our end of the operation was being organised.
55. Fellwalking Eagle Crag Grasmere	16th August at 18.25	2	A family of four missed a rendezvous at Eagle Crag for lunch with an additional family member. They were reported as missing but turned up at their planned accommodation while initial inquiries were being made.
			We have recently coined the phrase 'bracken-fast' This is a variation of the common problem of being cragfast. Instead of being unable to move because of being trapped on steep ground with no obvious way up or down (every body has their own personal limit in this respect), the victim is simply overwhelmed by the height and ferocity of the bracken. Fear of falling over some unseen edge and in one case fear of unseen, unknown and imagined dangerous animals, or lacking the strength to fight the tangle of bracken have all been experienced this year by the team. Has the bracken become thicker, taller or more malevolent this summer than before, or is it just one of those statistical blips we enjoy every now and again? You may have your own theory.
56. Fellwalking Harrison Stickle Gt Langdale	22nd August at 14.51	31	A woman fell on the summit of Harrison Stickle, sustaining a wrist fracture and minor head injury. She was treated by team members and evacuated to the valley with help from Kendal MRT. She was then transferred to hospital by them as well.
57. Rock Climbing Raven Crag Gt Langdale	22nd August at 21.30	1	Lights were reported on Raven Crag. They had appeared to be stationary for a long time, but investigation revealed them to be making steady progress to the valley floor, so they were left to their own devices.
58. Mountain Biking Garburn Track Windermere	25th August at 17.50	17	A 37-year-old female mountain biker sustained head, facial and knee injuries when she fell off her bike on the Garburn Road. She was treated by team members and transferred to hospital in a team vehicle.
59. Rock Climbing Dow Crag Coniston	25th August at 21.30	26	We were requested to assist Coniston MRT with the recovery of two climbers who had become cragfast on Dow Crag. The weather was clagged in and they were having trouble locating them. Just before we arrived the clouds cleared and they managed to find them, just leaving us to help with the walk out. A late night for all concerned. As the weather cleared out we spotted a moonbow. This subsequently led to much Googling to explain the phenomena. Better than sitting at home watching Big Brother and getting old. The moonbow can now be added to the shooting starts spotted a few years ago.
60. Scrambling Red Screes Ambleside	26th August at 12.03	25	A man phoned for help when he became cragfast after scrambling up the hill with his son. He managed to get stuck in a steep, wet, moss-filled gully. He was stabilised initially by two SARDA dog handlers training in the area, and extracted from the gully once we arrived with ropes and kit. It was fine day to be out on the fells.
61. Fellwalking Whorneyside Force Gt Langdale	26th August at 17.40	27.5	We were requested to assist a man who had suffered a suspected ankle fracture. He had made some progress downhill, but eventually had to give up and sent his wife to raise the alarm. We did our stuff, while simultaneously feeding most of Great Langdales midges.
62. Fellwalking Crinkle Crags Gt Langdale	27th August at 00.20	6	Lights were reported flashing and fading near the top of Crinkle Ghyll. We went to investigate, but saw and found nothing. We subsequently received an email from someone who had enjoyed a late night walk and bivvi and who was apologising for the inconvenience if it was him. It was a fine night, and would have made a very pleasant evenings activity.
63. Fellwalking Far Easedale Grasmere	28th August at 12.01	30	A 61-year-old woman tripped and sustained a suspected fractured wrist. She was treated by team members, and evacuated to the valley for onward transfer to hospital. We subsequently found out her wrist was fractured in two places when we bumped into them in Ambleside a day or so later.
64. Fellwalking Todd Crag Ambleside	28th August at 00.20	4.5	Lights were reported flashing on Todd Crag. An investigation found only campers. The two team members who trotted up the hill spotted a badger on the descent. We're hoping to get Bill Oddie and Patrick Moore to join the team and we can have natural history and astronomy lessons while we're out.
Fellwalking Scafell to Langdale Gt Langdale	31st August at 22.45	0.5	We were contacted by Wasdale MRT regarding a report of two men overdue at a rendezvous with a friend while completing the four 'Three Thousanders'. We were in the process of formulating a plan when we were notified that contact had been made and that they were OK.
