UKC

Just a quick shoutout and immense thank you to the rescue services involved in recovering my injured friend, Andy, from the High Level (Climbers/Shamrock) Traverse between Pillar Rock and Looking Stead on Saturday evening.

Cockermouth MRT arrived rapidly and exhibited great professionalism and kindness throughout. Especial thanks to Chris and Ian who ferried us to Black Sail after. The crew of the Sea King from RAF Valley were also excellent. The pilot must have massive cojones to have hovered continuously for almost thirty minutes so close to the rockface as Andy was prepped whilst a sleet filled hoolie was blowing and gusting at 40mph.

Additional thanks to Martin and Suzy at the Black Sail YH for kindly pressing mugs of tea into our hands and finding us beds at such short notice.

See the full story here:

http://www.summitjunkies.org.uk/Rescue_from_the_High_Level_Traverse.mht

In reply to summitjunkie:

Thanks for that. What a great bunch of people who rescued Andy and helped you! Your report is so well written you almost made the whole experience sound like fun!

Best wishes to Andy for a speedy recovery.

In reply to summitjunkie: glad your friend's ok. it is a bit treacherous that traverse. Martin and Suzy had their own mini epic at the same spot a few years back as i expect they said.
Certainly you won't forget that trip in a hurry

A well written account of it all too

In reply to summitjunkie:

I'll make sure the team sees this, thanks!

I'd also like to add in our thanks to Wasdale MRT, who drove round to back us up in case the Sea King couldn't make it in - because, as you say, it wasn't exactly perfect flying weather, and there was a fair chance it was going to be a carry out

In reply to Trangia:

They were fantastic. Not only did they effect Andy's rescue quickly and efficiently but they also went way beyond the call of any duty in making sure that we were also safe and comfortable after the incident. The kindness shown was humbling.

>Your report is so well written you almost made the whole experience sound like fun!

I couldn't say it was fun - my a'hole was twitching a fair bit when I saw Andy go down and then start to slide over the edge. However, it was a good learning experience and nice to see that our own procedures worked too.


Andy's doing fine now - he's just a bit sheepish at having caused such a kerfuffle and inconvenienced so many people!

In reply to summitjunkie:

Wow, amazing effort by all and not least yourselves. Thanks for posting.

In reply to thegoatstroker:

Yeah, I was surprised just how quickly and how much it got iced up. Done it plenty of times before, including cramponed-up in winter, and never had a problem.

Martin did say that the slab was a bit of a blackspot and mentioned that he and Suzy had had some fun there too!

In reply to summitjunkie:

Hears to a full recovery for Andy. In the meantime I look forwards to making a donation to the Cockermouth MRT team to show my appreciation for their hard work for your friend. Anybody feeling generous, text the message CMRT11 £20 to number 70070, and they will receive a £20 donation.

A good rescue is always nice to hear.

In reply to Carolyn:

They deserve all the praise I can give them - for a volunteer service their professionalism and calm performance would shame many a full time and paid organisation.

Wow - I had no idea that there was backup from Wasdale! Indeed, I was suprised as hell when on the call-back Chris explained he was from Cockermouth MRT whilst I was stood on the ridge looking down Mosedale onto Wasdale Head, as it was the Wasdale team that I'd initially expected.

In reply to summitjunkie:

Indeed, I am sure that Mr Junkie and his friends will be donating a sizeable Xmas prezzie to the MRT this year.

Thing is, we are only in Autumn. Think of these poor souls when they have to rescue in the depths of winter.

Extraordinary.

In reply to summitjunkie:
Great report of how an alert group can turn a potential disaster into "just" an epic. Quick thinking on your part and a fabulous account of the value of well-coordinated MRT and SAR teams.
Very impressive

In reply to battledroid:

They also have some great promotional/support kit such as fleeces, t-shirts and woolly hats - see the centre pages of the CMRT's Annual Report at http://www.cockermouthmrt.org.uk/documents/CMRT-AnnualReport2012-web.pdf

I think I'll be gently dropping hints to Andy about on what he should spend some of his money this Christmas!

In reply to summitjunkie:

Can't read link on iPad

In reply to summitjunkie:

Great report hope your freind recovers fast, i have also had a mini epic on the slab at the same time of year a few years ago with the exact same problem, iced over slab with no crampons, thankfully it didn't turn into an accident as we put a hill rope on and crossed the slab, the slip was protected, only because i was been a pussy though but averted disaster.