On Sunday 12/01/2025 at 1400hrs the team were tasked by Cumbria Police to rescue an exhausted walker who had been located on the top of Hartsop Above How. Passersby had come across a lone walker in his seventies who was exhausted and cold and had lost course. The walker had set off from Ambleside that morning around 09oo hrs and had planned a circular walk. When he was located he did not have the strength to continue in the deep snowy conditions. Initially the passersby had attempted to assist him off the fell, however after a while the exhausted and very cold walker was unable to stand up or move. The team responded quickly and a coastguard helicopter was also requested due to the high risk of  hypothermia. Due to deep snow on the ground it took 1hr30min for the team to reach the casualty. In the meantime a coastguard helicopter which had been dispatched from Caernarfon also arrived in the area, however due to the low cloud was unable to land anywhere near the scene. The helicopter diverted to land at the Patterdale base waiting for a break in the weather. Meanwhile the cold casualty was wrapped in a casualty bag with heat packs and a vapour barrier to prevent further heat loss and he was put on a stretcher. The team then set off hauling the stretcher through the snow to evacuate the casualty off the fell. Due to the deep snow and difficult terrain progress was very slow. Fortunately the coastguard crew who had been following progress, decided to attempt a second landing and this time were successful. The casualty was then flown to Carlisle hospital for further treatment. Needless to say the team are very grateful to the coastguard crew who recognised the difficult conditions the team were operating in and who stood by patiently until they could assist.

Around 10:30 am on the 5th of January, the Team received information from Cumbria Police  that a fell walker who had been camping out had found three abandoned tents.
The previous evening the fell walker saw lights at the same location.
Later that evening a Patterdale Mountain Rescue Deputy Leader had seen lights descending the fell near that location.
With no further reports of missing people, the team were stood down.
Please consider the weather, what  equipment you have and if you have the correct experience for your adventure.
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Cumbria Police passed on a call from a party of three reporting themselves lost on Helvellyn. The Team was placed on standby, but from the GPS data on the 999 call it was clear that the group were close to the path between Lower Man and Whiteside Bank.

The Duty Leader spoke to the party, provided reassurance and directed them back to the path. The party was asked to share their live location via WhatsApp to allow monitoring of their progress. When the party was on the track to Greenside the Team was stood down.

The Team was contacted by Cumbria Police following a report that a man was possibly in trouble on Helvellyn. He had been reported missing by his wife who had been tracking his progress from home and noticed that his position hadn’t changed for a few hours.

Contact was made with the informant and it was established that the man was out on his bike with his black labrador. The police located his vehicle in Grasmere where he had been staying. The Team requested the assistance of Search Dogs, Keswick MRT and LAMRT to search the various routes up to the location close to the summit of Helvellyn being communicated by the man’s phone.

Low cloud and high winds prevented the Coastguard Helicopter from joining the search. At about 01:00 hours, battling atrocious weather, Patterdale and Keswick Team Members managed to find the man’s bike and phone close to the edge of the summit plateau. However, there was no sign of the man or his dog. At around 01:30 hours, with conditions deteriorating, the difficult decision was made to call off the search until first light.

The last party cleared the fell at about 03:30 hours. Day 2 At 08:00 hours members from Cockermouth, Penrith, Kirkby Stephen and Patterdale Teams resumed the search. A rope system was set-up to enable them to descend the headwall to facilitate a search of the area where the man was suspected to have fallen. In the late morning it was confirmed that the dog had been found alive and well on a ledge.

Shortly afterwards the man was located, and it was confirmed that he had died as a result of the injuries sustained in his 180 metre fall. The casualty was recovered and transported back to Patterdale Base to be handed over to Cumbria Police.