Kinder Mountain Rescue Team

Search Dog Anya

Welcome to the first instalment of training a dog for Search and Rescue. Over the next 24-36 months I will attempt to recount the trials and tribulations as I endeavour to train my second dog K.T. to replace my existing Search and Rescue dog Anya.

Firstly, some history. Anya is an eight year old Border Collie who qualified for Search and Rescue in November 2007. Three months after attaining this initial grade she was involved in a road traffic accident which resulted in 6 stitches above her eye and crushed nerves in her left forepaw. She recovered well but now runs with a limp, the result of muscle loss at the top of the injured leg. This does not dampen her enthusiasm for the work she is tasked to do but it does mean she cannot work for as long as you would expect a fully fit search and rescue to do. read more…

February’s training exercise (difficult extraction) below the western edge. Typically the weather deteriorated and the initial search to find a lone walker had to be carried out in the ‘clag’, with visibility reduced to around 10 meters.

So with a mist clad hillside we resorted to line and echelon searching before locating the exercise casualty stuck up on a ledge. Thankfully the weather improved just before the actual evacuation commenced.

The ‘crag team’ would carry out the first two parts of the evacuation along a hazardous ledge route (easiest option due to the terrain) and then lower the stretcher down some steep ground. Once this was done, there would be a short stretcher carry by the rest of the assembled team downhill to a suitable helicopter landing site.

Exercise Casualty and Crag Team

Good team turn out and an excellent training scenario which offered the crag team some nice little challenges.

Phil Ridley, Training Officer

• Type – Ambulance assist / difficult access
• Location – Marple
• Team members –25 KMRT alongside NWAS Ambulance and HART personnel
• Duration 3hrs or 75 man hours

We were asked to assist an ambulance crew access a boy who had fallen down a steep slope which they could not access. Upon arrival, the steep slope was a 10m vertical crag with another 10m run out slope. The boy was half way down and despite the best efforts of the HART team was proving difficult to access. We were soon able to locate access down to him with the assistance of locals were he was stabilised by the paramedics. We were then able to come down to him with a stretcher via our rope team who loaded him then brought him down to the bottom of the slope. A very muddy and slippery carry then took place to get him back up to the waiting ambulance. A superb effort and great co-operation between all the services involved to get the job done.

Neale Pinkerton

Team Leader

• Type – Hill walkers
• Location – Bleaklow
• Team members – 18 Kinder MRT + Glossop MRT and SARDA
• Duration 45min OR 13.5 manhours

Called to assist our colleagues from Glossop MRT in searching for a missing group of 2 adults and 4 children on Bleaklow.
Team stood down shortly before deployment when the group was located.

Howard Taylor
Deputy Team Leader

• Type – Hill Walker
• Location – Edale Rocks
• Team Members – 21
• Duration – 2Hours 30minutes OR 52.5 man hours
Alerted by the duty controller to a lady with a dislocated knee on the Western edge path of Kinder Scout.
Initially there was some confusion as to their location due to the verbal description of their position not matching the map reference given. The injured ladies companion was contacted by mobile phone and an accurate grid reference obtained.
Due to the conditions under foot it was apparent that a long stretcher carry off would be required, and that extracting the casualty by helicopter would be a preferable. A helicopter air ambulance was requested.
Team members proceeded to the incident site and after the casualty was flown to hospital, escorted the remainder of the party safely down to our base.
Many thanks to the North West Air Ambulance from Manchester for their assistance

Howard Taylor

Deputy Team Leader

Type – Mountain Biker
Location – Above Elterwater, Lake District.
Team Members – 2 plus 1 non member.
Duration – 1 Hour 30 Minutes or 3 manhours.

Whilst attending a hut weekend in the Lake District, 2 team members were asked by a member of the public to attend a injured mountain biker on the forest track above Elterwater.
The casualty was warmed and made ready for treatment and evacuation by Langdale and Ambleside MRT.

Howard Taylor
Deputy Team Leader

• Type – missing person search
• Location – Kinder Plateau
• Team members – 27 KMRT, 18 Buxton MRT and 2 SARDA
• Duration – 45 minutes or 20.25 man hours

I was contacted by the Duty Controller to look for a lone walker who was overdue back to his accommodation. The man had reported earlier to his wife that he had hurt his knee but then communications were lost when his phone battery went dead. There was concern for the man as it was forecast to be bitterly cold overnight. We were just putting together a search plan that included our team, Buxton MRT and SARDA dogs when a report came in that he had turned up, much to the relief of everyone.

Neale Pinkerton

Team Leader

• Type – missing person search
• Location – Kinder Plateau
• Team members – 29 KMRT
• Duration – 2 1/2 hours or 72.5 man hours

We were asked to locate 2 walkers on Kinder. Having spoken to them by phone, we were able to arrange a link up with one of our vehicles at Edale Cross before driving them back down to Hayfield.

Neale Pinkerton

Team Leader

• Type – missing person search
• Location – Romiley, Stockport
• Team members – 18 KMRT
• Duration – 1 1/2 hours or 27 man hours

We were asked by GMP to assist in the search for a vulnerable person who had gone missing earlier in the day. Just as we were gathering at the RV point in Romiley, news came through from the Police that the person had been found safe. We were able to return to base and prepare for the annual Carol Singing tour of Hayfield that night.

Neale Pinkerton

Team Leader