At 08:12, CVSRT received a request from Yorkshire Ambulance Service to assist with evacuating a male who had fallen down a banking, sustaining injuries.
Team stood down.  Enough resources on-scene to deal. No involvement from CVSRT required.

In attendance: 23 CVSRT
Yorkshire Ambulance Service
YAS HART
YAS DCA
West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service
West Yorkshire Police

Total Duration: 33mins

At 13:25, CVSRT received a request from Yorkshire Ambulance Service to assist with a casualty suffering breathing difficulties at a farm with limited vehicle access.

CM2 was already out covering an event at Robinwood Activity Centre so despatched directly to the scene to offer assistance. Yorkshire Air Ambulance were also on scene.

In attendance: 8 CVSRT
Yorkshire Ambulance Service
Yorkshire Air Ambulance

Total Duration: 3hrs 35mins

At 06:46, CVSRT received a request from West Yorkshire Police to assist with the search for a missing person in Wainstalls area of Calderdale. Whilst CVSRT Leaders were making their way to Halifax, the missing person was located by the police, and the team were subsequently stood down.

In attendance: 7 CVSRT
West Yorkshire Police

Total Duration: 42mins

Reek Sunday, County Mayo, Republic of Ireland.

A ballistic flight from England to Ireland. 50minutes in the air, barely enough time to get the trolley around let alone drink the two bottles of wine the woman beside me buys. We land at Knock International Airport with a runway built to 747 landing standards so the Pope could land to visit the Basilica. Welcome to Knock Airport, gateway to Croagh Patrick, Curach Phádraig, the mountain of Saint Patrick. To the locals, ‘The Reek’.

Car hires collected, turn left off the airport grounds straight onto a single track road with passing places, turn right onto a narrower road with no passing places. Not exactly the easiest airport to access in the country. Eventually we join the N5, and off to the hostel at the base of the mountain. It would be another 40 hours before we’d get a glimpse of the top since it was hidden beneath the clag from the moist air driven up from the Atlantic.  With its top less than 1km from the sea, and rising 764m from the coast, Croagh Patrick is notorious for poor weather. With an average gradient of 28 degrees and its steepest section at 44 degrees, this was where we were to be stationed with other mountain rescue teams from across Ireland for the holy day of pilgrimage called Reek Sunday.

Reek Sunday pilgrims follow the path of Irelands patron Saint Patrick, who is said to have walked up the mountain barefoot, to sleep at the top and perform a service at sunrise the next day. No pagan connotations obviously. Pilgrims do the same, walking the mountain, many barefoot, at some point over the last weekend in July. Many make the ascent to attend one of the hourly masses performed at the summit church. Numbers have declined in recent years and long gone are the heydays of Reek Sunday where over 50,000 people could be expected on the mountain.

After a break from travel we made our way to dinner at the local eating pub. Another short trip to the drinking pub, where we were due to meet members of Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team (DWMRT) and a few more local beverages before bed.

Saturday morning, everyone ready, vehicles packed, and off we were to Doo Lough at the base of Ben Bury to train with the DWMRT kit that we would be using for the weekend. Different stretchers, team calls, movement patterns; all had to be worked through so we could function as one on the mountain on Sunday. A few hours working, talking, grunting, pushing and lowering, and it was time for lunch at the local farm shop. Food ordered, chatting with the owner who was stunned that we had come over from Yorkshire, before being told that food was on the house for everyone. We were stunned and appreciated the generosity, each of us leaving a substantial tip to cover part of what we gorged.

Back to the hostel and people’s feet were getting itchy for the mountain. Five of us ditched kit from our bags, stashed our MR branded gear and went for a fast moving hike up the mountain. An hour and twenty minutes later we were on the top. It was sinking in how difficult a mountain this was going to be to perform a rescue off with the constantly moving scree and boulders of the Cone. A poor weather forecast for the day ahead was going to give us a very tough day with high probability of no helicopter cover. Before we descended we were treated to a break in the clouds and the view over Clew Bay. Looking down we realised how arduous a walk this would be for the pilgrims the next day, many of whom you would not class as hill walkers, let alone members of our outdoor community.

Gear was packed away, bags ready for the early morning start, before we drove to Westport for a team meal with CVSRT and DWMRT members. Three courses later, bloated and sleepy we were told to put our money away as the Dublin & Wicklow team were picking up the bill. Again, random acts of kindness were truly appreciated. 9pm, a final kit check, hill food made, bags into the car for a 2am start. Bedtime.

~

0200 – Up, kit on, toilet stop #1, coffee, second coffee, toast, third coffee, toilet #2.

0230 – In the car, roll from hostel towards Mayo Mountain Rescue Team base a 40 minutes drive away.

0320 – Coffee, stew for breakfast. Unpack team kit and split among all members, pack the rest onto the stretcher with carry strops and wheel attached.

0400 – Leave the base, head up the first part of the Reek, a bog, tussocks, drag kit up.

0455 – Reach the shoulder, head for med tent, 300m vertical height gained, rest for 10mins while waiting for deployment. We know we’re going to the top, DWMRT always get the top.
Pilgrims are already walking to the top in the traditional ascent at night. Some are more ‘worse for wear’ than others, maybe a few too many drinks under their belts!?

