Fellwalking

A Team member out on the fells came across a man who had collapsed and died of a suspected heart attack. He summoned assistance from the Team and with the help of a helicopter from RAF Boulmer the body was recovered.

A helicopter on a social visit to Ambleside was requested to attend an incident, along with a handful of Team members, at Lingmell End, to assist Kendal MRT with a man with a bad leg fracture.

Two brothers, one 23 and one 14, were crossing frozen snow on the Climbers Traverse below Bowfell summit when the young one became "frozen" by his situation. His brother told him to stay put while he went for help, and promptly slipped and slid 120 feet, coming to rest with severe leg lacerations and multiple cuts and bruises. He was found on the Rossett Ghyll path by walkers, who raised the alarm. After treatment at the scene he was helicoptered to hospital, and his brother was retrieved from the Climbers Traverse and dropped off in the valley.

Five students from Bradford decided that a trip to the Lakes would be a good idea after a hard night on the town. They arrived in the area mid afternoon. They wanted to go for a walk up Coniston Old Man but couldn't find it! (Coniston MRT- you don't know how lucky you were). They did manage to find the path up to Stickle Tarn and get about halfway up before becoming cragfast. It was 8p.m. when they set off. They had one torch and no decent clothing. It took them two hours to cover a distance that most people could cover in under half an hour.

A local woman reported hearing whistles. We started a search in the area, in cold, snowy conditions. Nothing was found. We decided it was probably a farmer sorting his sheep out, or kids enjoying the snow.

A 54 year old woman put her foot down a hole and fractured her ankle in six places. Her initial location was given by a grid reference, the wrong way round, and described as "by a wall". I am informed that there are only 50,000 miles of walls in the Lakes, so this information really helped us pin-point the location.

A 49 year old woman slipped and fractured her ankle.

This man was reported missing by his wife after a "domestic" at Brockhole Visitor Centre. He had stormed off and had a known heart condition. We looked around the obvious places but could find no sign. Further questioning suggested that he may have caught a train home, so we handed the problem back to the Police and went home.

A 50 year old man slipped and sustained injuries to his kneecap.

This 64 year old man was blown over by gale force winds and fractured his ankle. He was splinted at the scene and evacuated to an ambulance.

A party of three in their thirties phoned from "Three Tarns" to say they were lost in the mist and dark, and could we guide them off. This always difficult to do since if their exact location is not known then we can't know for sure where we're sending them, and having no torch didn't help. We sent a party up to locate them. On the phone one of them revealed that he had a "personal locator beacon", a device for locating crashed aircrews at sea. We discussed the matter with the RAF and they said they could pin-point it if a helicopter could fly low over it a couple of times.

A young man reported a group of four, four days overdue. We interviewed him about the four, but information he had was patchy. We started looking for them, but became suspicious of this man, and his story. We eventually realised that he had perpetrated a hoax, and a very elaborate one at that. He was arrested by the Police and we went home. He was subsequently fined and ordered to pay compensation.

A Duke of Edinburgh gold expedition was reported overdue at their Keswick rendezvous, from Patterdale. A number of Team members checked descent routes to Grasmere, but the search was called off when they turned up outside Keswick.

This man slipped and fractured his ankle. His friends did some first aid and started to carry him down. We arrived a bit later and finished the job.

A 45 year old woman slipped and fractured her ankle. We did the usual sort of stuff and carried her down. The good thing about the people we meet is that they've not heard our collection of not very amusing jokes, and they're fastened down and at our mercy.

A 39 year old man slipped and sustained head and arm injuries. He rapidly became Hypothermic. He was treated at the scene and then carried to Stake Pass, where after several attempts to get in, a Helicopter picked him up and flew him to a Newcastle hospital.

A 68 year old American woman slipped on steep fellside and sustained a leg fracture.

Two elderly women were walking when one slipped and pulled the other down with her. Both were treated for injuries, one for cuts and grazes and one for a fracture to the arm. One was stretchered off the fell, the other was walked off.

This incident was reported as requiring an Ambulance for leg injuries. The man was actually three miles up the fellside and suffering from debilitating chest pains. He was treated for his pain by Team members then airlifted to Furness General Hospital by a Royal Navy Helicopter. He was actually suffering from torn intercostal muscles, sustained several days earlier, but requiring heavy exertion to bring on the problem.

This lady slipped on the descent from Pike How and fractured her ankle. She was treated in the usual manner and carried off. She was able to remark on what an exciting ride down it was. You'd have to pay a fortune to get such a thrilling ride in a fairground, but we do it for free.

A foreign student on a led walk from Ambleside to Grasmere slipped and fractured his ankle on steep ground on the lake shore. He was treated and evacuated to an ambulance.

A man collapsed, probably from an epileptic fit. We were given the wrong location by the informant, and the casualty was located only after a brief search, and our ambulance being flagged down by a second person. The man was treated and taken to Ambleside Health Centre, and then on to Westmorland General Hospital.

This 21 year old man was bivi-ing out with his mate with a few cans of beer on a last bender before going into the Army, when he slipped in his trainers and fractured his ankle. Due to alcohol consumed the informant was unable to remember the location of his mate. "He was by a tree"??!! That narrowed it down a bit ! We eventually found him, by which time cold was numbing him in place of the alcohol. We did the business with his leg and carried him down.

This lady slipped on a steep path. An ambulance was called first, but was unable to evacuate her, so we were called.

A 14 year old girl slipped while walking with a school party and injured her ankle. The leader was all fired up to evacuate the girl using a climbing rope and the rest of the party, but common sense prevailed and he called us instead. There's a time and place for self help and a group of hot, tired 13 year olds is neither. It's much easier to evacuate one casualty from the fell than 5 or 6, even if they are a bit lower down.

A 58 year old woman collapsed while walking with her son and husband. They carried her down a good part of the way and then sent for help. She was suffering from heat induced exhaustion, and her companions had handled the situation well, even realising at one point that she was becoming cold, and taking steps to re-warm her. She was taken to Ambleside Health Centre for a once over from a doctor.

A man slipped and supposedly sustained serious leg injuries. Because of the distance and the "serious" injuries we requested a helicopter to assist. One arrived on scene at the same time as the first of our team members and the man walked to the helicopter, his injuries maybe not as bad as we had been led to believe.

A 17 year old male slipped and fractured his ankle. Again the team was called, but the young man's friends carried him down and we arrived in the car park as they did, leaving us with only the splinting to do.

A man and wife in their 40's became lost and used a mobile phone to dial 999 for help. They had no map or compass, and not much common sense. They claimed to be on Bowfell, heading north, but we couldn't find them, and they were eventually escorted off by other walkers never to be seen again. We still don't know where they were, but they definitely weren't on Bowfell. Assisted by a helicopter from RAF Boulmer.

A mobile phone call reported two injured people, following a fall. The phone was then switched off and we were not able to make any further contact or get any more information. We set off to try and locate the injured people, tracking them down to the back of an ambulance. The ambulance crew had received a call from a different source and been given sufficient information to locate the casualties, who were walking near the road.