Patrick Relay Autumn 2021

Patrick Relay News from the Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team

Autumn 2021

Team welcomes New Defender The Team has received the keys to its new rescue vehicle, the first of the New Defender 110 model to be adapted for Mountain Rescue. The purchase and conversion was made possible by the success of our Appeal in 2020 to raise £85,000 and the work has been completed by Colin Todd and his team at Lakeland Land Rover.

Patterdale MRT Vehicles Officer, Mike Childs, receives the keys to the New Defender from Colin Todd of Lakeland Land Rover.

LtoR Mike Childs, Colin Todd and Mike Rippon

Since delivery of the vehicle, it has been adapted in several ways for use in rescue. The conversion involved the fitting of internal storage cages to protect occupants from moving objects, especially in the event of an accident. Also on the inside, the rear compartment has been equipped to carry a stretcher with the secondrow seats folded flat and the passenger seat pushed forwards. A customised rear floor with a rope and carabiner system with locking cleats can now anchor the stretcher in position.

Extra lighting, donated by Premier Hazard, has been fitted inside the vehicle and around the exterior. This includes flashers behind the grill, plus a main LED bar using blue flashers above a white bar for use as auxiliary main beam. The New Defender is also the Team’s first vehicle to carry a radio repeater, boosting the signal of handheld radios for more resilient communication.

The vehicle was sent to Protection and Performance for its distinctive, custom-made roll-cage and roof-rack. The vehicle needed a bespoke external roll-cage, in addition to the factory rollover protection, for extra safety, and the design went through several iterations to achieve the best result.

The Team’s Vehicle Officer is Mike Childs: “We’re now back to full strength with four Team vehicles and we’re looking forward to seeing the New Defender deal with the terrain around Ullswater and the demands of rescue. Colin and his team at Lakeland Land Rover have worked with us for many years and understand our requirements down to the fine details so the new Mobile 4 should be a great addition to our small fleet.”

Mike Rippon is Patterdale MRT’s Team Leader: “This vehicle is a brilliant example of the support that the public has given Patterdale MRT and its members in the past 18 months. We know things have been tough for many people and the generosity that has enabled us to buy and adapt this vehicle is amazing.”

“I’d like to say a huge Thank you to everyone who donated or raised funds for us – it is really appreciated.

The summer months have been busy for the Team and it’s good to be back to four vehicles in time for what is looking like a busy end to the year.

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Visit the NEW Patterdale Mountain Rescue web site at www.mountainrescue.org.uk for latest call outs

Celebrating the Ullswater Valley throughout 2022

2021 saw the first ever Ullswater Valley Calendar to raise money for the Team and we were extremely grateful for everyone’s support - contributors and purchasers – and for their feedback.

The 2022 edition again has the Ullswater Valley as its theme and it includes some very different images of the Team’s area taken throughout the seasons and at various times of the day – and night.

The calendar can be purchased via the Team’s online Shop and Catstycam Outdoor also has a stock for sale in its Glenridding shop.

“The calendar was a great success last year,” says Fundraising Chair, Ken Hardcastle, “and our heartfelt thanks go to Mike and Ann Childs, Team member and Trustee respectively, for all their work in pulling this together.”

“We made an appeal on social media and in Relay,” says Trustee and organiser of the project, Ann Childs, “and photos have been donated by Team members, Trustees and Supporters, including professional photographers, Mark Littlejohn and Carmen Norman.”

Team member and President, Dave Freeborn, has used his design expertise to work with the printers, H&H Reeds and the finished calendar comes complete with a card envelope. The price remains at £10 plus postage and packing and we’re hoping to beat last year’s sales with a print run of 500 this time around.

A busy week in the summer

In three consecutive days during a particularly busy August, the Team responded to five different call outs, each one typical of the types of incidents where we are needed.

Swift Water Rescue training Training for water rescue is a big part of the Team’s responsibilities, not only in case of flooding in our local community, but also with common rescue locations in our area, such as Aira Force and becks in spate. In late September, 15 members of the Team spent four days at Tees Barrage International White Water course with trainers from Rescue North East (RNE). Suzie Wilson, Team member and a nurse in her day job, was one of those who took part.

“The aim of the course was to complete our Rescue 3 Europe Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician qualification. Over the four days, we had a combination of theoretical elements in the classroom, in the morning, followed by practical sessions on the River Tees in the afternoon.”

“On the river, we focused on rescuing casualties whilst maintaining personal and team safety. We used a variety of methods including ropes and Team boats. There was a casualty care element in the course too as we learnt how to treat a drowning casualty and also how to evacuate them from the river. On the final day, we had to put all the skills and techniques that we had learnt into practice and we were tested in various scenarios.”