0505 – Radio shout to deploy to the top, surprised? …not at all. Thank you sir, may we have another?

0600 – In position 60 minutes earlier than any previous year, worked very well as a team despite the amount of walkers already coming down from the summit. 400m height gained. Very tired now.

0600 – 0730 – Spread across the summit and 100m below the summit. Sat in a group shelter talking with other DWMRT members, occasionally looking out to make sure no one was injured or requiring assistance. Relatively quiet, but constant stream of pilgrims. Likely lads in local football jerseys come past fresh from the nightclub, chanting something unprintable about pilgrimage and penitence.

0736 – Redeployment to the base of the cone…400m below us. We redeploy 200m lower at a known hotspot that wasn’t being covered at the time. Lowering the stretcher on a V-belay with kit in a body-shaped bivvi bag, which raised a few eyebrows and quite a few explanations needed to passers-by. UK accents garner some very confused looks from the locals. The legacy of Cromwell is not forgotten easily in these parts. Local belligerence is amusing to our fellow Irish MRT members.

0800 – 0915 – Group shelters again, out of the fall line while the weather turns grim. Four shelters in a row like a line of giant mutant Skittles. Lots of people now, constant stream of them, very quiet, visibility about 20m at best.

0900 – We get out to stretch our legs. Visibility up to about 40m and we spent some time out watching the parade of silent, focused ‘zombies’ trudge past with the occasional stumble. The odd person takes the faster, safer fell race route down.

0900ish – A fast descending walker takes a fall, lands face first, tumbles a further 20m before coming to a rest. We wait to see if he gets up. He doesn’t. DWMRT member crosses the moraine to him. Arm flag, paramedic crosses. Arm flag, two more over, two more up to stop falling rocks and move people out of the rock trap above. Rest of us strip the stretcher for med kit, and ropes. It’s a definite carry out. We’re on a 40degree gradient with a lot of loose rock above and below us.

0900-0930 – Bleeding stemmed, arm and shoulder splinted, pain care underway. We move across moraine with all team kit, pilgrims are kindly persuaded to move aside so we can get there.

0930-0945 – Patient packaged, medication administered, a lot of screaming, kisu doing well as a visual block. Many people walking over to see what’s occurring, politely asked to move along just in case they may get hit with a rock from above. They only move when we point out their safety.

At some point, the clag started to lift and we heard a helicopter inbound. A Coastguard S92 landed, we made direct contact to find out if we could use it, sadly it was for a casualty with a cardiac that had occurred. We were notified that 5 incidents had occurred within 20mins of each other. ICRO – Irish Cave Rescue, were acting as runners trying to get more kit on the hill where it was needed.

0945-1030 – Moving belay with 10 on a V back rope attached to stretcher with 6 out riggers and one navigator/person herder at the front. Strenuous moving the stretcher down the steep slope with meter high steps where brute force is the only option. Regular stops to check the casualty’s ABCs and reassess what we were planning. Finally, flat ground, wheel stretcher to med tent.

As we arrive at the med tent, we are told we’ve an inbound helicopter from the Air Corps - worried about the head injury the casualty had sustained, immediate air evacuation is advised. Looking back, we see two more teams split and head for a single point high up the hill, a sixth injury. All stretchers are currently occupied. New teams are moving up for shift change and go into action, moving their kit into place having had no rest from the initial movement from the ground level base to the shoulder of the Reek. They get a further 7 injuries in the next 6 hours. Coastguard and Air Corps helicopters provide amazing air support when the weather allows it. We were very lucky that the casualties happened later in the day when the clag lifted.

1035 – Quick team briefing on the helicopter type we have inbound. Military craft we don’t normally deal with. Smoke popped. Heli lands hot and stays hot. Casualty transferred to heli stretcher. Paramedics handover. Load casualty onto heli, downwash directly under rotor is less than a S92, which was not as bad as expected. Casualty is flown direct to Castlebar hospital for urgent medical assistance.

1050 – We end our shift in 10mins. Team debrief from DWMRT paramedic and Team Leader. Repack stretcher to leave the Reek. Radio to control base that we are off-call. General feeling of being a useful member of society prevails in the team. Time to walk off. Pack kit again.

1140 – Get to car, change into dry clothes, eat two bowls of stew and a packet of Fruit Pastels.

1200 – Drive back to airport. Ditch rental car. Check in. Drink a beer. Get on plane. Sleep.
More please.

Greg May
CVSRT Probationary Member

Today CVSRT members have been providing safety cover for an organised downhill mountain bike event at the Havok Bike Park, which is nestled in dense steep woodland near Cornholme.

Mid-way through the morning CVSRT members were called away to assist with an incident near Brontë Falls, Haworth (Incident #1034) before returning to continue the safety cover at the event. Thankfully the events passed by with only two incidents that required our assistance.

Incident #1035
A rider fell off and sustained an ankle injury. Team members provided pain relief and the casualty was stretchered to the car park where his friend transported him to hospital for further medical assistance.

