Team well represented at the Gosforth annual Show - 20 August 2011    

Don't forget to support the team at the Kern Knotts weekend - 3rd to 5th September

Deputy Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff Visits the Base - 17 August 2011    

Iona Frost-Pennington and her husband Peter visited Millforge to understand a little more about the team and the way mountain rescue is organised regionally and nationally.  Iona and Peter live at Muncaster Castle and together with her father own the estate.  Recently she was appointed by the Queen as the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Cumbria.  The Lord Lieutenancy role goes back many hundreds of years and is there to be present at all royal visits to the county.  The High Sheriff role is a 12 month appointment.

Richard Warren, Team Chairman with Iona Frost-Pennington in the Mill Forge Base Control Room.

A small but select band of runners assembled at the Wasdale Head Inn on Saturday for the tenth running of the 4.5 mile 2500ft Lingmell Dash Fell
Race.  This race combines fast flat running on the valley floor with a lung bursting climb to the summit where race organiser Tim Brooks (Wasdale MRT member) was sitting waiting for the runners ahead of the plummeting drop back to the finish.

At 1400 Adam Naylor proprietor of the Inn, race sponsor and long time supporter of the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team, set the field of 30 on their
way with a resounding ring of the dinner gong.

First to turn at the summit and first back was Tim Ellis (Edgeworth Cricket & Recreational Club) in 52.34 over six minutes outside Rob Jebbs 2007
record of 45.36. Ian Davies of the Keswick club (55.10) followed in second place with Graham Ivory in his first fell race (57.02) 1st V40 in third.

For the ladies, Gosforth’s Lindsay Buck LV50 of Cumberland Fell Runners held off all other challengers to finished twenty second overall in 73.50
ahead of Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team Member’s Debs Carter LV40 (74.50) and Saffron Price-Walter (86.53)

Other local runners featured strongly with the Gosforth trio of Dave Atkinson of CFR fourth overall and 1st V45 ducking under the hour in 59.32,
Chris Cripps (67.09)  first WMRT member and Larry Abel also CFR V45 (69.14). Other Cumberland Fell Runners included Roger Whitiker who climbed
well for the 1st V65 prize in 73.27 and Terry Lowdon was 3rd V60 in 96.48. Will Holden a crew member at the Inn ran strongly to finish in 67.13 and
must surely invest in a pair of fell shoes after his encouraging debut. Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team members Julian Carradice V50 (69.56) Richard
Harrison M55 (72.09), Peter Bains M55 (72.33) Stephen Walter (76.02) all finished strongly without incident.

Cumberland Fell Runners with Lindsay as fourth counter took the overall team prize ahead of the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team. Both teams received
beer kegs from Howard Christie of the Great Gable Brewing Company. All funds raised from this race go directly to the Wasdale Mountain Rescue
Team and at the prize giving ceremony thanks went to all the runners, Lindsay Buck and Jim Davis for coordinating the entries and prizes, Mel
Abel for time keeping and local businesses Lingmell House B&B, The Wasdale Head Inn, Branthwaite Farm B&B, the Great Gable Brewing Company for
providing a bottle of his prize winning ale for all the runners, and the ‘Barndoor Shop’ for supporting the race.


   Tim Ellis            M     Edgeworth Cricket & Recreational Club          52.34
   Ian Davies         M     Keswick AC                                                  55.10
   Graham Ivory   M40   U/A                                                               57.02
   David Atkinson M45   Cumberland Fell Runners                                 59.32
   Samuel Dalby   M     FRA                                                                 62.00
   Robert Fox           M50   Long Eaton                                                  65.57
   Paul Hindle          M45   Keighley & Craven                                       66.41
   Chris Cripps   M     Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team                         67.09
   William Holder M     U/A                                                                   67.13
   Eddie Lesniak  M55   Achillie Rattie                                                   67.21
   Danny Hazell   M23   U/A                                                                 67.30
   Dicky Wilkinson      M50   Dark Peak                                               68.27
   Larry Abel           M45   Cumberland Fell Runners                             69.14
   John Hazell          M50   U/A                                                             69.56
   Julian Carradice     M50   Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team                69.56
   Andrew Vais    M     Holmfirth                                                           70.33
   Steve Ellis          M55   Edgeworth Cricket & Recreational Club          71.40
   Richard Harrison     M55   Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team                72.09
   Peter Bains          M55   Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team                    72.33
   Roger Whitaker M65   Cumberland Fell Runners                                 73.27
   Phil Walters   M40   Dark Peak                                                           73.25
   Lindsay Buck   F50   Cumberland Fell Runners                                     73.50
   Debs Carter    F40   Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team                            74.50
   Stephen Walter M     Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team                            76.02
   David Wilson-Timmings M60 FRA                                                          81.36
   Saffron Price-Walter F     Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team                    86.53
   Alan Taylor          M55   Cumberland Fell Runners                                 87.17
   Sean Gauton    M40   Long Eaton                                                          91.29
   Lee Hopkins    M40   U/A                                                                     93.07
   Terry Lowdon   M55   Cumberland Fell Runners                                     96.48

Wasdale team members before the run

After the run and ready for another callout.......perhaps not for a couple of hours

Does the sight of such rubbish fill you with dismay?  This is what happens every year when we have the three peaker hordes.  I am sure that it is not just limited to the Three Peakers and many other walkers are to blame when they decide to unload their rucksacks and make the place look like a rubbish tip.  Well done to those walkers who make the effort to take their own (and others) rubbish away.

By the way, the comment about digging a hole and burying the poo is not attributable to me - the golden rule from British Mountaineering Council and Mountain Leader Training Engalnd is to take everything off the mountain... yes even that.

http://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2011/06/22/anger-as-mountain-of-rubbish-greets-scafell-pike-walkers

Also see the article in  grough............

http://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2011/06/22/anger-as-mountain-of-rubbish-greets-scafell-pike-walkers

• Coast 2 Coast 'Twirlies on Tour' walk complete - 15th May 2011    

  Please see link to the report on the successful completion here

  ---

• Wasdale MRT kicks starts the Coast 2 Coast 'Twirlies on Tour' - 2nd May 2011    

The team will be involved in two events on the Bank holiday Monday following 'The Big Wedding'.  Mountain and Cave Rescue Awareness day is Monday 2nd May and across the country, teams are carrying out various fund raising and safety awareness programmes.  The Coast 2 Coast event is detailed in the attached press release.  Wasdale MRT will be down on the St. Bees beach with our rescue landrover to see the two ladies off as they cross Cumbria and the North East, calling in on all the Mountain Rescue teams as they progress.  They are raising money to fund the completely new England and Wales mountain rescue benevolent fund.  We will then move our vehicle up to the Wasdale Head Hotel with our display boards to meet as many walkers and climbers as possible over what will probably a very busy day.   Please come along to meet the team, say hello and find out a little more about keeping yourself safe on the fells.

