Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was called by Cumbria Police on Friday 9th June at lunchtime following a report of a woman who had tumbled and sustained a head injury. Initial enquiries were carried out and the Deputy Leader called the team out to respond to the rescue.

Two Land Rovers headed out from Patterdale base and collected team members en route to the casualty site. On arrival at the scene it was established that the female student, who was on her Duke of Edinburgh Award assessment, had stumbled whilst descending the path, rolled down the hillside a short distance and sustained slight grazes together with soreness and swelling to the side of her head.

The casualty was examined and pain relief was given and she was then assisted to the team Land Rover which had managed to get to around half a mile from the site. After further assessment at the base the casualty was left in the capable hands of the group’s leaders as they were heading back home later that day. The rescue lasted 2.5 hours with 10 team members in attendance.

On Thursday 8th June at 13:08hrs the Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was contacted by North West Ambulance Service regarding a report of a woman who had tripped whilst traversing Striding Edge and had sustained a suspected dislocated knee in the fall.

The Duty Leader spoke to the informant, established what had happened, and called the team out to assist the lady. Due to the location and the type of injury a Coastguard Rescue Helicopter was requested to help which would enable a swift and more comfortable evacuation for the casualty. The team assembled at Patterdale base and made their way onto the hill to ascend to the scene on foot.

Rescue 199 from Prestwick arrived and after lowering their winch operator down they were able to treat the casualty and winch her onboard the helicopter and fly her to hospital for further treatment. The team made their way back down to the Land Rovers and back to base. Once again, thanks go to the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter for their swift response and dealing with this incident, without their assistance it would have been a long, hot and uncomfortable carry down to the roadside.

The rescue was attended by 11 team members taking just under 3 hours to complete.

At lunchtime on Monday May 29 th Patterdale Mountain Rescue team was tasked by Cumbria Police to an incident in Hallinhag Wood, on the shore of Ullswater, below Hallin Fell. A 34 yearr old man had taken a stumbling fall, sustaining a wound to his leg.

Because of the location of the casualty it was decided to access and then evacuate the gentleman utilising the team’s rescue rib. Once on scene a team Doctor assessed the casualty’s injuries before washing out, treating and bandaging the wound. The gentleman and his companion were then transported back to Glenridding where an ambulance was waiting to take him to hospital for further treatment.

While this incident was underway the team were tasked to reports of a fire above the Lake at Devils Chimney. After speaking directly to the informant and learning that Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service were in attendance the Team were stood down. The first incident took 13 team members four hours to complete. We’d like to thank the Glenridding Sailing School for kindly allowing us to launch from their site and the Inn on the Lake for allowing us to use their jetty.

The good will and support of local businesses on busy days continues to aid the Team in being able to respond to incidents in a safe and timely manner.

May 9 After an unusual quiet spell of rescues, volunteers of Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team were called by Cumbria Police to their third rescue in as many days, to a lady who had sustained injuries from a tumbling fall from Striding Edge. The lady who had been out walking with friends slipped while traversing Striding Edge and tumbled c60-80m and came to rest close to Red Tarn.

Thankfully, the accident was witnessed by members of the public who quickly responded and provided immediate first aid. After the initial assessment they called Cumbria Police who alerted the Team. The Team, due to location and nature of injuries, requested immediate assistance from the Coastguard SAR Helicopter with winching facilities, along with the air ambulance.

The team responded with 18 members who were deployed along with technical and medical equipment to assist with the rescue. On scene the lady was assessed by medical teams from all agencies before being transferred by SAR aircraft to hospital for further treatment. Our thanks go to members of the public who responded quickly to the incident along with our partner agencies for their prompt response.

18 members of the team responded and the rescue lasted 4hrs.

At 12:56 hrs on Saturday 6th May Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was asked to respond to assist a woman who had tripped and injured her ankle whilst walking the coast to coast in the Grisedale valley. The team responded with 19 members and made their way on foot to the scene.

On arrival the lady was examined and her ankle was placed in a splint and then she was put onto the stretcher and carried off the hill to one of our Rescue Land Rovers. From here she was conveyed to the Base at Patterdale where an ambulance took her to hospital for further treatment. Whilst this rescue was underway a second request for assistance came in and 5 team members went to join other team members who were at base on this job.

This first rescue took just over 3.5 hours in total. May 7, 2023 12:35 pm On Saturday 6th May at 14:55hrs whilst the Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was already on a job when they were made aware by Cumbria Police of another female requiring assistance as she had slipped and also received an ankle injury. 5 team members who were still at base responded and started making their way on the hill to the casualty site, another 5 members from the earlier rescue were able to leave and go to assist this second incident.

Once the second rescue had finished another vehicle with 5 more team members went to help out as the leader requested more assistance. The lady was examined at the scene and due to her injury was given pain relief, her leg was placed in a splint and she was then stretchered from the fell down to the land rovers where she was taken back to Patterdale base.

Once back at base she was re assessed and then taken by ambulance to hospital for further treatment. This rescue lasted just over 3.5 hours with 17 members in attendance.

At 16:14 on Tuesday 21st March 2023 Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was requested by the North West Ambulance Service to assist a 73 year old woman who had slipped and injured her right ankle whilst descending from Little Mell Fell. 18 team members responded to the callout and rendezvoused at the The Hause before climbing the short distance to the woman’s location.

The Great North Air Ambulance car also attended the scene. The casualty was assessed and provided with analgesia before her ankle was re-aligned and splinted. The Team then stretchered her down to the road and a waiting ambulance for onward transport to hospital. The rescue lasted 2 hours and involved 18 team members.

At 18.49hrs on Saturday 11th March the Duty Leader of Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was contacted by Cumbria Police regarding a group of 9 men from the Manchester area who were somewhere on Striding Edge/Helvellyn area needing assistance to get back down to their vehicles.

Contact was made with the group and after a short while a Sarloc text was intercepted and the group’s location was established as on the summit of Helvellyn. Team members were put on standby whilst it was ascertained the best way of getting the group off safely – they were not injured, had waterproofs and torches but no maps or compasses to assist them with navigation.

It was decided that the best route for them to take was down to Thirlmere as they did not want to go back over either of the edges due to the conditions. The group eventually started to descend down Brown Cove crags and down the path. The Duty Leader monitored their progress on live location on WhatsApp and further phone calls.

Two vehicles were despatched from Patterdale to liaise with the group and drive them back to their vehicles at Glenridding so they could head back to their accommodation in the south lakes. It was established that the group had set off far too late in the day, mid afternoon, and as they traversed Striding Edge it had got dark whilst climbing to the summit.

The group had boots and waterproofs plus torches but no other winter gear. At times they were knee deep in snow and there were blizzard conditions on the way down. The men were extremely grateful for the assistance. The rescue took just under 4 hours and involved 3 team members whilst the rest of the team were on standby.