- Incident
- 26 in 2008
- Type
- Callout — Lost
- Location
- Slight Side, Scafell
- Other Agencies
- Kendal MRT, Lake District Mountain Rescue Search Dogs, Langdale Ambleside MRT, RAF Valley
- Diagnosis
- Hypothermia
The team were called out at 0530 by Cumbria Police rescue a group of four 16 year olds and an 18 year old who reported themselves as being lost, very wet and very cold but unable to give their location. A large search involving Wasdale, Langdale/Ambleside and Kendal teams along with Search dogs from SARDA (Lakes) was mounted with the assistance of a Sea King helicopter from RAF Valley. The group were found at 10:15 hrs on the slopes of Slight Side, on the Eskdale flank of Scafell. They had set off from the Old Dungeon Gill Hotel in Langdale at 11:00 hrs the previous day. They were taken to Furness General Hospital by helicopter for treatment for hypothermia. The weather was very poor and the search was conducted in strong winds and driving snow. 35 team members were involved in the search and the incident was closed at 12.30 p.m.This is yet another incident where fell walkers were unprepared for their walk and were unable to cope when things started to go wrong. The Lake District Mountain Rescue Association and Cumbria Tourism are mounting a campaign to alert people to the necessity of being properly prepared for their day out in the mountains. See BBC news report
Incident started at 05:33 and ended at 12:30 making 7 hrs in total. There were 35 Wasdale team members involved and the incident occured at NY2115 0440 (altitude 440 m). Total rescuer hours: 245
