About Us
The Team attends over 100 incidents annually which vary from walkers who've lost their way to much more serious accidents and injuries. These incidents can take place at any time, day or night, and team members are expected to respond, often sacrificing work or family time.
Our response might involve deploying just a few team members, or it could involve the majority of the Team. We regularly receive support from adjacent mountain rescue teams and the emergency services and we are incredibly grateful for all the help they provide.
We operate in the heart of the Lake District. Our area covers the beautiful Langdale valley along with many other impressive peaks and picturesque villages.
Our team need a wide range of skills to be able to respond to people in need anywhere within our area (and sometimes outside it too). This requires team members to train at least once a week in order to keep their medical and technical skills up to date.
"
The word 'team' derives from the old English/Norse word for 'bridle'. It described a group of animals, harnessed together and pulling together to till the land. Ok, we may not be harnessed together, but for those of us in the team, we are all inextricably linked by one sole purpose, and that is to respond to a call for help from someone who is unlucky enough to be lost, injured or unwell in Cumbrian mountains, day or night, 365 days a year, no matter what the weather. We may not be tilling the land, as the old English/Norse word suggests, but there are many occasions, usually whilst carrying an injured person down the fellside in some of the worst conditions imaginable, where we all have to dig deep, put our backs into it, shoulder some of the weight and push forward. And, when I think about it, the team members do this whilst maintaining an unwavering sense of cheerfulness, optimism and camaraderie, no matter what challenges are faced.
Why do we do it? Well, that might be a difficult question to answer. Maybe it's a strong sense of service to others. Maybe it's an opportunity to help those in need; those like-minded people who, like us, also appreciate the majestic beauty of our Lake District landscape. Possibly it's the thought that, if we were the ones in trouble, someone might have done it for us, or maybe it's the simple fact that we are a team and when the call goes out we respond as such. Each of us knows that to not do so, to stay behind, makes the rescue slightly harder for our teammates who are at the sharp end. We're keen to help. We're keen to be there.
Each of us also appreciates that, on top of all the individual skills, abilities and attributes within the team, our greatest strength is in each other.
Whatever motivates us, there is one thing for certain; the members of the Langdale/Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team are ready to respond, ready to set aside what ever they may be doing and willing to put on hold whatever they may be up to so they can head out to help a stranger in need.
To lead such a team is an honour and a privilege.
"
Olly Benson, Langdale Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team Leader