April has seen the building nearing completion. Progress continues with plastering, painting, cabling, fitting of doors, doorframes, stairs and the myriad of jobs to make the base useable. The kitchen is in the final stages of fit out. The radio mast has been fitted with aerial and cabling. Early in April, the vehicles were parked in their locations to help with the final fit out of racking and positioning of the emergency generator in the Read more
March has seen a huge amount progress with plaster boarding, cabling, plastering, the laying of the concrete floor, the commissioning of the garage doors and the ground source heat pump. The kitchen has been fitted out as have both bath rooms and the communications installation is in progress.
The annual Lingmell Dash takes place on 28th July at 14:30.  All proceeds to the team. Category: AS Distance: 7.2km / 4.5m Climb: 762m / 2500ft Venue: Wasdale Head Inn carpark, CA20 1EX. Grid ref: NY187088 Skills & experience: ER, LK, NS Minimum age: 16 http://www.fellrunner.org.uk/races.php?id=5790
Members of Wasdale MRT were invited along to the Blengdale Runners AGM to receive a £400 donation from the proceeds of last year’s 2 road races. Each year Blengdale Runners, also based in Gosforth, host a 10 mile run in June and a 10km in September. All money raised is donated to local charities in the surrounding area. The races have been organised for almost 30 years now and Wasdale MRT have provided a tail Read more
A lot has happened in February. Here are some pictures showing the concrete apron, the garage doors, and some of the fit out inside including the ground source heat pump. The training room has been plastered as well as several other areas.
After the joists were installed, the fit out of the interior of the base is underway. The individual rooms are now taking shape and the garage is due to be concreted soon. The radio mast is ready for antennae and cabling.
If you are interested to see what Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team gets up to there is a 5 minute edited piece that will be going out this coming Thursday 25th evening (show starts 7.00 pm on BBC1). The show focuses on the high numbers of callouts and additional signage for England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike. We have been told that it will air unless something major happens in the UK for it to be rescheduled…….here’s Read more
Thanks to the people in Egremont on Saturday 9th December and in Whitehaven on Saturday 23rd December who donated to the team. We raised a massive £341 and £1,261 respectively……fantastic!
The month of December saw the completion of the external blockwork and the installation of the ceiling joists. We also took delivery of and erected the new radio mast. The building is almost watertight and the next steps are to fit the door and window furniture.
This weekend saw the team being filmed for BBC’s The One Show. The final footage is still being recorded and edited and the 2 1/2 minute feature will air in the New Year. The article follows the team on a practice version of a typical callout where a casualty has sustained a fracture dislocation of a lower leg and needs to be stretchered off the path that runs up to England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike. Read more
This month saw significant effort on the block work and cladding. Also, the radio mast was delivered and installed on its foundation. At the end of the month the floor joists were delivered.
October has seen the roof sections installed along with cladding and block work. The ground source heat pump manifold has been connected. The last few pictures show the view from inside the building for the first time, with the two garage openings visible, gear-up room, control room, lobby, office, wet room, drying room and plant room.
Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team have a specialist capability for Flood and Swift water Rescue. This consists of a dozen trained and accredited ‘technicians’ who are responsible, together with other MRTs and partner agencies for responding to flooding and water related incidents. MRTs have made a significant contribution in responding both in Cumbria and elsewhere over the last few years. For these Technicians to retain their accreditation they need to undertake at least two days additional Read more
Following the completion of the ground preparation last month, September has seen significant progress above ground. Here you can see that the steel frame has been erected and that the block work has started. The garage entrances are now visible nearest the camera and some of the cladding has been delivered to site.
The new base now has an electricity supply and drainage. Steel work is due to arrive on site very soon and the construction above ground level can then begin.
Two team members being winched down to the fell  above Pikes Crag to attend to an injured walker on the summit of Scafell Pike
This year’s Wasdale Mountain Rescue Lingmell Dash saw a disappointingly small but experienced field of 13 set off down the valley by Jen Fraser, who founded the race in 2002, on her return from New Zealand on holiday. A round trip of four and a half miles with a 2500 foot climb saw Yorkshire raider and England international Ben Mounsey of Calder Valley lead from the start. Ben was never headed in the lung bursting Read more
July has been a busy month with drainage and pouring the concrete foundations. The concrete is ready to accept the steelwork frame of the building. Next month should see the electricity connection being installed.
Some of June was a bit damp but there was progress on the installing the heat exchanger array for the ground source heat pump. This is now covered by soil in the picture on the left. The picture on the right now clearly depicts the outline of the building and car park in preparation for laying the foundations.
The team is holding an impromptu BBQ on Saturday 8th July at the Gosforth Hall Hotel. Our hosts Rod and Barbara have offered to put on a hog roast and other meaty BBQ type morsels with suitable vegetarian options to help support the team. Food will be available from 18:00 hrs. Come and have a chat with the team – It would be great if you could make it.