Gail Todd and Judy Whiteside (aka Twirlies on Tour).  They are walking the Coast to Coast route in May, aiming to raise over £5,000 for a new mountain rescue benevolent fund.  As at 12 April 2011 they have raised £1,636 so nearly half way there and not even left the beach yet! Every penny raised will go to help bolster the fund to help volunteer team members in England and Wales who suffer real financial hardships following injuries during training or rescues

For details of their schedule and the teams they will meet up with see the following...... Walking Schedule  Wasdale MRT Press Release Fact Pact and FAQ see PDF File here

Pebbles in hands and feet in the Irish Sea ready to start

• New Website for the Wasdale Team - 12th March 2011    

Please note that the new website is no longer available.  We apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Over the past six months the team has been developing a new website with a web architect, Mr Lee William Wheeler.   Lee volunteered his services free of charge back in September last year and has spent many hundreds of  hours crafting and specifically tailoring his own sophisticated website design to meet our detailed needs. He along with one of our team members transferred the majority of our existing sites data over to the new design and together, amongst many of the other improvements, redesigned website incident reporting to allow a better understand of the anatomy and the methodology of any given rescue or groups of rescues.  However, the website has now unfortunately had to be closed.

• Strands Inn and Brewery - Beer Festival  - 13th - 15th May 2011    

A date for your diaries - last year it attracted 600 through the doors and this year there are 19 different beers to quaff your way through - book your rooms early or just collapse on the grass outside.  They range from Errrrrm.... @ 3.8% right through to the Barley Wine Beer at a staggering 10,5%.  We did some tasting last night and I can recommend them all - Pete B will still be recovering today (if he actually managed to get home next door to the Inn) More details will be put out nearer the time. Post code for your sat nav CA20 1ET or call to book rooms 019467 26237

Mark and Lesley Corr - owners and brewers............................    and the first six-pack sale to Ian M 

• Team Dinner and 25 yr awards  - 14th January 2011    

The team's annual dinner was held last night with a great turnout (around 35 I think).  The Strands Inn was the venue and Mark and Lesley Corr did us proud with a great value menu.  Thank you to all those who cam along on the night and thank you to their wives, husbands and partners who supported us last year.  We took the opportunity to present 25 year service awards to Richard Longman, Gordon Starkie (in his absence), Richard Warren who all joined the team in 1984 - some more photos on the Wasdale MRT face book pages.  Thank you to Saffron for organising the event and to Howard Christie for donating a dinner for two at the Horse and Groom for the raffle which raised £82.00 on the night.

RL and RW being presented with their Tankards for 25 years service by John Bamforth, Team Secretary

• Wasdale MRT has now got a Facebook Page   - 7th January 2011    

I have been running a page as a trial for the past few weeks and still trying to get the hang of it - there is a link on the main page now which should take readers straight to the photo album page (you have to be a face book user so will have to register - dead easy and no cost) - the idea is to have a face book page that all our team members can upload their photos onto - not sure yet how successful it will be - hopefully it will increase the number of visits to the site through friends and therefore encourage both greater safety awareness and, more importantly increase funds to keep the team's finances healthy as we have some big projects on the horizon.  There is also a twitter site for the team but that will need a little more work before I am sold on the idea for team use.

Richard W

here is the link                      

• A Review of 2010 for the local papers - 30th December 2010       

2010 has been yet another very challenging year for the team with high numbers of rescues and involvement in a number of tragic events where the team assisted Cumbria police and the North West Ambulance Service in non mountainous situations including the West Cumbria shootings and more recently attending incidents where ambulance vehicles could not attend.  In 2010 the team responded to 125 ‘999’ calls for help and of these the team has turned out on 82 occasions.  Around half of these rescues involved persons who were injured or unwell.  Many other casualties have been assisted from the hills that have become lost, stuck, cold and frightened on the fells.  The majority of injuries occur from simple trips and falls and include ankle, leg fractures and dislocations.  Knee and shoulder dislocations are becoming a more common injury treated by the team.  Tragically there have been three fatalities during the year, one from a heart attack and two from severe injuries. 

The team has 40 volunteers; all are highly trained unpaid volunteers who are on call 24 hours a day 365 days a year.  They all have a common love for the outdoors and a desire to help others who are in need of help.  We continue to work closely with the military search and rescue helicopters based in the North East and Scotland and also call in the civilian air ambulances from outside the area.  These Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and civilian helicopters can be an extremely valuable asset for our team to call upon, but they do have limitations.  None can fly in cloud or heavy snow and the air ambulances can only fly during the day and cannot winch casualties, therefore needing reasonably flat ground to land near to an incident.  The team can however operate and train in all conditions; day and night, poor visibility, wind, rain, snow and floods.   On many of the rescues food and sleep have to be sacrificed in preference for the welfare of the casualties, as are family activities, social events and work.  Mountain rescue therefore requires tremendous commitment from each and every team member and total support from their families and friends for which we are eternally grateful.  

The team also continues to receive tremendous support from the community we serve and those we rescue.  Recently the team collected over £1,500 in Whitehaven and Egremont during our pre Christmas Flag Day.  Thank you to those who gave up their time to help on the day and those who gave so generously.  The team is a registered charity and totally funded through voluntary donations.  It costs around £30,000 each year to provide this free service and we would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of those who have helped to keep the team running over the past twelve months.

On behalf of all out team members, best wishes for a safe 2011

Richard Warren, Team Chairman 

• Whitehaven & Egremont Collection - 11 December 2010       

Just a quick note from Richard Longman, our Treasurer and organizer of the day which is always a great success..

Thanks to Gordon Ritson for the photos.

• Morrisons Bag packing raises £1,506 - 6th November 2010       

Just a quick note from John our team secretary to thank all those who helped on Saturday.  It was a huge effort covering most of the tills plus the table out front.  Thanks also to the friends, family cadets and scouts who also helped out.  A tremendous £1,506 was raised which exceeded expectations and could not have been achieved without your help.

• Special Edition Xmas Bears  - 8th November 2010       

The special edition Christmas bears are now here.  Please let Saffron know if you would like any as stocking fillers or whether you would be able to sell any to your friends, family or colleagues?  The normal bear is £3.50 each and the special edition Korky and Charlie are £5 each.  For orders please email wasdalebear@tiscali.co.uk

• Lindsay Buck runs Kirk Fell 123 times raising over £1,300 - 9th October 2010       

• Swift Water rescue Training - £3,000 to Wasdale MRT - 8th October 2010       

• Jack up Barge / Rig £200 donation - 29th August 2010       

A generous donation of £200 was given to the team by a representative of the welfare committee and crew of the Irish Sea Pioneer.  The group had chosen  the Wasdale MR team, amongst others, to be a beneficiary of their charitable work.  After the presentation Andy was shown around the building and given an explanation of how things are co-ordinated  when call-outs are initiated.