65. Fellwalking Crinkle Crags Gt Langdale	1st September at 13.45	18	Two men phoned to say they were stuck on Crinkle Crags, and that one of them was too tired to be able to descend un-assisted. They were able to give us a 10-figure grid reference, supplied by someone with a GPS, who was going in the wrong direction to help them off. We sent a couple of team members up to locate them, but before they got there the two had grown to six after they were joined by another lost party. All were returned to the valleys from whence they came.
66. Fellwalking Pavey Arc Gt Langdale	4th September at 13.51	44	This mans injuries were reported as a suspected fractured collar bone. It turned out to be a fractured humorus. Team members were dispatched, and an air ambulance was requested to assist. It flew in and was able to uplift some team members to the scene, were treatment was administered and the man was evacuated. The rest of the group were escorted off the fell.
Man being assisted to air ambulance

67. Fellwalking Pike O'Stickle Gt Langdale	8th September at 14.45	41.25	A woman was reported with head and hip injuries after a fall near the summit of Pike O'Stickle. The team set off, and a helicopter was requested because of the potential seriousness of her problem. Team members arrived at the site and administered treatment, before she was loaded into a helicopter from RAF Boulmer and flown to West Cumberland Infirmary.
Treatment administered
Not a bad day for flying round the Lakes.
68. Rock Climbing Lower Scout Crag Gt Langdale	8th September at 18.00	20	We were driving home from the previous incident and had just passed Scout Crag when we were notified of an incident there. We turned around and found a woman who had injured her knee while climbing. Her climbing partner had lowered her to the bottom of the crag, but they hadn't been able to get a further, because she couldn't put her weight on it. The poor woman admitted that she was getting married in a few weeks, so had to endure a run of poor jokes about hiding the cast on her leg under her dress and having to go up the aisle on roller skates. Hopefully she'll be OK, and we wish her well for the day! Her climbing partner was also going to be her Bridesmaid, and was taking a lot of of photos, so I'm sure she hadn't heard the end of it.
69. Shouts for help Little Langdale	15th September at 11.45	8	Shouts for help and whistles were heard in Little Langdale. We went to investigate and found a number of items including, buoyancy aids and rucsacs unattended, but nobody in obvious need of help. We gave the area a good looking at then went home.
70. Fellwalking Far Easedale	16th September at 13.30	82	The team was paged to assist a 68-year-old American woman who had sustained an ankle injury up near Greenup Edge. The team attended and found wild conditions with rapidly rising water levels. The woman's injuries were treated and she was given pain relief. Anticipating problems with the evacuation, a helicopter was requested to assist. It arrived and evacuated the woman to Furness General Hospital. Kendal MRT also came along to assist in case the helicopter couldn't make it through the weather. The remainder of the group were escorted down the hill. We encountered a very difficult river crossing on the way down and had to assist a number of people across a waist deep raging torrent. A number of people took an involuntary swim in the process.
71. Fellwalking Far Easedale	16th September at 16.30	37.5	While escorting the remainder of the party down, one of them succumbed to the cold, having been one of the people who'd taken a swim earlier. We requested the helicopter to return and also dispatched a second stretcher from the valley bottom. The helicopter managed to return, despite having developed a fuel problem and the man was airlifted to join the earlier casualty in Furness General Hospital.
72. Fellrunning Red Screes	22nd September at 12.53	32.5	A woman in her 30's sustained a nasty gash to her shin while reccy-ing a route for a forthcoming fell race. She was treated by team members, and carried down to the car park. She was then transferred to hospital by her running companion.
73. Rock climbing Gimmer Crag, Gt Langdale	22nd September at 21.42	47.25	Shouts for help were reported on Gimmer Crag by passing walkers. A couple of team members went to check them out and heard them clearly. We were unable to establish what the problem was, so the remainder of the team were paged to assist. We made our way up with crag and first aid gear, and eventually made voice contact with two climbers, who were uninjured but cragfast without lights. Sometime during the night two men were reported overdue with friends at the Old Dungeon Ghyll. We were able to establish that it was the same two. A team member was belayed across a wet and precarious series of ledges to the men. They were then lowered to the bottom of the crag. The team member then made his way back to the rest of us and we descended, meeting up with the two men and other team members at the crag bottom, then descended to the valley floor. Somewhere around 2.30am the weather turned thoroughly unpleasant, with strong winds and heavy rain squalls. Team members were finally able to fall into their beds around 5am. It was a long night. We were assisted by Kendal MRT, who helped us on the crag, and also provided a back up plan, whereby they went up to the top of the crag and abseiled down to them, if we hadn't succeeded with the traverse method. Hopefully climbers all over the country, and walkers as well, will be checking batteries, or rushing out to the shops to buy head torches as the nights draw in. Here's hoping!
