In the news

March 11, 2023 18:49hrs

At 18.49hrs  on Saturday 11th March the Duty Leader of Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was contacted by Cumbria Police regarding a group of 9 men from the Manchester area who were somewhere on Striding Edge/Helvellyn area needing assistance to get back down to their vehicles.

Contact was made with the group and after a short while a Sarloc text was intercepted and the group’s location was established as on the summit of Helvellyn. Team members were put on standby whilst it was ascertained the best way of getting the group off safely – they were not injured, had waterproofs and torches but no maps or compasses to assist them with navigation.

It was decided that the best route for them to take was down to Thirlmere as they did not want to go back over either of the edges due to the conditions. The group eventually started to descend down Brown Cove crags and down the path.

The Duty Leader monitored their progress on live location on WhatsApp and further phone calls. Two vehicles were despatched from Patterdale to liaise with the group and drive them back to their vehicles at Glenridding so they could head back to their accommodation in the south lakes.  

It was established that the group had set off far too late in the day, mid afternoon, and as they traversed Striding Edge it had got dark whilst climbing to the summit. The group had boots and waterproofs plus torches but no other winter gear. At times they were knee deep in snow and there were blizzard conditions on the way down.

The men were extremely grateful for the assistance. The rescue took just under 4 hours and involved 3 team members whilst the rest of the team were on standby.