Cumbria Police had received a report of 3 persons lost in the mist. Their location was established using PhoneFind. They had set off from Ambleside and walked the Fairfield Horseshoe and when the weather deteriorated, lost their way. The Duty Leader was able to guide the party down into the valley, from here they were collected by a Team Land Rover.

The wet and cold party was driven back to Ambleside by the local taxi company.

Cumbria Police requested the Team investigate a report of lights seen in the area of Heron Pike / Glenridding Dodd. The area is popular with wild campers and has a good phone signal. The location was monitored from the valley and as no further lights were seen, the Team was stood down.

The report was made with good intentions and informant thanked for their concern.

The Team was tasked by Cumbria Police to go to the assistance of 2 walkers who had reported that they were cold, wet and disorientated. Once telephone contact had been established and the casualties’ location confirmed, the Team made their way onto the fell and escorted the walkers back to their vehicle.

While the Team was in Scotland on their annual winter skills training, a call was received from the police concerning flashing lights and voices heard on Arthur’s Pike. The call was passed to Penrith MRT, who were stood down after further investigation by a police mobile unit.

Cumbria Police requested the Team’s assistance in investigating a member of the public’s concerns having seen a stationary light on Place Fell. The Duty Leader spoke to the informant and established that the light was in fact the same one that he had seen earlier from Glenridding and was now moving towards the road.

The light was monitored and as no calls had been made for assistance the Team was stood down. The call was made with good intentions and the informant was thanked for reporting their concerns.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team’s former incident archive records this callout on 21 February 2023 as ‘Missing person search’. No further public incident report wording survives in the available archive.

The Team’s 2022 incident attendance register records this callout as “Mini bus stuck on Kirkstone Pass”. No further public press-release wording survives in the archive.

On Saturday 12th November at 16:47hrs Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was called by Cumbria Police to reports of persons possibly needing assistance in the Grisedale Valley on the hillside between the sheepfolds and Hole in the Wall. A Deputy Leader spoke to the informant who had walked down to Patterdale Base and, on gathering further information from them, the team was called out to make a search of the area..

Those who had been shouting ,screaming and waving their arms around were seen half way up the hill from the valley bottom , it was stated that there were two or possibly three, all in dark clothing and they were definitely trying to attract the attention of anyone in the area. Two groups of team members were dispatched into the valley, one group searched the lower path back down the valley and then made their way up the hillside past the possible location.

The other group made their way up the main track to the Hole in the Wall. Nothing was found in the area and team members returned back to Patterdale Base. The alarm was raised with good intentions, the informants were convinced it was someone in trouble and as usual the team were happy to go and make a search of the area in case someone was in need of assistance.

The incident took just over 3 hours involving 14 members in total.

The Team’s 2022 incident attendance register records this callout as “3 females lost Hartsop”. No further public press-release wording survives in the archive.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was alerted shortly after 19:00 on Wednesday 12/10/2022 by Cumbria Police to a report of two walkers in their mid-70s who were overdue. The pair were part of a walking group from the North East on a day trip to the Lake District and had failed to return to their coach.

They were reported as experienced and well equipped and other walking parties from the same group were able to confirm that they had last been seen at about 13:30 at Nick Head heading towards Sticks Pass. The pair had also left a route plan with the trip organisers. A search was initiated involving 12 members of Patterdale MRT, aiming to send parties along their intended route over the Helvellyn massif and the escape routes off the ridge to the East.

Support was requested from the Lake District search dogs and two handlers were deployed to search the high corries to the side of the ridge. In addition Keswick MRT were mobilised to search the routes down the West side of the mountain. Both missing persons were reported as carrying a mobile phone; these appeared to receive text messages, but calls went directly to voice mail.

As the search progressed the cloud cleared from the mountain and the Team requested a Coast Guard Helicopter to over fly the area with night vision and infra-red search equipment. At about 23:00 two members of Patterdale MRT discovered the casualties close to the path just south of Whiteside Top. Both casualties were exhausted and significantly hypothermic with one of them confused and disoriented.

The Patterdale Team members were joined by one of the dog handlers and members of Keswick team, and between them they got the pair into a shelter and survival bags, applied heat packs, and provided additional clothing, food and drinks. The requested helicopter was reassigned to collect the pair, one of whom was stretchered to the aircraft, and they were both flown to Cumbria Infirmary, Carlise.

Patterdale MRT would like to thank Keswick MRT, Lake Distict Search Dogs and the crew of Rescue 139 for their assistance with this successful search and rescue operation. The pair might well not have survived the night, but they undoubtedly helped themselves by leaving a clear plan of their intended route. As the nights draw in, the weather worsens and the clocks go back, Patterdale MRT would like to remind parties to be well prepared for all conditions.

Please visit www.adventuresmart.uk to plan your next adventure.