74. Fellwalking Scandale Pass Ambleside	24th September at 15.06	45.5	A 77-year-old man who was part of a walking group of 15 collapsed, apparently of hypothermia, near the top of Scandale Pass. The team was called to assist, while the group leader took the sensible decision to bring the bulk of the rest of the group down, leaving couple of people to stay with the casualty. The team arrived and treated the man, and stetchered him down to our base. He was seen by a Doctor at Lowfold, and subsequently transferred to hospital by ambulance for further treatment.
75. Scrambling Jacks Rake, Gt Langdale	25th September at 09.51	47.5	We were called to assist a man who had become cragfast while trying, perhaps mistakenly, to climb Jacks Rake. Team members scrambled up to him and aided him back to the bottom of the crag on the end of a rope. At his request we left him there to continue his walk on gentler ground, while we returned to do the sort of stuff we would normally do at this time of day. Given that some of us were still recovering from Saturday night, this didn't exclude a nap.
This is what mountain rescue team members look like from below
76. Fellwalking Mickleden Gt Langdale	3rd October at 13.03	8	A 90-year-old man tripped and fell while walking. He felt dizzy and nauseous as a result. We were able to drive our 4WD ambulance to him and took him to see a local GP for a once-over.
77. Fellwalking Blindtarn Moss Grasmere	3rd October at 17.53	37.5	We played hide and seek with three men for over 5 hours after they were unable to find a way down from Hight Raise. Cloud had descended it was going dark. Initial efforts to talk them down via phone were eventually abandoned in favour of the more direct approach of flashing blue lights from various valley bottoms until they saw them, and then going up and getting them. At one point, prior to us meeting up with them, they fell out with each other and parted company. We explained that they should get together again, since we were only looking for them once! It was raining. They weren't in possession of the greatest survival instinct we've experienced. There's little else to be said.
78. Rock Climbing Gimmer Crag Gt Langdale	6th October at 11.01	42	It was a nice day for climbing, but there's never a good day to fall off. A climber took a big fall, pendulumming into the rock face and ending up briefly unconscious, dangling from the end of the rope. He was lowered to a ledge by other climbers on the crag. He was then treated by team members and evacuated to West Cumberland Hospital by a helicopter from RN Gannett. He suffered concussion,suspected fractured skull, facial and suspected spinal injuries.
Casualty evacuated by Royal Navy Seaking. Photo courtesy of D. Mitchell
79. Fellwalking Dollywagon Pike Grasmere	6th October at 14.35	37.5	A 60-year-old man collapsed with severe abdominal pain. The call initially went through to Patterdale MRT, and because the exact location was uncertain, they called us. An air ambulance was also called. It arrived before us, but we carried on and met the 13 remaining members of the group, of which he was the leader. They were assisted to the road and the man was flown to Carlisle Hospital.
80. Fellwalking Fairfield Grasmere	7th October at 17.45	19.25	Two women lost their way off Fairfield. They had found a path and thought they were heading for Rydal. They had no torches and would become stuck when it went dark. They phoned for help, and after a few questions we were able to establish that they were actually going in the opposite direction and were heading for the Patterdale side of the hill. We contacted Patterdale MRT and they arranged for a search of the possible routes off in their direction, while we searched the routes on our side, based on a lack of confidence in their ability to use a compass. They were located by Patterdale team members at 19.30, and returned to our care in a 'Spy who came in from the cold' scenario at the top of Kirkstone Pass. We were also assisted by a search dog.
81. Fellwalking Crinkle Crags Gt Langdale	7th October at 17.46	24	A woman phoned to say that she become stuck in mist and was unable to find her way off Crinkle Crags. She had located the electric fence and we found her near Red Tarn. She was also on the hill without a torch. She was escorted off the fell and returned to safety.
