Incident Reports 1999

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Incident Report #72 1999

"Let's all meet-up in the year 2000"; sang Jarvis Cocker. You know him; he did a couple of good songs and pointed out that Michael Jackson was an egomaniac. Anyway, before we got chance to do this we had to meet one more time in 1999 to go and rescue this woman from high above Slapestone Edge. She had lost the path and got stuck in decreasing daylight. She was reported as in difficulty by three separate parties, not one of which went to her aid. We located her and returned her to her accommodation, just in time to join the party!

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Incident Report #71 1999

Surely nobody would venture up a steep, snow and ice covered hillside, dressed only in town clothes to take a photo of the sunset and then get stuck when it went dark? This kind of foolishness may result in a mountain rescue team being called out to rescue them before they fell or froze to death. Well sometimes the most unlikely things happen and in this case two brothers, aged 19 and 23, did just that.
Incident Type

Incident Report #66 1999

A couple in their 20s got into difficulty when they overestimated their ability and became benighted, cold and wet. They phoned for help on their mobile phone. We located them after a brief search, and assisted them from the fell. Apart from some damage to clothing, they were unscathed. Unfortunately, if they learned anything from their experience, it wasn't immediately obvious.
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Incident Report #52 1999

Number 3 of a busy day. We were asked to assist Kendal MRT with the treatment and evacuation of a woman who had collapsed suffering from the effects of heat. She was near the summit of Ill Bell. Before we got there a helicopter appeared from nowhere and took her away. It took us a bit by surprise, but it saved us a fair bit of sweat.
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Location

Incident Report #48 1999

We were called to assist a blind man and his wife who were making very slow progress. They had been delayed after getting lost and having to retrace their steps. Two men came across them. One stayed to help while the other one went ahead to get help. When we arrived at Stool End Farm the farmer had gone up on his quad-bike and brought them all down. The two men who helped then realised they had lost their car keys when one of them had slipped. They were put up at the farmhouse and they went home next day. It was unfortunate that they should suffer this inconvenience after helping the others.
Incident Type

Incident Report #47 1999

A 30-year-old woman was abseiling from a rock climb when her belays failed. She fell 60ft before coming rest on a ledge in a gully. The team worked for several hours to get her out, and then she was airlifted to hospital in Carlisle with multiple injuries. Two climbers in the vicinity went to her aid soon after her fall, and stayed with her the whole time. Their actions are worthy of praise; having suffered cold and rock falls to assist.
Incident Type

Incident Report #36 1999

People leaving the New Dungeon Ghyll hotel observed flashing lights from the valley. When team members arrived, they also saw them. When they arrived on the summit to investigate, they found approximately eight people scattered around the few flat bits sleeping peacefully. They denied any part in any flashing light type antics, but there seemed little likelihood that anyone else was involved.
 

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Incident Report #26 1999

Two men on a sponsored walk were reported overdue. They were amongst 20 or so unaccounted for, but for some reason were causing the organisers concern, when the others weren't. We found them after a brief search. We went home quickly before the status of any of the others changed. The organisers had a great plan in place with respect to emergencies, but like all plans they work really well until you introduce people into them! Mountain Rescue Teams in the Lake District share a common dislike for sponsored events on the hills.

Incident Type

Incident Report #15 1999

This location is becoming a favourite, and so are the circumstances. Lost in mist and unable to find their way off, this group of six used a mobile phone to ask for help. They were located by 'Paddy', a four-legged team member, and escorted off by some of our two legged team members. No one was injured. This was Paddy's first find.
 

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Incident Report #6 1999

Four separated parties met up on the summit of Long Top and phoned for help on a mobile when they became disorientated and frightened. A couple of fast team members were sent to locate them and start the descent, and a couple of ploddy ones followed up with more lights, hot drinks and a nameless chocolate bar to assist with the walk off. The worrying thing was that several of the party should never have been there in the first place, due to lack of experience.

Incident Type

Incident Report #5 1999

The team members who had managed to avoid the previous incident, (and we know who they were) were sent instead to Grizedale Tarn to check for the source of whistles that had been heard by two descending climbers. A search with dogs and personnel found nothing, but we later found out that an incident had occurred and the party had self-evacuated.
 

Incident Type
Location

Incident Report #4 1999

If ever we wanted to get revenge for the wild goose chase we had been sent on by Kendal MRT on the previous incident, then tonight was sweet. (We didn't really want revenge; it wasn't their fault). In the blue corner was an 18 stone, 6'8" man with a suspected fractured ankle, teamed up with icy conditions and darkness, and a long way from civilisation. In the red corner were LAMRT and Kendal MRT trying to rescue him. We did it, but it was a close fought battle and nearly a draw. Those involved took three or four days to recover and walk normally again.

Incident Type

Incident Report #3 1999

We were asked to assist Kendal MRT in the search for a 30-year-old man who had gone for a 'short walk' at 12.30 and was now well overdue. Information we received suggested he was in Kentmere, or Scout Scar near Kendal. He was eventually located at Sandside, a small village on the coast, (it's miles away from where we were looking!) so we all went home. You just have to be philosophical at times like this.
 

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