The picture shows Acting Deputy Leader Penny Kirby, Team Treasurer Richard Longman, Andy Malcolm, Acting Deputy Leader Mike Gullen and SARDA rescue dogs Pippi and Ollie.

(The Irish Sea Pioneer is a self-propelled, self-elevating jack-up barge that works as an offshore support vessel in Liverpool Bay)

• Lingmell Dash Fell Race - 24th July 2010       

A small but select band of runners assembled on the Saturday for this year’s 4.5 mile 2500ft Lingmell Dash Fell Race.

Howard Christie of the Great Gable Brewing Company, race sponsor and long time supporter of the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team, set the field of 35 on their way to summit marshal and race organiser Tim Brooks. However by race time at 1400 the weather had closed in and visibility on the fell was down to virtually zero. Strange things do happen in Wasdale and passers by stared in wonder as a kilted ‘Toot’s McGee’ of the Fairies Club haired off to the base of the fell resplendent in tiara and wand. Toot’s for the observant was in fact Jethro Lennox former Scottish Hill Running Champion of the Shettlestone club on his stag weekend.

First back was Joe Symonds (Hunters Bog Trotters) also a member of the stag party in 50.32, followed closely by Martin Nicholson-Barron, Borrowdale (52.12) and first V45 Joe Blacket of Dark Peak (53.24) in third. Toot’s finishing in a creditable fourth place (53.35) ahead of last year’s winner Matt Huley of Dark Peak (54.18). The Dark Peak men also took the overall team prize ahead of Long Eaton.

For the ladies, Lucy Harris of the Pennine Club held off all other challengers to finished ninth overall in 61.17 ahead of Eskdale’s CFR runner Kate Cooper (66.03), Kathlene Aubrey LV45 (80.16) Helm Hill and Gosforth’s Lindsay Buck of CFR LV45 (87.58).

Local runners featured strongly with Gosforth’s Dave Atkinson of CFR 3rd V45 ducking under the hour in 59.59. Chris Cripps (66.39), Julian Carradice 2nd V50 (69.20) and Stephen Walter (74.14) of the rescue team all finishing strongly with Larry Abel CFR V45 (77.14). Terry Lowdon of CFR was 2nd V60 having helped another runner down from the fell.

All funds raised from this race go directly to the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team and at the prize giving ceremony thanks went to all the runners, specifically members of Dark Peak and Long Eaton for their continued support, time keeping Mike Kenwright and Mel Abel and local businesses such as Lingmell House B&B, the Great Gable Brewing Company for providing a bottle of the prize winning ‘Yewbarrow Strong Ale’ for all runners and the ‘Barndoor Shop’ for supporting the race.

Write up kindly provided by Jim Davis - Cumbria Fell Runners

• Long Service Awards - 16 November 2009       

At the team's annual general meeting, four of the team's long serving retired members were given long service awards.  

Joe Moody (40 years); Dave Barras (26 years); Alan Dunn (35 years) - past Team Leader; Bill Pattison (26 years) plus service with the North Eastern Teams - President and past Team Leader (22 years) , Maurice Pringle (25 years) past Chairman and Secretary - now Vice President

Photo of the awards here

• In memory of Wallace - 20 September 2009       

The team has recently received a donation of protective boots for use with dogs with injured / sore feet that we have to recover.  This will remove the  need to carry dogs that could otherwise walk off.  These have been donated by Linda Ross in memory of her Scottish Deer Hound Wallace who sadly passed away recently.  The pictures here show Wallace and also Prince who is modeling the boots.  We rescued Prince in June2006 from the summit of Scafell Pike - see rescue   6/27: 22/7/06 (  5.21 p.m. ) - Saturday

• Rescue Teddy is a big hit - 21 August 2009       

There has been a flood of enquiries from people wanting to support the team since the introduction of Rescue Teddy 5 days ago - the initial stock of 144 has sold out and we are now re-ordering to meet the anticipated demand when the media start reporting on the rescue video.  See the real life action as Rescue Teddy goes to the aid of the stricken climbers.  Diamond Crag has a lot to live up to...........................view the video now    to order a bear contact Saffron on wasdalebear@tiscali.co.uk - min donation £5.00 which includes P&P) - view entries here

• Bolts appear on Broad Stand  - 30 May 2009       

There has been a flood of comments on the UK climbing forum (202 responses and over 7,000 views) regarding some bolts that have appeared on Broad Stand.  There have been comments that they may have been placed by WMRT.  Any enquiries have been directed to Julian Carradice, WMRT Team Leader who makes the following statement.

"Members of Wasdale MRT are first and foremost mountaineers.  We have a keen interest in and take pride in the history and ethics of British
mountaineering and are absolutely appalled by the placement of bolts on Broad Stand.  We see the placing of them as irresponsible and completely
pointless.  They have nothing to do with rescue and wouldn't be required in any rescue type operation on there.  I probably use Broad Stand more than anyone else and it was me who removed no less than three fixed ropes recently.  I didn't have a spanner or tools to remove the bolts with me but I do intend to go back with the necessary kit very soon."

Julian will be removing the bolts as a local mountaineer and not as a representative of WMRT. 

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/ 

Postscript - the bolts have now been removed (5 June 09) and there will be an article on it in Trail magazine

• Mystery donor Frazer strikes again!"  - 10th February 2009       

• Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team - 40th Anniversary Dinner - Friday 9th January 2009       

• £450 for Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team - Beijing Marathon runner - Monday 5th January 2009       

• Xmas collections for Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team £1,589 - Saturday 13th December 2008       

• Local bands raise almost £300 for Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team - Sunday 30th November       

Local bands including Skunk, Mingo’s Locker, South Quay, Kitchie Wud plus others, hosted a charity acoustic music event at The Vagabond in Whitehaven last Sunday afternoon.  The event was a success and managed to raise £297.53 for Wasdale Mountain Rescue.  A warm atmosphere and packed audience made for a rather special afternoon of acoustic music.  The organizers hope to turn this into an annual fundraising event to the benefit of various local charities.

