Dear Follower – this is what i have just sent out as a press release from LDSAMRA. It was a relatively slow start to 2023 with respect to numbers of callouts for our 12 rescue teams with over 400 volunteer team members but things have now caught up with previous record levels. With 182 callouts since the start of 2023, April has experience our busiest increase with 56 calls for help via ‘999’ to Cumbria Read more…
One of our team members, Andy Cramp, is raising funds for the team in May by partaking in the Fred Whitton cycling event. It’s a very tough day at 112 miles and over 3500m of ascent, so Andy will need all the advance encouragement he can get! If you’d like to help him and us you can donate below…. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/andrew-cramp2?utm_source=messenger&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=andrew-cramp2&utm_campaign=pfp-share&utm_term=5c2f4b06f6ca4646ae259799be3c2290
Join us for our Open Day on 22nd April at our base! Whether you’re thinking about joining the team, are one of our supporters, or just want to come and see what we do. Have a brew and some cake with the Team, meet our search dog Jess, try your hand at orienteering, learn a bit of navigation, see our boat, have a go at stretcher carrying, get tips about how to read the weather, Read more…
Please drop in at the Market Hall in Egremont…. lots of lovely things on offer to raise funds for the team.
Easter Sunday is one of the busiest days of the year for visitors to Scafell Pike, and this year members of the team were on hand close to the NT Brackenclose car park offering advice and guidance to walkers. Lots of positive engagement with people, some quality merchandise on offer and good banter made for a very enjoyable morning, and hopefully resulted in more people staying safe.
To mark International Women’s Day we’re joining mountain rescue teams throughout the country in celebrating the amazing women we have volunteering on our teams. We’re lucky to have a supportive welcoming team at Wasdale and we encourage more women to get involved!
A recent article on the Mountaineering Scotland website provides excellent advice on navigation including the pitfalls of using GPS devices and smartphones as electronic navigation aids . A recent 20 hour search for a lost walker Scafell Pike / Broad Crag/ Great End involved over 70 rescuers and could have been avoided if reliance had not been placed on a mobile phone for navigation. The walker was extremely lucky to survive his ordeal on the mountain Read more…
There was a bit of drama at Scouts this week, 3 of our leaders carelessly managed to injure themselves on the field … luckily Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team were visiting & quickly organised our #Scouts into a rescue party! Thanks to the MRT volunteers for a really interesting couple of nights learning about the valuable work they do. #SkillsForLife #CumbriaScouts
Some further information on a recent rescue, and some good advice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDiZfnyxatY #BeAdventureSmart
Wasdale Mountain Rescue team were alerted by Cumbria Police at 18.26 hrs on Monday 20 February about a lone walker who had reported himself as lost on the ridge between Scafell Pike and Great End in the Lake District. Mobile phone reception was very poor, but a location was quickly established and although the weather was deteriorating with thick mist and rain, he was asked to stay where he was and shelter from the wind. Read more…
Earlier this week we were delighted to host the West Cumbria Home Education group at our base. Team members organised activities to demonstrate: key first aid skills and knowledge; map reading and radios; and the range of equipment in our response vehicles. We had a great afternoon and we hope everyone else enjoyed themselves as much too!
It’s not £208.20? OH YES IT IS!! Big thanks go again to Gosforth Amateur Dramatic Society – GADS for raising a great sum for us during their recent production of Cinderella. The generosity of Gosforth folk and beyond is much appreciated. We hope they had a lot of fun raising it and that the ugly sisters got what they deserved!
A very warm welcome to our newest team member! Tilly and her trainee handler Mike, have just started their training with Lake District Mountain Rescue Searchdogs. We wish them well and every success in their future training.
You might be interested in a new podcast hosted by one of our team members, Chad Dixon. In this episode he talks with the legendary fell runner, Wendy Dodds. In the first episode, Chad talked with John and Susan Noake, who between them have over 100 years of service to Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team! https://open.spotify.com/episode/1C3BZYmfpM9AK81L995HXO?si=JLa8nGFXS9OQvwmXToQ7Qw&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A3zDRIXz8kht5J6UYoCUraU&nd=1 You can also access Episode #1 via the link
We are delighted to announce that last night the ‘class of 2022’ probationers successfully completed their final hill assessment with 8 becoming full team members with an additional 2 to follow. All the group have been a credit to themselves individually and as a group and are welcomed into the team. Congratulations from the whole team.
Tonight we were delighted to welcome our new probationary intake at their first full team training session. We wish them all the best and thank them in advance for their commitment to the team.
For those interested, here’s a short video showing sections of the callout and stretcher carry from our last callout. It illustrates why we need many team members for a long carry from the high fells…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbxd7wG5Bhs
Sunday 30 October is Mountain Rescue Awareness Day as well as being the first full day after the UK clocks go back. As the days shorten and the evenings draw in, it gets darker earlier in the afternoons and it’s a good time to think about safety for your day in the mountains during the colder months. https://www.mountain.rescue.org.uk/2022/10/welcome-to-the-dark-side/
Earlier this week we welcomed a group of enthusiastic 3rd and 4th year medical students to the base. We provided an insight into the casualty care we provide on the hills. The medical students are studying at the National Centre for Remote and Rural Medicine (UCLan) near Whitehaven. It was a fun evening and great to develop links with our local community.
Wasdale MRT is delighted to have been awarded £75,497 by the Mid Copeland GDF Community Partnership. This will enable the team to buy its fourth emergency vehicle kitted out with blue lights, casualty care and radio communications equipment. The vehicle will respond to the ever-increasing number of 999 callouts that the team receives, which on average occur on one in every three days. Andy Pratt, Chair of the Mid Copeland GDF Community Partnership, said: “This Read more…