Patrick relay winter 2016

Patrick Relay Winter 2016

News from the Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team

Introducing Mountain Rescue (and a Land Rover called Will) Earlier in the year, we worked with former Team member and freelance writer, Anja Phoenix, to create a pack of materials to introduce our work to local primary school-aged children.

The result was an education pack featuring a Land Rover called Will who poses plenty of questions for children to think about and shares lots of information about how Mountain Rescue works.

Mike Blakey, Patterdale Team Leader says: “Having someone like Anja involved with the Team is a brilliant resource as she’s got the expertise and experience to write something like this at exactly the right level and depth for primary school-aged children. The pack is colourful and cheerful but also has some strong messages about the range of skills on the Team and the voluntary nature of what we do. It should be a great resource for teachers in local schools and we’re looking forward to seeing the ideas and work that come out of it in the next few years.”

Presentation to Liz Stewart and Patterdale school children during their tour of the Rescue Centre

The pack was launched in June with the handover of the first pack to Mrs Liz Stewart, head teacher of Patterdale CofE Primary School who visited Ogilvie House with all the children from the school.

Feedback so far has been really positive with one head teacher saying: “Just to say a big thank you for providing my school with the pack and MR video too. I used the materials in assembly this week and they had 350 children spellbound! Around 60% of our children were flooded this year and our local community is immensely grateful to the mountain rescue teams. I will certainly recommend these materials to other local head teachers.”

Printed copies of the education pack have been distributed

by Team members to other local primary schools and the materials are available to download from the Patterdale MRT website at www.mountainrescue.org.uk/educationpack.

Incidents 2016 So far this year, our call out rate has been back to something more like 2011 and 2012 rather than the much high levels of the past two years and it’s good to know that visitors and local walkers alike are keeping safe.

As Relay went to press, we’d had just over 40 shouts in all, with the usual spread of injuries, incidents and curious call outs. Further information is online at www.mountainrescue.org.uk.

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

Striding Edge, Catstycam and Ullswater feature on new cards

Catstycam in winter snow cover is probably the most dramatic of the three while a misty Autumn dawn creates a peaceful image of Ullswater but Striding Edge is probably one of the most relevant to the Team’s work.

accentuate the shape of the hills but leaves Red Tarn in shadow. The figures in the foreground help to add a sense of scale (and a red highlight) and are approaching the final pull up onto the summit of Hevellyn.

The rocky area ahead of them is steep and can be John tells the story behind quite intimidating, especially the image: when coated in snow - its “This image was taken just position above a gully to left after noon on 28 December has been the scene of many when the weather was cold Team rescues.”

We’re adding four new but reasonably clear with designs to our popular Finally, Andy’s image thin cloud just above the range of greetings shows Team members out summit of Helvellyn. You cards in time for in a snow storm during Christmas. Three feature can see wisps of the cloud winter skills training. blowing across the right side photographs taken of the Striding Edge ridge.” Those conditions will soon

by Trustee and Team supporter, John Williams “Even at midday in be with us again so the and one by Team doctor, December the sun maintains card’s a good reminder to Andy McAlea. a low angle which helps stay safe!

News from our Supporters It’s been a busy summer for our supporters and the Team really appreciates all their efforts on our behalf. Fundraising has ranged from collections on an offshore oil rig to the children of a rescued casualty running a garden fete and everything in between.

It’s also been great to welcome members of our Supporters’ Club to events in and around Patterdale where their extra

Just before Christmas in 2007, the Team was involved in the fairly epic rescue of Stuart Senior from Scrubby Crag. This summer, Stuart’s two older children,

help and tremendous enthusiasm for the work of the Team has been incredible. Special thanks go to Ken, Angela and Holly as well as others who’ve supported us at events – and if you think you could help us in future, please contact Nigel Harling, Supporters’ Club Secretary and Fundraising Officer via the website.

Thanks to everyone who has helped us this summer – we can only feature a few images to represent some of the many activities but the thank you goes to every single one of you.

Toby and Heidi, organised a fete in the garden of their Carlisle home and raised over £100 for our work.

Events like the London Marathon and Great North Run are great for charities such as Mountain Rescue.

Thanks to Pete Rushton who raised funds for us in September.

Congratulations

to the new Mr and Mrs Marfleet (aka Mark Marfleet and Sue Baggott) who were recently married at the Rampsbeck Hotel near Ullswater. The Team rescued Sue back in October 2015 so it was brilliant to hear from her and many thanks to the happy couple for asking their wedding guests to support us with donations. Sean Duffy and Tom Iredale went along in a Team vehicle to congratulate them both on their special day and the couple have since visited us to hand over a donation of £2000.