In the first, the Team was called to a young casualty who was doing his Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition with his school. He had sustained a knee injury and was unable to continue. The young man was located at the top of Scandale Pass, his knee stabilised using a vacuum splint, and he was then evacuated to the road on a stretcher and taken back to his accommodation in Patterdale.

There were then two call-outs on the Thursday of the same week. At about 4.00pm, the Team was asked to assist a husband and wife who had been walking the Fairfield Horseshoe when they became disorientated in cloud and started to descend NE from Hart Crag towards Hartsop Above How. The Team used the GPS on the couple’s phone to identify their position and provided directions back onto their intended route. Their progress was monitored until they returned to the valley.

Finally, the Team went to help a 43-year-old woman who had injured her ankle while walking in the Grisedale valley with her family. With no phone signal, her husband and son walked down to raise the alarm. The Team made its way up to the family, a few hundred metres south of Ruthwaite Lodge. After assessing and splinting the woman’s left ankle, and administering pain relief, she was stretched down to a waiting Land Rover ambulance.

“Our instructors from RNE ensured the course was interesting and kept us motivated with their sense of humour. As one of the weaker swimmers, I got washed off course and down the river rapids several times! They were always there to show support.”

“It was a tough, long weekend – for us and for the Team members left back at Ullswater to handle any incidents – but everyone passed and great fun was had by all!”

On the following day, a Wednesday, the Team was alerted by the Police at about 4.00pm to a family party of three who had become lost while trying to descend from the summit of Helvellyn in cloud. The Team contacted them and identified their location via the GPS on the son’s Smart phone. Directions were provided and the family’s location was monitored as they descended to the valley and made their way back to their car.

Later the same day, the Team was returning to Base when they were flagged down by a member of the public.

A woman in a group of tourists was suffering from a suspected panic attack and was struggling to breathe. She was given initial first aid. Once the Team doctor arrived on scene, the patient’s breathing was stabilised and she went on her way.

“We always knew that this was going to be a busy summer and that was definitely the case,” says Team Leader, Mike Rippon. “At such busy times, it’s great that mobile phone and GPS technology often enables us to help without going out on to the fells but accidents can happen to the most experienced and prepared walkers and we’re always here to help as needed. Thank you to every Team member who has worked so hard over the summer and to their families and employers too – without their support, we couldn’t operate as we do.”

Further information on all Team call outs is on the Incidents section of our website.

PATRICK RELAY l Autumn 2021

New Cards Available As well as our Ullswater Valley Calendar 2022, we also have a number of new fundraising cards available in the online Shop. All proceeds from these go to the Team and we are very grateful to the various photographers who contribute their images.

There are two new winter cards, one focusing on Striding Edge and one featuring sheep hurrying home across a snowy field. We also have five new more general cards that can be used at any time of the year. From a dazzling kingfisher, photographed by former Chair of Trustees, John Williams, to a flock of Herdwick sheep, captured on camera by Team member, Nigel Harling, there is something for everyone.

One of the new cards that is already proving very popular features Striding Edge on Helvellyn, captuted in winter snow cover by probationary team member, Steve Dixon. Given that it is also Mike’s photograph of the Duke of Portland’s Boat House on the front cover of the 2022 Calendar, we’re very lucky to have so much talent in the Team.

All cards are available in packs of 10 or in a mixed pack from our online Shop.

Every Donation Helps The Team has been at the receiving end of amazing generosity in the past year and we’re very aware that we can only thank a small number of our supporters and donors in Relay.

On this occasion, we’d like to thank the staff of Gledhill Building Products in Blackpool who donated £588 to the Team as a result of their annual get together in The Lakes and we’d like to thank everyone involved in the ULTRA Festival, organized by Andy Nuttall and Stuart Smith, for the £2,170 that they raised for the Chris Lewis Support Fund.

We appreciate every donation, every online Shop purchase and every bit of fundraising on our behalf – thank you!

Fundraising with a Smile Thank you to any readers of Relay who have already activated AmazonSmile on their online shopping accounts and are supporting the Team in this way. AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon with the same products, prices and shopping features.

The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the net purchase price to your chosen charity (excluding VAT, returns and shipping fees).

So, if you are buying from Amazon, why not log in via smile.amazon.co.uk and choose Patterdale Mountain Rescue Association Limited as your charity to support? Thank you

Articles for Relay We are always looking for interesting articles or letters from supporters. Please write c/o Patrick Relay Editor, Ogilvie House, Patterdale, Cumbria CA11 0PJ The Patterdale Mountain Rescue Association Ltd. is a registered charity No1063329 and is affiliated to the Mountain Rescue Council of England and Wales.