Incident Reports 2003

Heavy snow caused difficult driving conditions, so we were asked to assist the Ambulance Service with the transport of a casualty to hospital in Kendal. Happy New Year.

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 father and son became separated in a snow storm and started to shout to each other, at the same time as the local hunt passed through the area. The combined shouts were reported as shouts for help. We investigated and didn't find anyone in need of our assistance, so we left them all to it. A false alarm with good intent.

We were asked to assist the ambulance service with the evacuation of a man who had suffered head and neck injuries on a high section of the adventure playground at Brockhole Visitor Centre. They had treated his injuries, but needed us to lower him off with our ropes. Dropping him down the slide was ruled out!

We were contacted by a man who had become disoriented in the mist and dark, and who was unsure of his way down. He was met by team members in Far Easedale, and returned to his car.

We were contacted by a man who had lost his compass and his way. He was located within sight of Easedale Tarn, and guided down.

A young woman collapsed, reported as diabetic and pregnant. Her partner called us for help, but didn't really know where they where. We were given three different locations, 2km apart. We eventually located them just as it was going dark. The woman was very cold, and unable to move; the man cold, but still able to walk. The woman was treated for her hypothermia and evacuated to the valley on our stretcher. The man was given additional clothing and escorted down as well.

A father and son were reported as missing on a walk from Langdale to Scafell. A search was organised with help from Keswick and Wasdale MRTs and SARDA. After a number of reported sightings by people camping in the area, they were located near Greta Ghyll on the Corridor Route at 6.30am. They were okay, but cold and were evacuated to Wasdale. It turns out that they had got to Scafell by asking directions, but seem to have run out of people to ask for directions back again!

A couple got separated on the approach to Crinkle Crags. The husband went back to look for his wife, but couldn't find her. We were called to search for her, and she was located at Brotherilkeld. SARDA were also called to help out.

A woman suffered a diabetic collapse. She was treated by a Paramedic from Cumbria Ambulance Service and evacuated by the team.

A woman slipped while scrambling. She fell approximately 100 feet, sustaining multiple injuries including suspected pelvic fractures, possible spleen damage, multiple rib fractures, leg fractures, wrist, back and head injuries. She was treated by team members at the scene and airlifted to Whitehaven by the RAF.

A woman slipped while descending, banging her head and fracturing her wrist. She was obviously in a great deal of pain, and was also nauseous. She was treated by team members and stretchered to our ambulance for transport to hospital.

A young man was running with two friends when he took a tumble in a disused quarry. He sustained a deep cut to his kneecap. The cut was treated by the Team Doctor, and he was evacuated from the quarry by stretcher. His friends were loaned spare warm clothing and escorted from the hillside at the same time.

A 71-year-old man suffered a diabetic collapse. He was assisted by passers-by until we arrived. Once he had eaten and rested he was assisted to his car. He was checked by a doctor and given the all-clear to drive home.

A woman in her 60s slipped while descending steep grass and sustained a suspected fracture to her right ankle. It's possible that her totally inappropriate footwear may have contributed to her slip.

A man taking part in a mountain trial took a tumble, sustaining a head injury, shoulder injury, and multiple cuts and grazes. We were able to drive very close to him, and didn't have to expend too much energy in rescuing him.

A man in his 60s sustained a knee injury on Blea Rigg. He was treated by team members, and stretchered down. We had a good turn out, since many team members were en route to a planned training session.

A man sustained leg injury on the summit of Helm Crag. He was treated by team members, and stretchered down with help from Kendal MRT.

A woman slipped and sustained a fractured tibia and fibula. Her leg was splinted, and she was given pain relief and then evacuated to the valley for onward transport to hospital.

A woman got left behind when she failed to keep up with her party. They reported her missing when they got back. She was reported as having a heart condition. A search was organised, but she turned up back at their hotel, in a taxi, just as we prepared to start. We never did find out where she'd been!

A man sustained a suspected fractured ankle when he slipped on the lake shore during a family barbecue. An ambulance was called, and treated the man. We were called to assist with the evacuation up the steep ground to were the ambulance was parked.

A woman sustained a head injury when she slipped on the descent from Loft Crag. She was treated at the scene and taken to hospital.

A man fell off the back of his bike after he failed to climb a steep, rocky track, sustaining a head injury in the process. We did our stuff and he was taken to hospital for treatment.

A man slipped just below the Bad Step and sustained a deep gash to his lower leg. He was treated by team members then airlifted to hospital by the RAF, who were in the area.

A woman slipped and sustained a leg injury. We were able to drive to her and didn't have to expend too much energy.

