At 12:57 on Monday 17th Oct 2022, Patterdale MRT was alerted by Cumbria Constabulary that a 70 year old man from the South East had slipped on wet grass near to the summit of Hallin Fell, injuring his left ankle. Eight Team members responded to the call out and rendezvoused at Pooley Bridge before proceeding in Team vehicles to the Hause beneath Hallin Fell and then ascending to the summit.

The casualty was assessed by a Team doctor and his ankle was splinted before he was placed in a stretcher and sledged down to the church. The casualty was driven to Penrith Hospital in his own car by his partner. The Team would like to thank Penrith MRT who mobilised 4 Team members to offer support which was not eventually required.

The rescue involved 8 team members and took approximately 2.5 hours.

At 1pm on Saturday 15th October, Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was called to attend a woman with an ankle injury on Heron Pike, one of the fells overlooking Ullswater. As team members were assembling for this incident, a second call came in.

Due to the potential serious nature of that incident, the team asked for assistance from Penrith Mountain Rescue Team to handle the Heron Pike callout. The Penrith Team, assisted by members from the Kirkby Stephen Team, reached the woman with the ankle injury on Heron Pike. She was placed in a stretcher and carried back to the valley to rendezvous with an ambulance at Glencoyne.

As team members were assembling for another incident, a second call came in, alerting the team to a 24 year old man who had fallen off Striding Edge, Helvellyn. Due to the potential serious nature of the Helvellyn incident, the team asked for assistance from Penrith Mountain Rescue Team to handle the first incident, so that resources could be redirected.

Strong winds, heavy rain and poor visibility meant that an Air Ambulance had to turn back before reaching Helvellyn and assistance from a coastguard helicopter was also requested. The Helvellyn casualty was located below Striding Edge in the area of the “bad step”, having fallen approximately 10m down towards Red Tarn. On reaching the scene, the casualty was treated for back, pelvis and ankle injuries – he was given pain relief, placed in a full body splint, packaged in a casualty bag and strapped into a stretcher.

Once on the stretcher he was hoisted back onto the ridge where, during a weather window, the coastguard helicopter was able to winch him onboard. Two companions of the casualty were then walked off the hill, having become cold and mildly hypothermic. The two rescues took 6 hours and involved 13 members of Patterdale MRT, 9 members from Penrith MRT, 2 members from Kirkby Stephen MRT and a Coastguard helicopter.

On Saturday 8th October at 13:40 hrs Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was called by Cumbria Police to a man who had been taking part in a Race and had injured his ankle whilst descending the path between Stybarrow Dodd and the Raise. He had tried to carry on running but was unable to do so due to the pain so he requested assistance.

The Team was mobilised and headed to the scene, along with 3 members of RAF Mountain Rescue who were in the area and also responded to the incident at the request of the Patterdale duty leader. The man was treated for the ankle injury and a splint was used to stabilise the injury. He was placed in a casualty bag to keep him warm and stretchered off the hill down to Greenside.

He was then collected from Patterdale Base by the race organisers and taken for further treatment. The rescue took 3.5 hours with 15 personnel involved.

On Sunday 2nd October Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was tasked at 10.45hrs by Cumbria Police to a man who had fallen whilst taking part in a fell race as he was descending from the Rest Dodd area down to the Pump House in the Hartsop Valley.

Team members, alongside medical students who were at Patterdale base on a course, attended the incident in two Landrovers. The casualty was assessed and given pain relief for a suspected fractured ankle. He was then placed in a leg splint and conveyed down to his colleague’s vehicle from where he was taken for further treatment at hospital.

This rescue involved 6 team members plus 5 medical students lasting just under two hours.

On Saturday 1st October at 14:00hrs the Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was requested by North West Ambulance to assist a woman who had slipped and sustained an injury to her ankle. Due to the location of the casualty, who was around 500 metres from the road side, a limited call out was initiated and 6 team members responded to the scene.

On arrival they found the woman, who had been walking down the steep grassy slope, stating she had slipped and gone over on her ankle. The casualty was examined and pain relief given, she was then placed in a leg splint for her suspected fractured ankle and sledged off the hill in a stretcher. Once safely down at the roadside the woman was taken to hospital for further treatment by her colleagues.

The incident took 2 hours in total.

On Saturday 24th September at around 15.00hrs, whilst Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was already on a rescue near Red Tarn they were alerted to another request for assistance from North West Ambulance Service. A man had fallen around 20 metres into the gorge and water at Aira Force, sustaining injuries.

Part of the team left the first incident and travelled to Aira Force where they found the man being assisted by members of the public who had managed to climb down to him. Also on scene were Cumbria Fire and rescue, North West Ambulance Service and the Air ambulance. The Team’s health care professionals were lowered into the Gorge and proceeded to assess the casualty, providing immediate care and pain relief as the patient had sustained injuries to his head, shoulder and back.

Due to the nature of the incident and the precarious location, members of the fire service who were already kitted out in Swift Water Rescue suits and buoyancy aids also went down to provide safety cover. A technical rope system was then set up to haul the casualty out of the Gorge once he had been given treatment, stabilised and placed on the stretcher.

The casualty was then carried out of the falls and handed over to the ambulance crew to be taken to hospital for further treatment. The team wishes the man a speedy recovery from his injuries and ordeal. We would also like to thank the other services for their assistance in this difficult and time consuming rescue. The incident took just under 3 hours and involved 24 team members.

Aira Force is a popular place for members of the public and the Team has been to numerous incidents there this year. We would like to remind everyone to take care when near the edges of the waterfalls as they can be slippery.