Not Alan’s Diary 2: Exercise 24 January 2010
Kinder 2 having a quick break top of Sandy Heys
Kinder 2 at Kinder Gates
We all arrived early at the newly refurbished base ready for briefing for the monthly exercise, the first of the New Year.
I was called in with other party leaders for the briefing and was given Kinder 2 hill party with Hamish, Mike and Jim. We were tasked to up on to the plateau via Sandy Heys to the Downfall and then along the Kinder River to Kinder Gates searching for a party of three who had left Hayfield.
One of the party had rung the Police reporting one of their party sustaining a lower leg injury with only part of a grid reference SK08. This meant searching across the Kinder plateau and fortunately today we had two search dogs to assist us.
We set off along the reservoir up Sandy Heys and half way up we hit the mist and snow fields from the earlier bad weather at the start of the New Year which was still lying in various parts of the hill. As we approached the top of Sandy Heys it started to snow and visibility was down to about 50 metres. We made our way along the edge path to the downfall and then searched along the Kinder River and met search dog Zac and his handler near to Kinder Gates, without any success.
Kinder 2 & 3 meet up at the Downfall
The only gloves in the world visible from space
We were then tasked to meet up with another hill party to assist them carry the heavy equipment to the casualty site which had been located by another hill party. After a slog across the plateau we met up with the rest of the team and once the casualty had been treated the exercise ended.
We then had to carry all the kit back down to base, where after a quick debrief it was into the George for a quick pint to replace the sweat!!
All in all an enjoyable tiring day (Not much of view on the top!!!)
Vinny Farrell, Casualty Care Officer