Photos of the musicians/singers here

• Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team to the rescue of the Mountain Marathoners -  Saturday 25th October       

The Wasdale team was called to the rescue of a female competitor in the OMM.  She was swept down Spouthead Gill but somehow managed to survive the raging beck.  Little was known at that time about the press furor that was about to unfold with "thousands of walkers unaccounted for...."   the publicity that followed was good for MR in general and raised quite a bit of money - see attached links

grough website article and video footage here

fundraising efforts here   http://www.justgiving.com/theomm08-mrtdonation - feel free to donate to swell the amount to hit the £12,000 target

• Wasdale Mountain Rescue Blasts Three Peakers - Thursday 14th August 2008        

The Wasdale team is now dealing with Three Peak Challenge event rescues on a 1 in 5 frequency - what can be done to halt this trend?  See article by the Team leader Julian Carradice - can the LDNPA and National Trust help to get the problem resolved?  Article here 

• Wasdale Mountain Rescue Lingmell Dash Fell Race - Saturday 26th July 2008        

Wasdale has been voted Britain's favourite view and contains many hidden gems one of which is the 4.5 mile long and 2500 feet of accent 'Lingmell Dash' fell race which is now in it's sixth year of raising funds for the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team. Race results are here.  Photograph here

• 75th Anniversary Celebration - Teams Battle it Out in the Lakes - 5th July 2008        

The mark the anniversary,  the 12 Lake District mountain rescue teams got together for a fun day out at the Ambleside Rugby club - member of the public were encouraged to attend the day's activities which was followed by a private social event for team members and their guests - see here for details    plus see photographs and videos of the day here 

• 75th Anniversary brings in Safety Awareness Video - 21 April 2008        

Following the increase in callouts across the Lake District (425 in 2007 cf 395 in 2006) - Cumbria Tourism has sponsored a safety and public awareness campaign including a video - this campaign has the support of a family we rescued in March who wrote a letter to the team which reflected the problems that mountain rescue is experiencing 

• Experts say no to Mountain Safety Measures - 19th February 2008        

Following the latest fatality on Broad Stand (see incident 2008:15) there have been a number of articles in the media - this one by Grough Website gives a good report on the problems and links to the 2008 campaign to improve understanding about the inherent dangers of the mountains and need for greater knowledge and experience see their article here

• Ronnie Ritson's Family & friends Raise £5,000 - 16th December 2007        

Following the tragic death of Ronnie Ritson on Kirk Fell nearly a year ago, the family and friends have raised nearly £5,000 for the team to spend on improved radio communication.  They met with the team by the Wastwater for a photograph to help promote the activities of our team.  Photographs and more details here.  

• Get one or Get Lost - 6th December 2007        

Teams in the Lake District are investigating ways of tackling the education of walkers in the art of navigation.  This might help reduce the number of requests teams like WMRT are getting to act as a guiding service.  One company, Where- Wolf.com is willing to partner with Mountain Rescue (England &Wales) to help in this task.  Visit their site and view their grid reference finder.   

It is a serious problem though which has to be tackled on a national scale before we might see an improvement.  Watch this space! 

If you have a view on whether this idea will help educate the occasional walker or be good for scouts and other youth groups drop me an email  at     and please add a copy to  enquiries@where-wolf.com so they can also assess interest  

 - read Background here   

- see Grough article here  and latest Grough article here

• Launch of Trail Ale - so light and refreshing - Saturday 3rd November 2007        

• Who says you can't party after a big rescue? - Saturday 27th October 2007        

• New Rock Fall in Foxes Tarn Gulley - Scafell - 25th September 2007        

• Beckermet Rock Festival - Sunday 16th September 2007       

The White Mare Hotel in Beckermet is hosting a fun day and music festival to support the team.  We are fundraising for a replacement advance Landrover as the other is now getting a bit too old see details here                

• Kerry MRT Warning Sign - 31st August 2007       

The Kerry mountain rescue team has erected signs at the bottom of their mountains to increase safety awareness and reduce accidents - if you think this would be a good idea for Wasdale then drop me an email                                     

• Keswick MRT It's A Knockout - 18th August 2007       

• Beer Festival held in Eskdale - 4th & 5th August 2007       

Photographs of the Saturday click here  

For details see here  http://www.myspace.com/bfestival2007   and poster see here

Also http://www.bfest.co.uk/charity.html 

• '999' Emergency Text Messaging - Police launch 26th July 2007       

• Lingmel Dash Fell Race '07 - Saturday 21st July 2007       

• Beer Festival in Eskdale - 4th & 5th August 2007       

For details see here  http://www.myspace.com/bfestival2007   and poster see here

Also http://www.bfest.co.uk/charity.html 

• Google Mapping shows teams incidents - 11 June 2007       

One of the team's supporters has developed a new site which identifies all our rescues - it is still being worked on but certainly worth a look.  When on the site, if you move across to the right hand side of the map you can filter out incidents by month or year see the map here

• "Target Zero"Cheque received for £750 - 23 May 2007       

• "Pack a bag day" and Raffle raised £1089.81 - 7 April 2007       More Photos

"Pack a bag day" & raffle raised £1089.81, this took us all by surprise but shows the generosity of Cleator Moor shoppers & all other contributors. A big pat on the back for Brenda & her daughter Andrea who's idea it was to raise funds this way , not forgetting the kindness of Cleator Moor Coop who gave them permission to hold the fund raising event in their store.   photos

• "HRH Prince William becomes Royal Patron MR E&W" - 16 May 2007     

After a long period of discussion between the MR EW Chairman and Clarence House, the Prince has agreed to become Royal Patron of Mountain Rescue in England and Wales.  This is very good news for us in the Lakes and very good news for the people we rescue - this will significantly improve the profile of Mountain Rescue.  see our press release here   see Clarence House press release

• "Pack a bag day" and Raffle raised £1089.81 - 7 April 2007     

"Pack a bag day" & raffle raised £1089.81, this took us all by surprise but shows the generosity of Cleator Moor shoppers & all other contributors. A big pat on the back for Brenda & her daughter Andrea who's idea it was to raise funds this way , not forgetting the kindness of Cleator Moor Coop who gave them permission to hold the fund raising event in their store.   photos

• Lords Rake Pillar still standing after 4 years - 21 March 2007    

The pillar at the top of Lords Rake collapsed in 2003 and although it looks quite scary, it seems it want to hang in there - there is even moss starting to grow on it and you know what they sat about a rolling stone....

See the latest photos and video shots taken last week

• Greg Short Farewell Bash - 6 March 2007    

A local engineering group Alstec decided to include a tour of the base as part of a farewell evening. Greg's 12 colleagues arranged the event which was a surprise to Greg until he came through the door at the Mill Forge Base.  The twist in the story is that Greg used to be in the team before it was the WMRT.  We managed to get Greg into the vacuum mattress before they left the rescue base for a local pub meal.  The photos are a little hazy due to condensation on the lens. 

Photo 1  and photo 2 - Many thanks to Greg, Paul and friends for their kind donation to the team.

• Team members undertake power boat training - 3rd March 2007    

Last years organised training was cancelled due to bad weather.  The rescheduled weekend was slightly better with rough seas on the Saturday and gale force winds and rain on the Sunday  - photos and video footage here

• Local Round Tablers donate £500 to the team - 29th January 2007    

Part of the 'Swim the Lake' fundraising effort, the local Round Table raised £300 which was increased to £500 due the branch deciding to close down and clear its account.  The attached photograph shows the two round tablers handing over the cheque to Julian Carradice, Team Leader at the rescue base.

