Incidents 2010 (09, 08, 07, 06, 05)

July 24th. 17.30. Baugh Fell. 4.5 hours
14 team members including a search dog and handler, responded to a call from a solo male hillwalker lost in sudden and thick hill fog and rain on the extensive summit plateau of Baugh Fell. The team were assisted by two dogs and handlers from the Cave Rescue Organistaion. In addition Swaledale MRT were on standby at Garsdale Head. As the search developed the man was guided by team control via mobile phone, using the wind direction as indicator. Descending to lower ground he was able to walk out to safety.
Assistance by local farmers was of real value during the search and greatly appreciated.
The incident once again hi-lighted the essential need for walkers to carry map and compass with the knowledge of how to use them for simple route finding. Failure to adopt these basic principles can, in rapidly deteriorating weather conditions, put lives at risk.


July 22nd. 15.50. Wild Boar Fell 3 Hours
12 team members responded to a call to assist a woman who had become cragfast on rocks just below the summit of Wild Boar Fell. After a short search two team members reached the woman who was stuck, with her two large bearded collies, on a very steep rocky slope 50 metres below the summit. As other team members arrived the woman was helped to safety with assistance of a confidence rope. Unhurt, she was escorted down the fell to a waiting team landrover. The speed of the rescue was helped in part by very skillfull driving of a team landrover to a high part of the fell.

June 2nd 03.00 West Cumbria. 10 hours
The team were asked by police to assist in roadside searches along the route taken by the gunman in the tragic shootings on the 1st of June in West Cumbria. 11 team members responded. All the Cumbrian teams were involved as were Moffat, Teesdale and Bowland. The tasks were completed by late morning and the team returned to base at 13.00.One of the teams two dog handlers responded seperately to an earlier call to the same incident. This was to be his last incident with the team as he is moving to work in the Cairngorms in Scotland.

April 23rd 18.30 Appleby Area. 1.50 hours
11 team members responded to a request from Penrith MRT to help in a search for a lady missing from her home near Appleby. Depressed and needing help she was located by by police and brought of the fell by a farmer on a quad bike. This fortunate outcome occured just as the team were about to be deployed.
A team member, who is a member of Skywatch was ready to assist the search in his light aircraft.

March 29th 22.00 Mossdale Moor. 12.50 hours
The team received a request from Swaledale MRT to assist the search for a missing elderly male on the moorland west of Hawes. 4 team members were deployed for 5 hours on a night search and then a further 10 team members resumed searching in daylight at 7.00. In addition to Swaledale and KSMRT, team members from The CRO; Wharfedale; RAF MRT; Kendal MRT and dog handlers from other teams were involved in a detailed search of the dificult ground in very misty and wet conditions. The missing man was located at 11.30 by a search dog over a mile to the west of the search centre. He was very cold and wet but otherwise well.

March 26th 16.40. High Cup Nick 6 hours
The team were called out to search for a couple who had reported themselves lost between Great Rundale Tarn and High Cup Nick. 17 KSMRT members reponded. Teesdale and Penrith teams were also asked to help with the search. The situation was complicated by the fact that mobile phone reception was very intermittent and the information given was very limited. After 6 hours the couple were located, close to Rundale Tarn, by two Teesdale team members. They were suffering mild hyporthermia and were able to walk out to be picked up by a Kirkby Stephen Mobile near Rundale Beck. Incidents of this nature emphasise the need to carry map and compass and have the skills to use them A suitable torch (with spare batteries) should be carried year round and especially in the winter months.

February 27th 15.20 Dufton.. 50 minutes
Whilst KSMRT were giving fell cover and support to the annual High Cup Nick Fell race, two competitors were given first aid. One was suffering an asthma attack and the other had a cut knee

February 26th 14.10, Moreland near Penrith. 2 hours.
The team was called by Penrith MRT to assist with a search for an elderly man missing in the village of Moreland. 8 members responded in cold wet and wintery conditions to assist the search begun earlier by police and local residents. The missing man man turned up safe and well a little after 16.00 hours, having spent the day locked in a property adjacent to his own.

January 12th, B6276 at Hellbeck Fell. 3 hours
This was almost a carbon copy of the call out on the 30th of December. This time 13 team members responded to a request from the police, timed at 20.40, to rescue 5 people in 3 cars trapped in drifting snow and high winds at the high point of the Brough to Middleton in Teesdale road. This was despite the fact that the road was signed closed. Teesdale MRT were also called out. After reaching the vehicles it was decided that the passengers would be carried out in Teesdale team Landrovers as the road access was easier from the north. The remaining vehicles and road were checked to ensure that everyone had been evacuated and the team stood down.

January 12th. Great Asby, I hour.
5 team members answered a selective call at 2.40am to assist an ambulance in difficulty on a snow covered farm road close to Great Asby. When they reached the scene the ambulance had been recovered with the help of a farm tractor.

January 6th - 9th.
Over this period the team answered three requests for help with transport as result of the very difficult snow conditions.
1) 6th - Delivering meals on wheels over snow covered roads in Kirkby Stephen area. Two team members involved.
2) 6th - At request of Ambulance service the a team member collected a man and his wife from a snow bound cottage and delivered to hospital transport.
3) 9th - At the request of the ambulance service 3 team members in a team Landrover collected and transported a lady from her home in the Shap area to a nursing home in Appleby.

January 5th, Little Asby. 1.40 Hours
The team were called out to recover an unconcious man near the village of Little Asby. 14 team members responded. The man was treated at the scene and then carried to an Air Ambulance for transport to hospital.



January 3rd South Stainmore. 1.50 hours
11 team members responded to a call to Bleathgill, South Stainmore. A lady with an urgent medical condition required urgent transport to hospital. Ambulance vehicles couldn't drive the snow covered roads to the remote farmhouse. The lady was put onto a team stretcher in a casualty bag for warmth and carried by team Landrover back to KSMRTbase, where she was transferred to a waiting ambulance.

January 1st; Mallerstang. 1.5 hours.
While the team was covering the 9 Standards fell race a call came from the police asking for help in recovering an elderly lady from a snowbound cottage in the Mallerstang Valley. 12 teams members responded and reached the cottage. The 80 year old Lady was well but unable to negotiate the the steep and very slippery descent to the road. The team placed her in a Casualty Bag for warmth and sledged her down on a stretcher to join her family. The group had been celebrating New Year at the holiday cottage