News

Points of Light award for Penny Kirby

Huge congratulations to Penny for receiving the Points of Light award! https://www.pointsoflight.gov.uk/mountain-rescue-hero/ Mountain Rescue Hero 2179. Penny Kirby Penny Kirby, from Cumbria, has spent over 40 years rescuing hundreds of people who have encountered trouble on England’s highest mountain and across the Lake District. Penny is one of four leaders of ‘Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team’, which was established in 1968 to aid those needing help in Wasdale and Eskdale. Penny became involved with the rescue Read more…

By John Bamforth, ago

Mountain Rescue England and Wales – Callouts 2019-2023

To commemorate the amazing work that everyone does in Mountain Rescue England and Wales, Ordnance Survey has created this data visualisation using call-out data from 2019-2023, showing the most common areas that Mountain Rescue attend to. Thank you to all team members who are on call 24 hours a day 365 days a year. #OSMaps #UKHikes #HikingKit #WinterHiking #AdventureSmart

By John Bamforth, ago

Winter advice

We know we go on about carrying a head torch but it’s such an easy thing to do and can make a huge difference – especially as British Summer Time has ended and it gets darker much earlier. Please don’t rely on your phone as a torch – save some battery for the phone in case you need it in an emergency. #BeAdventureSmart

By John Bamforth, ago

Swiftwater Rescue Training

Some excellent training with our neighbouring teams today! This was a joint session for Swiftwater Rescue Technicians with Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team, Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team and Duddon and Furness Mountain Rescue Team on the Leven today. High river levels made for some energetic training conditions – perfect practice for the real thing……

By John Bamforth, ago

Young fundraiser Frankie McMillan – Mount Olympus challenge

Seven-year-old Frankie McMillan, and his mum have returned back home to Cumbria after their epic challenge to become the youngest British person to climb Mt. Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece at 2,917 metres (3 x Scafell Pike) on 2 September 2023. This was just weeks after finishing his 214 Wainright Peaks challenge on Lingmell. Frankie desperately wanted to raise money for our team and promote #BeAdventureSmart safety awareness. Just under £300 is now needed Read more…

By John Bamforth, ago

Chris Lewis – Patterdale MRT Member

On 6 February 2021, during a rescue, as a member of Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team Chris was very seriously injured following a 150-metre fall. His injuries were life-changing. It is with great sadness that he passed away recently after a short illness. Our thoughts are with his family, his friends and Patterdale MRT colleagues.  

By John Bamforth, ago

WMRT at the National Medical Conference

Some of our Team were at the Mountain Rescue England and Wales Medical Conference. With lectures and practical demonstrations, it was a great chance for us to hone skills, try out new kit, and share experiences with other teams. Thanks to our friends at Langdale and Ambleside for funding the weekend.

By John Bamforth, ago

Gosforth Show

After a ferociously windy start, the Gosforth Show settled down into a really good day. The sun shone, lots of people came and WMRT made £325.14 from sales of merchandise and contributions. Big thanks to everyone for supporting us. Join us next at Eskdale Show 30th September. See you there!

By John Bamforth, ago

40 years service for Penny Kirby

The team recently congratulated Penny Kirby on reaching the fantastic milestone of 40 years as a member of Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team. The story of her arriving in the team is somewhat serendipitous; she was climbing with friends on Skye, and in the famous Sligachan pub afterwards got talking with others about their adventures of the day. The amazing thing is that one of the those people was a Wasdale MRT team member, and they Read more…

By John Bamforth, ago

New Graded Search Dog Team

We have a new Graded Search Dog Team Huge congratulations to Tom Cox (our neighbouring team Duddon and Furness MRT) and Search Dog Roxy who successfully passed their final assessment last night! It was a rather soggy night on Catbells but Roxy was a little super star making light work of the technical terrain and bracken (most of which was at least twice her height)! Tom and Roxy first joined the Association in March 2021, Read more…

By John Bamforth, ago

Drigg Gala

A great day was had by all on a very hot Saturday at Drigg Gala. There were sack races, handmade ice creams, a tug of war and in the thick of it, Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team. Lots of our merchandise went to some happy customers and generous donations were offered. There was lots of interest in the work of the team and plenty of strokes for Jess the rescue dog. We raised £248 in total. Read more…

By John Bamforth, ago

Egremont Farmers Market and Base Open Day

Many many belated thanks from April to all the lovely people who supported us at the Farmers Market in Egremont, where we provided refreshments, and our Open Day at our base the following day. Both events were a great success, the Farmers Market raising £450.06, and the Open Day £826.05. This came as a welcome surprise as it wasn’t intended as a fund-raising day, but as an opportunity for people to come and see what Read more…

By John Bamforth, ago

Raising awareness and funds for people with cystic fibrosis

One of our team members, Stephen Walter, will shortly take on a very challenging and different fundraising event. He is doing this to raise awareness and funds for PipersAngels, a charity that is helping him and other people with cystic fibrosis. His challenge is an 80mile open sea crossing across the Atlantic Gulf Stream overnight and through the day on 25th June 2023. He is doing this challenge on a 14ft stand-up paddleboard (SUP). He Read more…

By John Bamforth, ago

Medical Monday

Great to have a sunny evening for our “Medical Monday” training this week! We went through several scenarios of incidents we may come across, and a refresher on our medical equipment to keep our skills fresh for what is looking to be a very busy summer. Our team are on standby 24 hours a day 365 days a year, we are all unpaid volunteers and rely on donations to operate. If you’re able to and Read more…

By John Bamforth, ago