A Long Day and Night

After a full day spent organising and running a fund raising day at Wasdale Head, including an auction that finished at 11.00pm members of Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team were relieved to be in their beds by midnight but not so relieved when they were called out at a quarter past midnight to rescue a gentleman attempting the Three Peaks Challenge who had slipped and tumbled about 30 feet into Skew Ghyll. The man was treated on scene for head, arm and leg injuries before being stretchered down to an ambulance in the valley. The team were back at their base by 05.45 and in their beds (again) by 06.30.

It is interesting to note that the Three Peaks Challenge, originally attempted during long daylight hours of midsummer is now a year round activity. Throughout the day there was a constant stream of minibuses disgorging their occupants ready for their second ascent of the Challenge, Scafell Pike, even though the weather was atrocious with very heavy rain, zero visibility in the thick cloud and stream crossings made hazardous by the high rainfall. There were still teams of Three Peakers coming off Scafell as the rescue team returned and one team even had the audacity to ask the team minibus to ferry them back to their own minibus, a mile up the road.

The fundraising day was very successful with over £2000 being raised. Unfortunately this does not make up for a sleepless night.