A 19-year-old man slipped and banged his head. He was okay for a while, but then lapsed into unconsciousness. We were called and found him conscious but not quite with it. He was treated with oxygen and evacuated to Carlisle Hospital in an RAF helicopter.

A 58-year-old woman slipped and sustained a deep penetrating wound to her knee. She was treated by team members, evacuated to the valley by stretcher and then taken to hospital in the ambulance of Kendal MRT, who had come to assist.

A 30-year-old male slipped and sustained an injury to his hand. We were able to drive to the scene, and deal with it quickly.

A 14-year-old boy was reported as suffering from the heat. We attended and found someone slightly weary, and a bit hot.

A 33-year-old male slipped and sustained a suspected fracture to his shoulder. He was treated by team members and carried down the fell, and then transported to Ambleside for onward transport to Lancaster. We were assisted again by Kendal MRT.

A male walker contacted us to say that he had sustained a leg injury in the vicinity of Heron Pike. When we got there we found that he had a head injury well. He was drifting in and out of consciousness and this was cause for concern. A helicopter was requested to assist, but this had to make a 'precautionary emergency landing' when it suffered a suspected mechanical failure. Eventually it picked up the casualty from near Alcock Tarn. Kendal MRT assisted us as well. His companion, who had gone for help, took some finding, but that's another story.

A 63-year-old man collapsed with a suspected heart attack. The team attended, along with local first responders, but he was certified dead at the scene by the Team Doctor.
 

A 71-year-old woman was reported missing from Grasmere. A search was organised and she was eventually located near Loughrigg Tarn.
 

A 56-year-old man was reported overdue from his walk to Scafell. His car was found in Langdale. A search was organised and he was eventually located in the upper Esk valley at around 4am by a search dog. He had sustained a head injury, and was suffering from hypothermia. He was treated at the scene and then evacuated to Furness General Hospital by an RAF helicopter.
 

A woman was reported as suffering from severe abdominal pains. Her location was given as Lord Crag, but she was found at Great Rigg, 2.5km away. She evacuated by an RAF helicopter.

A 66-year-old man slipped and sustained an knee injury. He was treated at the scene and was airlifted to hospital by a helicopter working in the area.

We were asked to send five team members to assist Kendal MRT in the rescue of a 15-year-old girl, who had fallen in a quarry near Milnthorpe. She was evacuated by air ambulance.

A 57-year-old American woman slipped on wet grass whilst walking. It's just possible her footwear was unsuitable for the purpose. She sustained a suspected fractured ankle.

A 62-year-old man was reported overdue at his accommodation in Little Langdale. He was supposed to have been walking over from Stair in Newlands, but had not arrived. A search was organised, and he was located at Brotherilkeld at around 2am. He was okay, and we got a walk out on a beautiful morning. We got home just as the sun was rising!

A 73-year-old man was reported overdue in Grasmere. He was supposed to be walking from Rosthwaite in Borrowdale. He was located at around 11pm and escorted to safety in Grasmere. Keswick MRT were also involved, as were Young Motors, who had to repair our mobile 4 after we had a bit of trouble.

A 45-year-old man slipped and sustained an ankle injury. He was treated and stretchered from the fell.

A man was found half-dressed and without shoes, sitting on the side of Easedale Tarn. He may have been there for several days, and appeared to have not eaten. He was escorted from the fell and taken to hospital for further help.

A 9-year-old girl had her finger partially severed when she pulled a stone from a cairn. She was treated by members of our team and Kendal MRT, then she was airlifted to hospital for further treatment.

We received a call via the Police from a man who was requesting help. He only seemed to know that he was in Cumbria. Questioning revealed that he was on Helvellyn. Further investigation revealed that his only problem was that he needed to contact his friend and had run out of credit on his mobile phone. It was suggested that he sort himself out. I understand a different expression was used, but I can't repeat that here.

A 13-year-old boy became separated from his family group after they failed to keep up with him. He was located at their planned destination! More a case of parents becoming separated from the kids!

A woman in her 60s slipped and sustained a leg injury. We did what we have done a lot of recently, then went home for lunch.

A man in his 40s slipped and sustained a leg injury. He was treated by team members and carried down in our ambulance then transferred to a waiting county ambulance.

A woman in her 50s slipped and sustained an injury to her ankle. She was treated by team members and carried down.

A 13-year-old girl slipped and sustained an injury to her ankle. She was treated by team members and carried down.

A 36-year-old woman slipped while descending and sustained an injury to her ankle.

We were asked to assist Patterdale MRT with a search for a man reported as ill in a tent in the Helvellyn area. He was eventually located at Red Tarn, suffering from mild hypothermia.