82. Fellwalking Langdale Pikes Gt Langdale	9th October at 17.21	54	A 60-year-old man fell and suffered a superficial bang on the head. They also didn't actually know where they where, other than somewhere in the Langdale Pikes area. This was the real problem, and he was due to take medication for epilepsy at 6pm. Detective work identified a number of possible locations, with the most likely being Bright Beck. This turned out to be correct, and he was located, along with his wife, and returned to the valley.
			This is the 3rd incident recently and the nth of many, where the victims went up a mountain without any realistic possibility of getting back down without assistance. This is entirely preventable with sensible and simple preparation. Don't be too ambitious, set off early enough to complete the route before dark, take a torch, learn to navigate, and to quote Gordon Ramsey, 'get some balls'. There aren't many hills in the Lakes that don't have a simple valley route down from, that in turn, won't lead you to a road, village or town. It might not be where you parked your car, but that's a minor inconvenience compared to the inconvenience of 18 team members giving up 3 hours of their lives to sort you out! This may seem harsh, but the problem is getting worse, and will almost certainly continue to do so.
83. Fellwalking Crinkle Crags Gt Langdale	12th October at 16.58	11	Then it happened again! A couple phoned to say they were lost and it was becoming dark. They were near the fence again, so we were able to send them in the right direction. We were driving up to meet them and make sure they were off the hill, when we were contacted to say that they had made it to the valley bottom. Their problem was compounded by their lack of torches.
84. Fellwalking Crinkle Crags Gt Langdale	12th October at 19.51	18	And then again. It's not funny! This time four people, but essentially exactly the same problem. This time we had to go and get them, because it had already gone dark, and they were going nowhere without help.
85. Fellrunning Loughrigg summit Gt Langdale	24th October at 16.45	37.25	A man was found fitting and unconscious on the summit of Loughrigg. The team was called and went to his aid. When we arrived he had started to come round and was being cared for by a passing GP. He was initially aggressive uncooperative and non-communicative. He didn't want to be stretchered down. He was eventually talked into walking down, and passed on to the ambulance service for further care.
Fellwalking Blea Rigg Gt Langdale	25th October at 15.00	1	A couple phoned for help after becoming lost and unable to find a way down. We were just trying to work out where they where when they were found by passing walkers who were able to show them the way. Nothing more to add that hasn't been said before, recently.
86. Fellwalking Dungeon Ghyll Gt Langdale	26th October at 12.40	30	A man stepped up to the edge of Dungeon Ghyll to take a photo and the edge gave way. He fell about 10 metres into the ghyll sustaining a pelvic injury on landing. He managed to scramble up the opposite side and shout for help. The alarm was raised and we went to help. He was secured in a vacuum mattress and evacuated across very nasty terrain to our ambulance for onward transfer to hospital. It turned out that he had fractured his pubic rami; the second injury of this nature this year, the first being incident 67. Part way down we were notified of another incident, which was dealt with by a few team members left at our base. On reaching the car park and loading the man in to our ambulance we were notified of incident 88. Team members hastily repacked and set off again.
The rami. No cycling for a week or two.
87. Fellwalking Far Easedale Grasmere	26th October at 13:22	9	A woman phoned, unable to locate a way of what she thought was Tarn Crag. She had become disorientated and was eventually located by team members near Deep Slack and escorted back to the valley.
88. Fellwalking Harrison Stickle Gt Langdale	26th October at 14.20	52.5 plus 45.5 KMRT	A man suffered a suspected ankle fracture near the summit of Harrison Stickle, continuing the trend our casualties seem to be developing for injuring themselves as near to the top of mountains as possible. Having just completed rescue 86, we requested help from Kendal MRT. The man was treated and the stretcher evacuation was started. Kendal MRT met us part way down and continued. You're probably thinking 'that was a busy day' at about his point, and so were we, but we were having such a great time we didn't want it to end. Thankfully it didn't and we got to go all the way back up again for incident 89.
89. Fellwalking Thunacar Knott Gt Langdale	26th October at 16.45	16 plus 32 KMRT	A young couple had completed the scramble of Jack's Rake, but had become disorientated having tried to walk from there to Harrison Stickle. They had wandered around trying to locate a way down, but failed. They phoned for help and were located by Search dog Kes, along for a day out with is Kendal MRT handler. They were escorted down by members of both teams who had gone up to look for them. Home to bed about 10.30pm. A long day, and the clocks haven't gone back yet!