• Local Children raise £224 for Mountain Rescue - 26th January 2007    

Following the tragic accident of a local walker just after christmas, his three nieces and grandson who are all from the local primary school, organised a 'uniform free day' for the school and raised £224 for the Wasdale and Cockermouth rescue teams involved in the rescue.  Wasdale MRTs share will be used to purchase a GPS microphone, one of 12 being purchased to assist in search co-ordination and rescuer safety.  Refer to rescue here 27/1/07

• TV Celebrity meets the Team - 4th September  2006    

One of the Major TV Broadcasting Companies is filming a new series about the Mountains - Wasdale MRT were involved on Broad Stand, Accident Black Spot - see photos of the preparation and post filming photos

• 19 Lake District Fatalities in 2005 - 31st August  2006    

The Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association (LDSAMRA) launches a massive public awareness campaign today with interviews on radio and television.  More details to follow this afternoon when I get back from the studios.  I will  include possible photos of the media interviewing teams and links to other relevant sites.  Should be in place by this evening - Radio Cumbria has already done a brilliant job for us - Thank you to Martin Lewes of Radio Cumbria and to Sue Holden, one of Keswick MRT casualties for their powerful reports.

Pres release  here     poster campaign here     card details here

What to do if you have an accident or get lost?   instructions here

What is CPR and how do you do it  ??  here   and look at First aid advice on CPR

• Celebrity to Film with the Team - 4  September 2006    

One of the Major TV Broadcasting Companies is filming a new series about the Mountains - Wasdale MRT will be involved - see photos of the preparation and post filming photos (will be added after the 4th Sept)

• Seascale Stompers raised £300 for the team - 20 August 2006    

A big apology to the Seascale Stompers who were the first group to raise money towards the teams replacement medical kit.  I would have liked to have added a photograph of the line dancers in action and particularly one of the team members who attended the hat judging competition back in April.  If you have a photo then please send it to me at rawarren@freenetname.co.uk   

• Fluor International come to the Aid - 8 August 2006    

A big thanks to Dave Foucault, Head of Projects at Fluor, Sellafield  for their donation to the team following the successful underwater swim.  Picture of Dave handing over the cheque to Peter Holburt, WMRT member and Rob Friend, WMRt member with Charles Potter and Rob Watkins who achieved this remarkable, one-off diveathon, in just over 5 hours - cheque handover here  plus more photos of the event  here 

• Kern Knotts Fundraising weekend - 22 July 2006     

Thanks to everyone who helped raise over £8,500 towards team funds and replacement medical equipment.  The fell race brought in £156 and photos and results are here.  The Auction brought in £5,300 - Pay Pal £1 donations brought in £1,000 - Trail Magazine bidding for a weekend with the team was £315 - the underwater divathon has already brought in over £2,600 with more on the way - see photos of Charles and Rob here

• We are trying to contact 'Frazer' from Korea - 19 June 2006     

Our Treasurer has received two donations from a gentleman in Korea and would like to send him a receipt and letter of thanks - if you are that anonymous donor then please email our Treasure - thank you for your support to the team 

• Kern Knotts Auction - 22 July 2006     

The main fundraising event for the year - helicopters / search dogs / flight simulator / how long to swim the lake (underwater!!) / bands / beer / auction of quality gear and clothing at low low prices - put it in your calendar and come and meet the team  see here

• Cheque from Interserve Industrial Services Ltd. - 18th May 2006     

There is an incentivised safety scheme called SAFECOP whereby a nominated charity each month receives a cheque for £400 from one of the contract services companies at Sellafield.  The donation is made possible due to a zero accident record each month - more details and photos here

• Casualty Care Exam Passes for the Team - 30th April 2006     

Every 3 years team members undertake their MRT casualty care examination.  This year a group of around 16 have spent the last 3 months preparing for the exam.  Those who sat the final stage on Sunday all passed.

Photos of the day and some of the training are shown here.  Special thanks from the team to the doctors and helpers who made it all possible.

• Man behind the Camera - Saturday 15th April 2006     

The team is taking a more proactive approach to raising the profile of Mountain Rescue. The recent news footage of the blizzards in Cumbria seems to have helped increase public awareness of the service and its wholly voluntary nature - what can be done to build on this success  -  see photos and article

• Blizzards hit Cumbria - Sunday 12th March 2006     

       The team was put on standby to assist the police and the ambulance service during the severe weather conditions.  By 9.30 a.m. they were on their way to the first of many mercy missions  see photos here

• Winter weekend in Scotland  - 13 February 2006     

       Each year team members organise a winter weekend.  This year Ben Whitley arranged a great couple of        days near Fort William -  Creag Meagaidh was the Munro chosen by most of the gang see photos here

Thanks to Ben for organising a cracking good weekend 

• Team Xmas Collection Day  - 10 December 2005     

  The annual flag  day raised a whopping £1,589.86 (compare Dec '04 £1,350).  A big thank you to all the team members, family and friends who turned out to help, and to the local community for their generosity.  

  The street collection in Egremont raised £343.22 and in Whitehaven we raised £1246.64.  A grand total of £1589.86 and the Treasurer believes there is still more to come from the Cleator Moor collection.

• Remembrance Sunday - 13th November 2005     

The annual gathering of Fell and Rock plus the rest of the fell walking and mountaineering community gathers on Great Gable summit to give respect to those who lost their lives in past wars. Photos of the day

• Lord's rake update  - Sunday 7th August 2005     

The rake is still in an unstable state with the fallen pillar deteriorating further and the headwall (what's left of it) ready to drop on unsuspecting walkers.  If you do still want to do the rake then proceed with the greatest of care.  It will not give you much warning when it decides to go so keep alert.  Photo history updated today. 

Postscript - Monday 8th August the team were called out to rescue 4 walkers who had become involved in a major rock fall, one was crag fast and although received a glancing blow from falling rocks was not injured.

• Digger at 2,500 feet on Scafell Pike.......How?  - Sunday 7th August 2005     

As you climb up to Lingmel Col on your way to the summit of Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England you can be forgiven for being a little surprised  .........see photos

• Mountaineering Lecture by Simon Yates - Saturday 27th August 2005     

Following this years Lingmel Dash fell race which is run to support the team, Simon Yates, well know mountaineer and author will give a mountaineering lecture at Wasdale Head.

6.00pm
The Barn - Wasdale Head
Tickets £5
Available on the door or in advance from Jen Fraser, 019467 25799
All proceeds to Wasdale MRT

• Lord's Rake is still a bit of a nightmare - 11 June 2005     

The rake is still in an unstable state with the fallen pillar deteriorating further and the headwall (what's left of it) ready to drop on unsuspecting walkers.  If you do still want to do the rake then proceed with the greatest of care.  It will not give you much warning when it decides to go so keep alert.  Photo history updated today.  Please note that the helmets we were wearing were not for show.