A boy was reported missing from his family group on Crinkle Crags. We assembled at the bottom of the Band to start to look for him when he was located, sitting on his parents’ car, in the Old Dungeon Ghyll car park.

A 12-year-old girl left her group, who reported her missing. We assembled and started a search. She was located by the Police at Skelwith Bridge, unharmed. She was reunited with her group, and we went home. A nice evening for a walk out.

A 29-year-old woman slipped while scrambling in Crinkle Ghyll, falling onto a ledge on her knees. She sustained a suspected fracture to her patella. Regular readers of our website and our Annual Report may be aware of how knees (and eyes!) make me queasy. If I was the character in The 39 Steps, then you could do (almost) what you wanted to my teeth, but I'd tell you anything, or do anything, if you threatened to mess with my knees or eyes! We were assisted by members of Kendal MRT.

A man in his 30s pulled a rock on to his foot, crushing it badly. He was rescue with assistance from Kendal MRT and a helicopter from RAF Boulmer.

Two men were reported as cragfast. We went to assist them, but further contact revealed that they were nearer the Patterdale side, so Patterdale MRT recovered them instead. With the benefit of hindsight, these two could probably have sorted themselves out, if they hadn’t had access to a mobile phone.

A 73-year-old woman was reported as overdue. We spent some time searching around the area. She turned up safe and well.

We received reports of a fallen climber on Pavey Ark. Our investigation revealed only a fallen sheep. It was very dead. You never know what to expect next in mountain rescue.

A boy sustained a deep cut to his leg when he jumped in to a pool at Slater Bridge.

A 9-year-old girl fell from a tree and sustained a deep puncture wound in her leg. We did our stuff, but not as high up the hill as is usual.

A man slipped and fell approximately twenty feet, sustaining suspected fractures to his wrist and lower leg. He was treated and evacuated with assistance from Kendal MRT.

A woman slipped while descending, and sustained a suspected fracture to her lower leg. A dozen of us trekked the short way up the fell and did our stuff. I doubt our victim really appreciated the trip down, but the weather has been great recently, not withstanding the previous callout, of course! It was a pleasant round trip.

Have you seen the time! And not an April fool. And full-on appalling weather! A young camper suffered a fit and an ambulance was called. When they realised how far from the road he probably was, they called us. We were on our way when we were alerted to the fact that the young man had recovered, and walked out to meet the ambulance crew. Our help was no longer required so we returned to our beds. It's an hour lost from my life that I'll never recover!

A woman slipped and sustained an ankle injury. We did our stuff, and she was dispatched to hospital. We went home.

A woman slipped while descending and sustained a suspected ankle fracture. The rest is, as they say, history.

A young girl slipped and banged her head. She was stabilised by her companions and then treated by the team. She was evacuated to hospital by an RAF helicopter.

A couple phoned to say they were lost somewhere in the Great Rigg area. We were just organising a search, and finishing off dealing with the previous casualty, when they were found by people who did know where they where, and how to get down. They led them off. Just as well, because it was getting busy.

A 46-year-old man slipped and sustained an ankle injury. Luckily (for us!) he was close to the bottom of the track, so we didn't have to go to far.

An 8-year-old boy fell over backwards and banged his head near the summit of Pavey Ark.

A 36-year-old man from Leeds was swimming in Easedale Tarn, and slipped while getting out.

A 60-year-old Kendal man collapsed suffering from chest pains.

A man in his 50s complained of chest pains just below the bridge on the Stickle Ghyll path.

A woman slipped near the top of Loughrigg, and sustained a suspected fractured ankle.

A man in his 50s slipped and dislocated his ankle near the summit.

We were called to assist in a search for two women, one of who had broken her leg.

A woman slipped and sustained an ankle injury.

A paraglider landed heavily after falling around 20 feet. He sustained injuries to his lower back.

We were asked to assist the ambulance service with evacuation of a 60-year-old woman who had sustained a leg injury following a slip on wet ground.

Three young men contacted friends by text message to report that they were lost and unable to find a way down.

The team was made aware that two people had become stranded near Crinkle Crags summit, and were unable to make their way down.

A 37-year-old lone male walker was reported overdue. A search was organised, with assistance f

Our services were required to help pull an ambulance out of a ditch. It can happen to the best of us! Trust me, it can!

A 52-year-old woman slipped and sustained an ankle injury.

A woman slipped and sustained an ankle injury. We were called to assist the ambulance with her evacuation.

A man slipped on an icy path and sustained a suspected fractured ankle.