Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team has been assisting people in the western fells of the Lake District for over 50 years. We cover England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike, and respond to over one hundred calls for help each year. The team consists of approximately forty ‘professional volunteers’ who give their time to help those in need, whatever the weather, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. For more information please read our about page. We rely on generous donations from the public to fund the team. Once a year, we recruit a new intake of probationary members.
Recent Rescues
Cam Spout, Scafell – Fri 30th May 2025
A call was received yesterday evening from Cumbria Police. A young walker had separated from his family group in misty conditions shortly after beginning their descent from Scafell Pike summit. He had not been located after two and half hours, and there was growing concern for his safety. The Team Leader acted quickly to initiate search assets from many resources, including DFMRT, search dogs and a Coastguard helicopter Rescue R199 from Prestwick. A Coniston MRT team member camping locally with his family also kindly offered to help. Due to declining daylight and the possibility of a longer operation should the…
Brown Tongue, Scafell Pike – Mon 26th May 2025
The team was called by Cumbria Police on Monday evening about two walkers who were overdue from a walk up Scafell Pike. The Team Leader attempted to make contact but this was not possible despite repeated attempts. A full team callout was made when their friends received a call saying one of the walkers was struggling to make progress, falling frequently, was very cold and still an hour away from the valley. Their location was still unknown. A hasty search was planned with the main paths being covered, and as the first team was on the hill, a further 999…
Little Hell Gate, Great Gable – Sun 25th May 2025
Two walkers had called Cumbria Police to ask for assistance. They appeared to be on the traverse path at Little Hell Gate and had become afraid for their safety. It was also wet and windy and they were not well equipped for these conditions, so they were becoming very cold. All-in-all, quite intimidating conditions for inexperienced walkers. The Team Leader made a full team callout to account for the worst-case scenario. The advance party got to the walkers and found them wet and cold either side of the very loose scree slope of Little Hell Gate, albeit on the correct…
St Bees Head – Sun 25th May 2025
A call was received from Cumbria Police about a walker who had fallen, hurt his ankle and was unable to bear weight. It was difficult initially to determine the exact location. As such, a full callout was made to either support the coastguard team if required, or if the location was determined to be MRT responsibility. Direct communication was then established with the Whitehaven coastguard team, and it transpired that they were already close to the scene and were able to deal with all aspects of the rescue. The team stood down and returned to base.
Esk Pike – Fri 23rd May 2025
A call was received on Friday evening; two walkers were reporting themselves lost in the mist on their descent from Scafell Pike. The grid reference from the police call put them on Esk Pike. This is in Langdale Ambleside’s area, so a quick handover with them was made and they dealt with the callout and later successfully rescued the walkers.
Wastwater Screes – Thu 22nd May 2025
A call was received from Cumbria Police when two walkers on Yewbarrow heard a scream from the opposite side of the lake, and they were concerned that someone was in trouble. The Team Leader contacted the walkers and also made further enquiries locally. Nothing further to indicate a problem emerged, and with a huge potential search area, it was agreed with the police that the log could be closed with deployment agreed if further calls were received. A false alarm with good intent.