• New Bridge at Brackenclose - 10 June 2005     

The old concrete bridge that led to the Trust camp site and the Brackenclose Fell and Rock hut had been condemned as unsafe in late 2004.  This meant closure until a replacement bridge could be constructed.  This created major problems for not just Wasdale Hall farm, but also for campers, car parking and of course a longer walk (not much though) for rescuers.  The replacement bridge is up and running even if still a temporary structure.  At least it has solved the major traffic parking problems for those wishing to climb Scafell, Lingmel and Scafell Pike.  Photos of the new temporary bridge here.

• Wasdale MRT go Big Crag Training -  24 April 2004     

It's not often the team get to work on the big crags when the sun is shining.  Some photographs of training on Esk Buttress

• Wasdale MRT's new Minibus arrives - 24 January 2004     

For the past 3 years the team has been working towards having a fleet of rescue vehicles that meets the needs of the team.  This meant two identically kitted out Landrovers supported by a personnel carrier/ambulance with seat belts fitted for the safety of team members, particularly when responding to emergencies.

The results can be seen in the attached photographs

• Lakes' teams on standby for both Tsunami and Carlisle Floods - 9 January 2004     

Over the last week Kendal MRT on behalf of all the Lake District teams has been co-ordinating an offer of help to the Asian Disaster.  In addition to donating a 4 x 4 vehicle and a number of MRT personnel with specialist communication skills they are co-ordinating a donation of 210 handset radios, 40 vehicle sets and 8 Base stations.  This weekend, the Wasdale team were pulling together their contribution of radios and getting them across to the Kendal Base where the are being set up.  They may go out this week.  All the radios are surplus to requirement Low Band following the changeover from Low to High last October.  As such they were due to be returned to the police for disposal

In addition, the team offered its help to the police for evacuation of the public from the flood torn Carlisle.  The team's rescue inflatable was made available but as of tonight the offer had not been taken up.  The Carlisle incident control room at Carlton Hall, Penrith was keeping a close eye on things last night. 

• New pagers for the team and last rescue of the year  - 31 December 2004     

The team changes over from BT to Vodafone and at the same time gets a callout on the evening of the changeover - it all runs smoothly and we get to celebrate the New Year in addition to rescuing three lost walkers see here

• Great North Air Ambulance Familiarisation Day  - 11 December 2004     

The Great North Air Ambulance crews were given a detailed introduction to the capabilities of the Lake District's  mountain rescue teams when they visited the Keswick MRT base on Saturday 11th December.  In addition to presentations on all aspects of mountain rescue and it's funding, the fifteen GNAA team members, predominantly Para medics from the Appleby, Teeside and Blythe bases were split into three groups and given 30 minute sessions on Casualty Care capabilities, Team Equipment, Control Room.  For photographs of the day see here.

• Team Xmas Collection Day in Whitehaven, Egremont and Cleator Moor  - 11 December 2004     

The annual flag  day raised a whopping £1,350.  A big thank you to all the team members, family and friends who turned out to help, and to the local community for their generosity.  We hope to pay you all back this coming June 25th and 26th 2005 when the team are carrying out a mountain rescue display on the harbour retaining wall.

• Team have a busy day on the summit of Gable - 14 November 2004     

Remembrance day 2004 will bring back memories to a few people.  The 500 plus people who attended the 11 o'clock one minutes silence, the small group who raised money for the team and had their photo taken on the top, the rescue of the man who collapsed 30 minutes later and required helicopter evacuation from Green Gable  ...  check the links for the photos and stories

• Team go Sequence Dancing - 24 October  2004     

A fantastic £1615 pounds donated to the team following the broken ankle rescue, Yewbarrow,17 January 2004. Cheque presentation see here for the photos

• WMRT / LAMRT / Kendal MRT / SARDA to the rescue - 27 September 2004     

A major callout in upper Eskdale involved three teams plus the search dogs - from 1915 hrs until 0400 hrs -  all captured on camera see here for the photos

• WMRT Changes to High Band Radios - 30 September 2004     

After some years of evaluation, the lake district's 12 teams finally changeover to high band.  This is a national changeover which has been managed in partnership with the police.  Wasdale changes it's vehicle radios over Saturday 25th in readiness for the 30th, the day of the big switchover  ......photos see here

• WMRT Annual Lingmel Dash Fellrace - 28 August 2004     

This annual fund raising event took place Saturday 27th - great success with over £400 raised - no incidents apart from in the morning where the team went out to look for a missing son on Scafell Pike.  Results and photos here...

• Sponsored walk for Wasdale MRT (June 2003)  - 26 August 2004     

Having been rescued by Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team the year before, in June 2003 we decided to raise some money for them by embarking on a sponsored walk along the Helvellyn Range, from Kirkstone Pass to Threlkeld. The walk was over 18 miles, and involved crossing 13 peaks, including Fairfield, Helvellyn and Great Dodd, so we set aside a full day and set off at 6am. We were hoping for a warm, sunny day, but instead managed to pick what seemed the only day that month where the fells were covered in hill fog. This meant that from the moment we climbed into cloud halfway up Red Screes at 6.30am to the moment we finally came out of it just before the final peak, Clough Head, 12 hours later, we were almost totally reliant upon compass bearings (especially for the Dodds, where we had not walked before). However it was good practice, especially as compass bearings and map reading had proved a problem on the occasion that we had to be rescued! The whole walk took a little over 13 hours, and resulted in very sore feet, but was good fun despite the disappointing weather. Here are some pictures…  

• Self Training in Seven Pitch Gulley - 17 April 2004     

Team members are encouraged to check out  potential accident spots for familiarisation and preparedness

   see photos of the different pitches and their conditions

• Searching for the searchers - 5th April 2004     

A key member of the Wasdale Mountain Rescue team went missing late afternoon in the Cleator Moor area.  The police were quickly notified and it sparked off a massive hunt around the streets of the Moor ending in a find early that evening.  So why did 50 rescue friends turn up at the Leconfield industrial estate.........why did 50% of the residents in Cleator Moor join the search.......why is it that people were so friendly and helpful..............the answer is in the

• SARDA Training in Scotland     

Two members of the Wasdale team were in Scotland the week before our training weekend (see below) - whilst the dogs were full of life, the handlers seemed to have other things on their minds (photo printed with kind permission of either the handler himself or the handlers wife in the other case)   see here    also you should read the true-life rescue story involving Siney, Paul McCracken's trainee search dog which appeared (abbreviated version) on the front page of the Whitehaven news this week and is written in full on this website see here

• Wasdale go to Scotland in search of snow and ice     

Twelve members of the team travel to Glenmore Lodge in the Cairngorms to train in winter conditions see here

• The BBC want to do a Mountain Rescue Series - 11th January 2004     

Did the training day filled with excitement, top gun helicopters and top movie stars (well Julian anyway) be sufficient to warm the icy coolness of the BBC controller, thereby releasing the funds to do the series

 - look at the shots of the day here

• The Team gets a new Search Dog - 1st January 2004     

Penny Kirby's trainee search dog Pippa passed with flying colours at SARDA's New Year's Eve Assessment day.

