In the news

The good weather brought a busy few days for Aberdyfi Search & Rescue Team.

Shortly before 1:00 p.m. on Friday 16th July  call-handlers from the Team were made aware of an injured man on Graig y Bwlch near Dinas Mawddwy.  

The man, in his 60’s, had spent the early part of the morning photographing aircraft flying the “Mach Loop”. Whilst descending the crag to return to his car, the man slipped on the steep ground and injured his left ankle.  Unable to weight-bear on the injured limb he called for assistance.

Team volunteers deployed from Bwlch Oerddrws car park to the casualty’s location with stretcher and medical equipment. The casualty was assessed and the limb splinted prior to being loaded onto a stretcher for transportation back down the mountain. 

Shortly before 9:00 p.m. on the same day the Team was made aware of a lost walker on Hen Gerrig between Lake Vyrnwy and Llandymawddy.  

The man, in his 20’s, had started out from Lake Vyrnwy in the morning with the intention of walking a planned route.  During the day he became disorientated and strayed well away from any notable footpaths or his intended route. Having recognised his predicament, the man called for assistance. 

Team volunteers deployed to the area and made their way as far as possible up into the forestry in a team vehicle before continuing on foot to the casualty’s location.  The man was medically assessed and provided food and water before being escorted back down to the team vehicle. The man was transported back to the main road and met by family members.
All team members were off the hill by 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

At around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday call-handlers from the Team were made aware of a missing walker on Cader Idris.

The man, one of a group walking on the mountain, had been suffering the effects of heat through the day, and at one point was reported to have become unresponsive. He had apparently recovered sufficiently to attempt to walk off the mountain alone down the Minffordd path whilst one of the others from the group returned to their car, parked elsewhere, and planned to meet him at the Minffordd car park.

When the friend arrived at Minffordd, the casualty was not present. The friend back-tracked up the mountain as far as the place where the man had last been seen but still did not encounter the casualty, and at this point a request for assistance was placed with North Wales Police.

As Team members were making their way to the incident, news came through that the man had been located, and that no further assistance was required.

Team volunteer Graham O’Hanlon said “It has been a busy weekend for many of the North Wales Mountain Rescue Teams. The good weather in some ways reduces the number of people getting lost, but at the same time increases the number of people taking to the hills, and therefore exposed to the probability of trips and slips. The heat can also impair good decision making, and ultimately become a serious health issue in its own right. Like poor weather, extreme heat might be a good reason to leave the mountains for another day, and look for some of those shady forest walks instead.”