Shop sales support the Team Our online shop features several possible gifts for Christmas including a few new additions that may be useful out on the hills over the winter. Profits from all sales go to support the work of the Team as well as helping to raise awareness.

The specially-made First Aid kit is ideal for keeping in your rucksack in case of emergencies (or on a belt) and it’s easy to find when you’re out and about as it’s bright safety orange and has a reflective strip too!

We’ve stocked the First Aid Kit with a few basics such as tough-cut shears, dressings, bandages, mediwipes and assorted plasters but you’ll see online that we also recommend your adding other items such as antihistamine cream, pain relief tablets and glucose tablets.

Knowing how to use the contents of a First Aid kit is just as important as what’s in it,” says team Doctor, John Ellerton, “and we’d recommend that anyone spending time outdoors invests a little bit of time in basic life support and First Aid training.”

Other items in the website Shop include Supporter neck warmers or headovers, wood-effect USB flash drives, keyrings, long handle tote bags and, of course, mugs and teddy bears!

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One final thought for members of our Supporters’ Club – why not buy a gift membership for a friend or family member and send it to them enclosed with one of our new cards?

Paul Meehan and other members of Three Sh$@ts to the Wind busking in aid of the Team at Lowther Show in August – over £400 raised!

Visit the Patterdale Mountain Rescue web site at www. mountainrescue.org.uk for latest call out information and Team news

Steve Foster and everyone on the Alba Northern rig – Steve called in at the Rescue Centre to hand over £1000 raised by everyone who works on the Alba Northern offshore platform in the North Sea. Thank you for the support.

PATRICK RELAY l Winter 2016

Advice for winter walking As the days shorten and the evenings get darker, there are several things that you can do to keep yourself safe and to avoid having to call out Mountain Rescue. Add to the mix snow and ice on the fells and stronger winds as you go higher and we thought that some advice for winter walking would be useful. u Make sure you start your walk early enough in the day; be aware of what time it gets dark and allow for a change in the weather too. u Plan your day and route taking into consideration a reliable mountain weather forecast such as www.mwis.org or the local Lake District fell top service. u You’ll need a good torch and spare batteries whatever your plans in case you get delayed. Some people prefer to carry a second lightweight torch so they don’t need to mess about trying to change batteries in the cold or the dark if the head torch packs up – worth considering.

u Trying to read a map or make your way over rough ground from a tiny light on a mobile phone is a nightmare. And it’ll use up what could be vital mobile phone battery life. Modern LED head torches don’t cost a lot, use little battery power and are much brighter – best to carry one (or two) in your pack. u An important tip is to register your phone with a 999 text service. If it is really windy or wild you often struggle to hear the 999 operator and what they are saying. Often a spoken message can’t get through when a text will. u As we move through into early winter, there may be icy conditions and snow on the hills when the valleys are green and frost-free. Ice axe and crampons should always be carried in the mountains in the winter months as an icy patch on a path may mean that you need to make a dangerous detour without the correct equipment.

And, finally, whatever the time of year, it’s worth being prepared with sturdy footwear with a good tread and a bag that contains food, drink, waterproofs, extra layers to keep warm and dry if the worst happens, hat and gloves, map and compass.

Yetis in the Lake District For about six months of this year, the Team’s trusty Land Rovers were supplemented by two Skoda Yetis and visitors to Patterdale may have seen these vehicles out and about.

The Yetis are now safely returned to the local Skoda dealer but huge thanks go to the parent company which offered UK Mountain Rescue teams the loan of vehicles following last winter’s floods.

“The team at Skoda understood that our own vehicles might need additional servicing or have been damaged in the floods,” says Team Equipment Officer, Glenn Bridge, “and the additional Yetis, although not equipped as ambulances, were a big help in transporting Team members and equipment into the hills.”

For the Patterdale Team, the additional vehicles also meant that one Land Rover

could be kept on the Pooley Bridge side of the river ready for rescues on the Howtown side of the lake. “We were very grateful to Chambers Garage at Tirril as they kept one of the Land Rovers there until the bridge at Pooley Bridge was replaced,” says Glenn. “Without the bridge in place, we had a long detour to get from the Rescue Centre to Howtown with the other vehicles and the Chambers arrangement made a big difference.”

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.