Photos here

• Fundraising day in Whitehaven - Saturday 13th December 2003     

Santa came to Whitehaven and helped raise £1378.23p for the team.  Slightly down on last years £1520 but still a fantastic effort by the team members (and their dogs).  A big thank you to Whitehaven and the surrounding district see photos here

• New True Life Rescue Story - 23 June 2003  - No. 27     

They had watched rescue No. 25 from the safety of Scafell Summit; Rescue No.26 was happening whilst they descended;  1 hour later they became No. 27 - see callout details and true life story here

• New Team Members photo gallery added to site - Monday 17th November     

The faces behind the names - who are those people you met on the rescue? What do they do when they are not rescuing? How long have they been around?  Over the next few months we will add pictures of the team members who previously have just been names on a list - see members page and follow the links in the yellow box or click here   - note more pictures will be added as permissions are sought and granted.

• Updated photos of Lords Rake fallen Pillar - Saturday 1st November     

The pillar is still there but looking worse for wear and not a pleasant place to be. see new photos

• Kern Knotts Auction - Saturday 20th September     

The 106th anniversary event celebrated with another massive auction of outdoor gear.  Over £6,000 raised towards team funds.  And yet another rescue took place on the day of the auction.  Auction shots here.

• Lingmel Dash fell race new record set - 30 August 2003     

The second annual race in support of fundraising for the team was a great success - see here for race results and some interesting pics 

• 8 incidents in a 7 day period - 16 June 2003     

The team responded to 8 incidents in a 7 day period starting and finishing with a broken ankle - photgraphs taken during the rescue are being provided shortly and will be linked here  - see rescue narratives

• New Team Vehicle Arrives and Cheque from Rotary - 20 June 2003      

Following a cheque presentation by Rotary of Whitehaven on 17th June  , Richard Longman finally takes possession of the new Landrover on 20 June 2003.  - see photos

• Barbara Davis swims the lake to support the team - Sunday 8 June 2003      

Across in 25 minutes to support local charities  - see photos

• Cumbrian Mountain Festival - Easter Fortnight 14 - 25 April 2003      

A great success for the County and Mountain Rescue - over 5,000  extra visitors to the county - see photos

• Will you Marry me - Gable Style  - Saturday 28 July 2001 -Update11/4/03      

On Saturday 28/7/01, Phil Lamport proposed to his fiancée Imogen on the summit of Great Gable (see below).  We have recently received an email from Phil which said.....

"I'm not sure who from your Rescue team was present on the above date,  when I proposed to my Wife but, I just thought that I would let you all  know that we are Married, living in Melbourne, and that we have had a Son
  (Aston) who just turned One Year Old last week.    We think it is great that we are on your website & we have sent the link  to loads of people over the past 2 years. It was a fantastic setting for  a once-in-a-lifetime moment, we will remember it always.

  All the best to all of your team,

  Phil & Imogen Lamport."

All of us in the Wasdale Team would like to wish Aston a belated Happy Birthday.  Perhaps he would like to become a supporter of the Team Phil.  Now you can have a family memebrship!

The original entry was........

The first time in 30 years of ascending Gable that I see someone proposing.  The couple below carried the ballons up from the bottom and, as we were wondering whether it was her birthday, he dropped to one knee and spoke those magic words - the answer was positive and a great round of applause went up from the 30 people sat in the sunshine on top of Great Gable.  Ahhhhh.............

They plan to get married next year in Australia.  Is this the first time the summit cairn has been built up with ballons?

• Cumbrian Mountain Festival is BACK - 13th - 25th April 2003            

- After last years massive success for team fundraising last year supported by the festival - it now continues across the county with £24,000 invested by the Rural Development Programme into MRT activities (£20,000 last year) - Wasdale MRT has received it's fair share with it's £2,500 support towards our fundraising activities last year,  and now a further £2,800 for the forthcoming Easter fortnight - for details of events see here

Mickledore Stretcher Box gets a face-LIFT - 9th February 2003        

- After years of service in the most inhospitable location the RAF at Boulmer come to the rescue - photos here

• Lord's Rake - Scafell - December 12th rock-fall hits the media - 1st January 2003        

- This dangerous but very popular rake is now regarded by many as lethal following the rock fall reported 5th December (see below). The Wasdale Team Leader was on Border TV's Lookaround 30th December and various local papers and radio were reporting the dangerous state of the Rake.  A cautious ascent / descent may minimise the danger but will not remove it - the rake is now on the move - dozens of large rock fragments and boulders have crashed down, coming to rest as far down as the memorial cross - see updated picture notes     plus extra photos added 12/12/02 plus article from Whitehaven News added 1/1/03 plus most recent photos 5/1/03

• Rosie's a Top Dog (Trainee Search Dog) -Whitehaven News  - 12th December 2002        

- Stephen  and Saffron's Walter's trainee Search Dog Rosie receives a national award for a lifesaving animal rescue.  For details of the story and full size picture, click on the small picture.

• Annual Flag day in Whitehaven / Egremont - New Record - 14th December 2002        

- Message from Richard Longman, our Treasurer and organiser of the day - "A big thank you to everyone who helped on Saturday (and the dogs).  We collected £1371.72 in Whitehaven and £149.43 in Egremont.  A grand total of:

                         £1521.15    well done and thank you!

• Lord's Rake - Scafell - yet another rock-fall this week - 5th December 2002        

- This dangerous but very popular rake is now regarded as lethal following another rock-fall.  A cautious ascent /descent may minimise the danger but will not remove it - the rake is now on the move - at least a dozen rock fragments the size of your computer screen have crashed down, coming to rest as far down as the memorial cross - see updated picture notes     plus extra photos added 12/12/02 plus article from Whitehaven News added 1/1/03

• Cumbrian Mountain Festival Close-Out Party - 26th October 2002        

- The Party was a great success with over 100 people attending the RAF MRT lecture on the ascent of Everest 2001.  for photos see here 

• Kern Knotts Auction  - 7th September 2002        

- The Auction raised £10,000 for the team including £1,000 for the raffle.  for photos see here 

• Gosforth Show  - 21st August 2002        

- The show, first since August 2000 due to F & M outbreak, was an ideal opportunity to promote mountain safety and the existence of the team as a community service to the area.  Just under £200 raised towards the new vehicle.

For photos of the event see here

• Millom FRT  Mountain Festival Weekend - 20th / 21st July 2002        

- Tracey Binks organised a full weekends activities as part of the Year of the Mountain. Nearly £500 was raised.

For photos of the event see here

• Napes Needle reneactment 116 years on - Saturday 29th June 2002        

- Paul Cook and Stephen Walter climb the Needle, recognised as the birthplace of the sport of rock climbing.  Part of the Cumbrian Mountain Festival 2002  .

