The Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was notified on Tuesday 07/09/21 at around 23:30 with regard to a lost woman in Dovedale. The lone female had been in touch by mobile phone with a friend when she got lost in the dark trying to locate the Priest Hole for an overnight bivvie.

The friend had managed to talk her back towards the main path and her intention was to return to her car and give up on the overnight camp plan. The friend raised the alarm when he could not get in touch with her after a couple of hours had passed. The team leader located the woman’s vehicle parked up in the valley. Two team members then walked up and located her just above Hartsop Hall.

She had managed to navigate most of the way down using the torch on her phone. She was very glad to see the team and get an escort down the mountain back to her car.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was called at 16:08 on Thursday 19/08/2021 to assist a husband and wife who had been walking the Fairfield Horseshoe when they became disorientated in cloud and started to descend NE from Hart Crag towards Hartsop Above How.

The Team used the GPs on the couple’s phone to identify their position and provided directions back onto their intended route. Their progress was then monitored until they returned to the valley. The incident took one team member about two hours.

At 16:03 on Wednesday 18/08/2021 the Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was alerted by the police to a family party of 3 who had become lost while trying to descend from the summit of Helvellyn in cloud. The Team contacted the party and identified their location via the GPS on the son’s smart phone.

Directions were provided and the family’s location was monitored as they descended to the valley and made their way back to their car. The incident lasted two and a half hours and involved 3 team members.

The Team’s 2021 incident attendance register records this callout as “Lights reported on Barton Fell”. It was recorded as a limited callout. No further public press-release wording survives in the archive.

At around 1600 hrs Cumbria Police requested assistance from the Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team with regard concern for the welfare of a woman who had not returned to an agreed location after a walk. The missing person had been on a walk on Gowbarrow Fell with her husband and decided to turn back after feeling tired, with the intention of going back to Dockray where the car was parked.

Her husband continued on the planned walk and raised the alarm 4 hours later when he could not locate his wife back where the car was parked. The rescue team leader travelled to Dockray and en route there stopped at the Aira Force car park and, by chance, located the missing person who had been looking for her husband. The couple were reunited back at Dockray.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was called by Cumbria Police at around 1600hrs on June 25th. A lone walker who was doing the coast to coast route got himself lost in the low cloud. Due to the wet weather he was cold and had become disorientated.

The team leader talked the man down over the phone towards Hayeswater reservoir. A team Land Rover then collected the cold and very wet walker at the reservoir outflow. The gentleman was dropped off at a local B&B to get dry with a view to continuing his journey in the morning. This incident illustrated the importance of equipping yourself with top quality waterproof gear.

Even in the summer you can get very cold very quickly in the mountains, when you get soaked through. The rescue involved 5 team members and lasted for about 90 mins.

At 08:52hrs on Sunday 23rd May, Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was alerted by Cumbria Police to a lady who had become disorientated while ascending Helvellyn via Striding Edge. The lady managed to re-orientate herself when the cloud cleared and was able to continue with her planned route.

The team continued to monitor her progress until she confirmed she was safely off the mountain. The callout lasted 2hrs 45min and involved 2 team members.

The Team’s 2021 incident attendance register records this callout as “Abandoned rucksack on Striding Edge”. It was recorded as a limited callout. No further public press-release wording survives in the archive.