90. Fellwalking Stickle Ghyll path Gt Langdale	27th October at 11.45	38.5	A woman felt faint, clammy and suffered breathing difficulties ascending Stickle Ghyll. The team was called and a helicopter was requested to assist. She was treated by team members and made ready for the helicopter, but the weather deteriorated and we had to carry her lower to a safer place for the helicopter to airlift her to hospital.



91. Fellwalking Helm Crag Grasmere	28th October at 17.58	2.5	A couple phoned for help because they were struggling getting down from Helm Crag without a torch. We went out to meet them and located them on the lower slopes of the hill, them having made reasonable progress by the light of their phone! A domestic will probably ensue as to who was responsible. The change in the clocks couldn't pass without incident. It wouldn't be right.
92. Fellwalking Stickle Tarn path Gt Langdale	29th October at 14.42	20	A 70-year-old woman sustained an ankle injury when she slipped on a damp path. She was treated by team members and evacuated to the valley from where she was taken to hospital by her husband in their own car.
93. Fellwalking Nr Codale Tarn Grasmere	2nd November at 17.35	28	A couple became lost and benighted when the went for a walk without a torch, whistle, compass or adequate clothing. Some people have got no sense of self-preservation. We retrieved them. We've done it before and we'll do it again, but it's a little repetitive. For us at least. I'm sure it's a bit of a novelty for the victims.
94. Scrambling Jack's Rake Gt Langdale	11th November at 14.13	33	A man was reported cragfast on Jack's Rake. We went and retrieved him.
95. Fellwalking Little Castle How Gt Langdale	15th November at 18.42	25	No torch....no daylight....no dinner.....
96. Fellwalking Three Tarns Gt Langdale	17th November at 17.50	84, plus 3 SARDA dogs and Duddon & Furness MRT	Two days on....No torch....no daylight....no dinner.....again....but that would have been so simple. Three men phoned to say they were benighted after losing their way on Crinkle Crags. At one point they had descended to Lingcove Beck, but had climbed back up, certain that they were heading north west to Three Tarns. They became stuck when it went dark. They gave us an approximate location near Three Tarns, on a grass slope, facing south east. They occassionally were able to see lights below them, but an initial search was drawing a blank, despite moving searchers around on the basis of the directions they were able to give us. By now we had drafted in 3 SARDA dogs to help locate them and were in the process of calling for assistance from Duddon & Furness MRT when we received a call from the Police telling us about shouts for help that were being reported from Ore Gap by wild campers. This area is some distance from where we were currently looking, but working on the principal that anyone shouting for help around midnight in the middle of nowhere probably needed help, irrespective of whether they turned out to be our missing men or not, was worth a look. These wild campers turned out to be the lights our victims were looking at! I'd like to make it clear that at this point the weather was diabolical. Strong winds and rain turning to snow.....Team members made their way around Bowfell and eventually reached the three at Ore Gap on a north facing slope, along with a SARDA dog handler, who'd come up Rossett Ghyll. They were quickly revived and got moving while other team members searching other areas made their way off the hill, and others made their way up with additional lighting to assist. The whole operation was completed by about 3.15am. The men were very cold but otherwise unharmed, but would have had a very uncomfortable night had a camper at Angle Tarn not a. been there, b. bothered to climb out of his sleeping bag and go out into some very unpleasant weather to check some faint shouts he'd heard, and c. climbed up the hill to get a mobile signal and report it! If our victims had stuck with their original escape plan and carried on down Lingcove Beck. If our victims hadn't left their torches in the car. If they hadn't mistaken north for north east. If...
Fellwalking Ambleside area	22nd November	1	Christopher John Dagleish was reported missing from his guest house. He was last seen in Ambleside on the morning of 22nd November. He was wearing walking clothing but left no indication of his intentions.
97. Fellwalking The Band Gt Langdale	23rd November at 15.36	42, plus Kendal MRT and Boulmer Helicopter	A man sustained a suspected fractured ankle near the top of The Band. He was treated by team members and airlifted to Ambleside by the RAF, then transported on to hospital by Kendal MRT.
