Incident Report #89 2021
A man got stuck on The Struggle in snow and ice. The team was on-route to recover him when he was rescued by a passing farmer
We were able to stand down
A man got stuck on The Struggle in snow and ice. The team was on-route to recover him when he was rescued by a passing farmer
We were able to stand down
A number of cars and occupants became stranded on Kirkstone Pass in snow and high winds. We recovered the people to Ambleside
A man was having a bit of a hard time and contacted his friend to say he was considering harming himself. He was located and we sat in the sun with him for a while before he agreed to come down with us
A vulnerable adult male was reported as overdue and likely to be in the Kirkstone Pass area. With snow and freezing conditions there was considerable concern for his welfare. A search was organised and he was located by a search dog handler in Woundale. He was cold and wet and was airlifted down by National Police Air Service helicopter and taken to hospital by ambulance
Snowmageddon... well not really, but a multi-vehicle incident on Kirkstone Pass during a period of snowfall occupied ourselves, Patterdale MRT, police, ambulance and Fire and Rescue Service for several hours. Two injured people were released from an upturned vehicle and evacuated by stretcher to our vehicles and then transferred to ambulances waiting at lower levels. A number of other vehicles were also trapped on the pass, so their occupants were evacuated to the Kirkstone Inn
We were requested to assist police in recovering people stranded on a snowbound road.
The helicopter from RAF Boulmer, that was training in our area, was diverted to pick up a 16 year old youth from Windermere, who had head injuries and a dislocated shoulder. Team members escorted rest of family down the fell.
The Team went to the assistance of a 21 year old man from St. Helens who sus¬tained spinal, leg and head injuries. This man had training shoes on and poor clothing. He had no idea of fell walking.
Footnote: He had fallen about 80ft — he was rather lucky because he could have fallen 600ft. on steep fellside. Once again poor footwear was the cause.
Weather Conditions: Warm and Clear, Wet Rock and Grass.
A 68 year old man from Bowness
on Windermere collapsed and DIED while walking with his wife on Red Screes, Kirkstone. The team recovered the body.
Footnote: This is the sad part of our "job". - a family walk out for a walk doing everything right and well equipped.
A 40 year old woman from East Sussex slipped and fell on Red Screes, Kirkstone sustaining a fractured left ankle. The team conveyed her down on a stretcher and then by ambulance to Kendal Hospital.
Footnote: Bad footwear was a possible cause of this accident, the ladvt wore plimsoles with very smooth soles. The fellside also was bone hard due to the hot weather.
No-you're not seeing double. A woman who had helped the man in the previous incident left the casualty site to make her way down and fell and sustained a leg injury. She got a helicopter ride as well.
We were called to assist a young man who had spent the night out, having left home after a domenstic argument.
A man slipped and sustained a fractured ankle. An ambulance was called, but it was too far uphill, so we went to assist.
A major operation swung into action when a coach crashed through a wall at the bottom of Kirkstone Pass, tipping onto its side. There were in excess of 40 people on board, many of whom were injured, some seriously. The rescue operation involved Police, Ambulance, Fire Service, Air Ambulance, ourselves and Kendal MRT. Our Lowfold base was used as a casualty clearing station were the less seriously injured were assessed by Paramedics, before being sent to appropriate hospitals. Our vehicles were used for transport.
A man from Kendal allowed his dog, Zeus, to fall in to the top of Kilnshaw Chimney. It couldn't get back out because the ice build-up. He then went into the gully and couldn't get back out either. Fortunately someone passing, carrying a rope and crampons, lowered himself in to the gully and stabilised both, preventing a serious deterioration in the circumstances. We arrived and extracted Zeus and his owner, the other man having the wherewithal to sort himself out.
A 44-year-old woman was knocked over by her dog while walking it in fields near Kirkstone. She sustained a wrist and knee injuries. She was treated by paramedics and again, our help was required to get her to the roadside.
A guest staying at the Kirkstone Inn reported her husband overdue from what should have been a two-hour walk.
A solo male walker called for help after becoming disorientated in the Thornthwaite Beacon area.