For photos of the climb see here

• Minister Meets the Mountains - Keswick Thursday 13th June 2002        

- the Tourism Minister, Dr. Kim Howells MP visits the Lake District in support of the Cumbrian Mountain Festival 2002 - Keswick MRT and Cockermouth MRT host the visit ....photos

• Crag Rescue full day practice - Buckbarrow - Sunday 19th May 2002        

- the RAF helicopter came across to help with the exercise - we arranged John Jones ,Seascale to take some team photos .....photographs 

• Working with the Air Ambulance (Blackpool based) - 18th May 2002        

- the helicopter is in the lakes this weekend for familiarisation training with all the Lakes teams.

photographs of the Cockermouth / Wasdale session at West Cumberland Hospital helipad

• Cumbrian Mountain Festival at Millforge - 20th April 2002       

- immediately following the opening at Rheged, Wasdale MRT opens up it's rescue headquarters.

 further details and for photographs

• Opening of Cumbrian Mountain Festival at Rheged - 17th April 2002       

- part of the United Nations International Year of Mountains.  Massive Mountain Rescue contribution across the 13 teams in the Lake district.... for further details and for photographs

• Article in Whitehaven News on 'What to do in event of...' - March 2002       

- an article on the team and what to do if you come across an accident on the hills....  see here

• Team trip to Glenmore Lodge - Friday 1st February 2002       

- Where do you go for snow in winter when you need to brush up on snow belays....  see photos here

• RAF Join Wasdale MRT's Annual Dinner - Friday 18th January 2002       

- Wasdale Head Hotel - A great evenings entertainment and social following a day's grueling practice with the RAF Search and Rescue team, RAF Boulmer, North East of England.  see photos here

• Major Fund Raising Project 'Kicks off' - Saturday 12th January 2002       

- A Fell Race which was developed to suit all ages and levels of fitness was held 12/1/02 - Middle Fell Race + evening entertainment at the Screes Pub, Nether Wasdale .  Event organised by Jenny Watson. Member of the team.  Supported by Nick and Rachel Putnam, owners of the Screes pub.   

£367 was raised towards the £30,000 vehicle appeal - see photos here

Pre race details see here

• Cumbria Community Foundation gives £5,000 - Sunday 23rd December 2002       

- The LDSAMRA teams finally received the green light of support for next years year of the mountain programme.  Wasdale MRT will therefore now receive 50% funding towards the anticipated costs for the exhibitions scheduled for next year.  The remainder will be found from other sources.  See details ........here

• Flag Day raises 50% more than last year - Sunday 16th December 2002       

- A fantastic day of support from the communities of Whitehaven, Egremont and surrounding areas. Early indications are that we will have raised at least £1,400 - we will firm up on the figure when our treasurer, Richard Longman finishes counting the pennies today.  Photos of the day here 

Actual sum collected was £1471   

• Why were the team carrying a guitar ?- Sunday 9th December 2001       

- Photos of the recent full day search practice  click here

• Rememberance Day on Gable - Sunday 11th November 2001       

- A regular event on a wind swept summit in the Lakes - 2 minutes of silence then back down before it gets too cold

photos of the event

• Axa / Aegon support Wasdale MRT - Sunday 30th September 2001      

- Following a dramatic rescue of one of their employees on Scafell Pike in April 2000, the rescued walker raised nearly £700 through the Guardian (now Axa / Aegon UK) Insurance Sports and Social Club.  See the incident details under callouts and also the true story.  See below for the photographs taken when the cheque was presented to Deputy Team Leader, Mike Greene at the Gosforth base by Geoff Hayman and Peter Jones (Chairman of the Axa / Aegon UK Sports Club based at Lytham St. Annes).  

photos of the presentation

The record of this incident can be viewed 

by doubling clicking here...No.17 - 10 April 2000   

• Revolutionary Route Finding in the Lakes - Friday 14th September 2001      

- For the first time in 20 years, a slight modification to the standard compass will allow walkers a much better chance of getting it right first time. 

• Will you Marry me - Gable Style  - Saturday 28 July 2001      

- The first time in 30 years of ascending Gable that I see someone proposing.  The couple below carried the ballons up from the bottom and, as we were wondering whether it was her birthday, he dropped to one knee and spoke those magic words - the answer was positive and a great round of applause went up from the 30 people sat in the sunshine on top of Great Gable.  Ahhhhh.............

They plan to get married next year in Australia.  Is this the first time the summit cairn has been built up with ballons?

• Tip of the Month        

- Useful tips for those who like the great outdoors and willing to experiment.

http://www.news~tips~to~make~life~easy

• Monthly Report of The Science Officer - WMRT        

- Article written by the team's science officer following a training exercise in Mosedale on the flanks of Red Pike (Wasdale) on Sunday, December 10th 2000

http://www.news~stretcherlift~helium

• Runner Saved in Peak Drama 

- Article in the Yorkshire County Evening Press, Saturday, June 24^th 2000

  http://www. runner_saved_peaks_drama.htm

• Rescue team in three call-outs

- Article in the Whitehaven News, 27th April 2000 

  http://www. rescue_team_in_three_callouts.htm

• Busy time for rescue team

 - Article in the Whitehaven News, 30th March 2000 - http://www.busy_time_for_rescue_team.htm

• Danger is no Stranger on the Felltops

 - Article on the Team's headquarters extensions  - Dr. Jack Cunningham MP opens the refurbished base  -  http://www.cumbriapages.co.uk/A1e5t5.htm  - published 18/04/98

• Wasdale Team get the Boat out on the lake again (19 March 2000)

Some of the Wasdale Team members after a full days practice on the Screes - the practice was filmed by the BBC2 team and shown on Focus up North, late 1999.  The boat is a godsend when you need to either search the Screes path at night or indeed to recover a casualty from the far shore - the boat can get the advance group across the Wasdale Lake in just 45 seconds.......it beats walking any day. 

The team were exercising on the Lake and the Screes again on Sunday 19th March when we were involved in a joint exercise with the RAF Leeming Mountain Rescue Team who are based at North Allerton, North Yorkshire.  The days events went well and taxed both teams fully - if you want to read the exercise brief and see some of the pictures taken on the day 

      Leeming Exercise - Sunday 19 Mar 2000              

• Bill Pattison stands down after 20 years as WMRT's Leader (15 November 1999)

   Bill Pattison (middle) receives a framed painting of Napes Needle, Great Gable from fellow team members after 20 years as Team Leader, and nearly 30 years in the team. The gift was presented to Bill by Dave Fryer, Chairman at the annual post-christmas dinner . The dinner was held at the Wasdale Head Inn on 21st January 2000. Bill will remain actively involved in team affairs as the newly elected President. Bill has handed over the leadership to Julian Carradice (to the left), also a team member for over 20 years and a Deputy Team Leader for the last 8 years.