Incident #1036
A rider was heard to crash by two team members. He had sustained a cut but was up and walking around so appeared to be ok, however ten minutes after the crash he was exhibiting signs of mild concussion. He was cared for at the scene by a team doctor.

CVSRT would like to thank the organisers for holding a prize raffle to help raise funds for the team.

In attendance: 7 CVSRT

Total Duration: 7hrs

Today CVSRT members have been providing safety cover for an organised downhill mountain bike event at the Havok Bike Park, which is nestled in dense steep woodland near Cornholme.

Mid-way through the morning CVSRT members were called away to assist with an incident near Brontë Falls, Haworth (Incident #1034) before returning to continue the safety cover at the event. Thankfully the events passed by with only two incidents that required our assistance.

Incident #1035
A rider fell off and sustained an ankle injury. Team members provided pain relief and the casualty was stretchered to the car park where his friend transported him to hospital for further medical assistance.

Incident #1036
A rider was heard to crash by two team members. He had sustained a cut but was up and walking around so appeared to be ok, however ten minutes after the crash he was exhibiting signs of mild concussion. He was cared for at the scene by a team doctor.

CVSRT would like to thank the organisers for holding a prize raffle to help raise funds for the team.

In attendance: 7 CVSRT
Total Duration: 7hrs

At 11:06, CVSRT was alerted to an incident near Brontë Falls, Stanbury where a 61yo lady had fallen whilst out walking with her husband, and sustained a suspected elbow fracture.

20 CVSRT members were available to respond immediately and made their way to the location either in team vehicles or directly. Team members were quickly on-scene and located the lady who was able to walk up to the main track to receive medical assistance from a team doctor.

Pain relief was given and her arm was splinted before a team member transported the casualty to hospital for further treatment.

In attendance: 20 CVSRT
Total Duration: 2hrs 54mins

At 16:54, CVSRT received a request from Yorkshire Ambulance Service to assist with locating a vehicle that had left the A629 (Cross Hills).

Team members were stood down en-route as the vehicle was found and all occupants were accounted for.

In attendance: 13 CVSRT
Total Duration: 16mins

At 19:55, CVSRT received a request from Yorkshire Ambulance Service to provide urgent assistance with a vehicle, which had left the A672 (Rishworth Moor) and had come to rest approx. 50-60ft down the steep banking in a deep ravine. 19 CVSRT members were available to assist immediately and deployed in team vehicles or directly.

Once on-scene, team members were advised by West Yorkshire Police that the driver was missing from the vehicle, so we were tasked with assisting with a multi-agency search for the driver at the crash site and surrounding moorland.

At 02:00, CVSRT members concluded their tasking and returned to base, then onward to their homes. No further information is available at this moment.

Police enquiries are ongoing.

In attendance: 19 CVSRT

On-scene:
West Yorkshire Police (WYP)
West Yorkshire Police Dogs (WYPD)
West Yorkshire Police Roads Policing Unit (WYP RPU)
National Police Air Service (NPAS CarrGate)
Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA)
Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS)
YAS BASICS Doctor
YAS Hazardous Area Response Team (YAS HART)
West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (WYFRS)
WYFRS Technical Rescue Unit (TRU)
Search and Rescue Dog from Cave Rescue Organisation (SARDA England) (CRO)

Total Duration: 6hrs 5mins

On Saturday 15th July 2017, Mountain Rescue members from the Mid-Pennine Region who are specially trained in water rescues techniques came together at the River Washburn in North Yorkshire to refresh their water rescue skills and to forge a stronger working relationship. Water First Responders and Swift Water Rescue Technicians from Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team, Bolton Mountain Rescue Team and Holme Valley Mountain Rescue Team gathered in the river flow beneath Woodyard on the river.

It’s worth mentioning that this training was made possible by a kind invitation from Halifax Canoe Club and Yorkshire Water. On limited occasions the river is supplemented from Thruscross Reservoir, providing a guaranteed strong flow of water along the river length into Fewston Reservoir. This in turn provides the perfect opportunity for the canoe club members to enjoy a slalom competition in the upper section, whilst we trained downstream in the lower section of the river.

Throughout the day, team members trained together to practice core water rescue skills required to operate safely around swift water including defensive and aggressive swimming through the flows, throw line rescue and tethered rescue swims to retrieve casualties from the water. The afternoon session included more technical rescue skills training including the tethering and manoeuvring of a rescue craft across the river and into the flow using high lines. Such skills may be called upon to carry out a rescue from a vehicle trapped during a flood.

This training was also part of a developing program to bring together Mountain Rescue water rescue members from across the Mid Pennine Region. All members are trained to the same National Standards for water rescue and from experience during recent major water rescue incidents, i.e. the flooding incident witnessed earlier this year on the East coast, Mountain Rescue water rescue specialists often work together to support the statutory emergency services.

Finally it’s worth remembering that all the equipment seen in these photographs such as the dry suits, water craft, specialist ropes etc. are all funded by generous donations from the public and sponsors from across the region, all supporting their own local Mountain Rescue teams.

We would all like to thank everyone for the continued support for Mountain Rescue teams. This allows us to train and maintain essential skills, ensuring we are prepared to help the public in times of need.

Mick Smith
CVSRT Water Lead