98. Fellwalking Blea Crag, Easedale Grasmere	25th November at 12.50	37.75	A 64-year-old woman slipped and sustained a suspected dislocated shoulder. The team responded and stabilised her before loading her into the Great North Air Ambulance for onward transport to Lancaster hospital.
Fellwalking Pavey Arc Langdale	27th November at 13.45	1	Shouts and whistles were reported by a walker near Sergeant Man coming from the Pavey Arc area, although when we managed to speak to him, he wasn't able to be to specific. After some discussion it was decided to take no further action a this stage, because the man was certain that there were people much closer to the shouts than him, and if anything was amiss, they would report it. We heard nothing more.
99. Fellwalking Harrison Stickle Gt Langdale	27th November at 15.09	4.5	A man and his partner phoned for help when they were unable to locate a path down from Harrison Stickle. This was despite being able to see clearly down to Stickle Tarn. We managed, after some considerable time, to talk them down to a point where they intersected a path, and were confident they could manage the remainder of the way unassisted.
Fellwalking Rydal	6th December at 18.00	1	A man and his partner phoned for help when they were unable to locate the path from the 'Hole in the Wall', at the bottom of Loughrigg Terrace, back to the car park at White Moss. A brief telephone conversation pointed them in the right direction and they were able to locate their car.
Fellwalking Baystones Wansfell	8th December at 12.53	2	A man and his partner phoned for help when they were unable to locate the way down from Baystone, Wansfell. There's little more can be said.
100. Rock climbing Raven Crag Gt Langdale	9th December at 17.39	39	Three climbers became cragfast when, surprise, surprise, it went dark! We eventually tracked them down, reunited them with their boots and escorted them to the bottom of the crag, via their bags.
In a recent survey of dark nights, this one came out a favourite. The quality of the darkness was 'highly commended'
Phil tests out the new 'Glowing Gloves'. He was rumoured to be 'very pleased' with them
101. Fellwalking Little Castle Crag Grasmere	19th December at 13.36	20	We were alerted by the air ambulance that they were attending a collapsed male walker on Little Castle Crag, and they requested our help. A team member walking close by was directed to assist. The man was reported to have died by the helicopter crew, and his body was transported to the valley floor along with his wife.
102. Fellwalking Crinkle Crag Gt Langdale	23rd December at 15.49	20.25	A man phoned the Police after he lost the path on Crinkle Crags. He had previously lost his map, and had no compass or torch. He was given instructions to make progress down as quickly as possible while it was still light. We subsequently lost phone contact with him. We started to organise a search, with help from two SARDA dogs and Wasdale MRT. As rescuers were being deployed we were contacted by the Police to say that he had phoned in from Brotherilkeld to say he was safely down. It would seem that he was not as far along Crinkle Crags as he thought he was, or he ran down.
	28th December		It was confirmed today that a man's body, recovered from Moasdale just before Christmas is that of Mr Christopher John Dalgleish, missing since 22nd November.
103. Fellwalking Broad Crag, Red Screes Ambleside	28th December at 16.40	62	A woman sustained a serious fracture and dislocation of her lower leg when she slipped while descending Red Screes. The team were called and found atrocious weather conditions, with heavy rain and very strong winds. The woman was treated, with a splint and pain relief, and a helicopter was requested to speed her evacuation. It arrived in the area, but was unable to help because of the weather, so the woman was carried down with help from Kendal MRT.
104. Fellwalking Helm Crag Grasmere	30th December at 12.14	30.25	A man slipped and sustained a serious open fracture on the summit of Helm Crag. The team attended and treated the man. An air ambulance was requested to evacuate the man. He was flown to Barrow and his wife was escorted to the valley bottom.
Fellwalking Bell Knotts Grasmere	31st December at 15.02	1.5	A group of four phoned for help after becoming lost in mist. While speaking to them on the phone the weather cleared out and they were able to make a reasonable guess of as to their location, and make a dash for lower levels. They later phoned to say they were safely down.
105. Fellwalking Red Screes Ambleside	31st December at 17.40	36	Two men were unable to find their way off Red Screes after taking longer to complete their walk than planned, and became stuck in the dark. They were located by team members and escorted down. All returned to base in time for 2008. If you've still got any money left, and didn't get a headtorch for Christmas, go and buy one tomorrow.
			a Google map of 2007's rescues