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Diary

Wednesday 9th August 2006

August is usually a quite month, with several members going on holiday, we don’t hold any training sessions. Our only normal scheduled event is the Cracken Edge Fell Race. This race was originally conceived as a fundraiser for the team by an ex-team member. It is now on the Fell running calendar and every year we marshal the event and provide first aid cover.

It was an early evening start to allow us time to deploy before the race started. I arrived to a busy scene outside the hut with both runners trying to register and team members waiting to find out which checkpoint they were going to.

Colin and I were given a checkpoint near the top of Ollerset moor and we headed up in Colin’s car along with Mike and Steve, who would be on the checkpoint below us. Colin drove us as far as we could go and then we bailed out and headed off on foot. Mike and Steve took their positions and we carried on to ours. After a month of hot weather, we soon noticed that it was significantly cooler as we moved up the hill. The sun was just breaking through some very black clouds.

We reached our spot and settled down to wait for the runners. Several dark clouds came and went, it attempted to rain, but never quite got going.

An hour and several extra layers later the first runner went past. Not too long after Mike, the first of our team members went through, closely followed by Gavin.

Soon the rest of the field started to go past. With almost 200 runners it took some time before the final ones passed us.

Once all the runners had passed we headed back, collecting the marker flags as we made our way down. When we reached Mike and Steve they told us they almost had an incident with a runner falling right in front of them. Luckily he was not seriously hurt and managed to continue on. It was going to be a quite night tonight.

After the race we went to the pub for the presentations. The race was won in a new record time and prizes were given out. As a side issue, there is a trophy for the fastest Mountain Rescue team, made up of three team members. With entries from Glossop, Buxton, Edale and Woodhead teams. Kinder managed to win back the coveted trophy. Well done to Mike, Gavin and Darren. Here are Mike and Darren with the trophy.

 

Monday 14th August

In the best traditions of newspapers in August, our Chief Diary Writer and top photo journalist is away on his hols, so as sub-deputy-first-reserve Diary Writer with no camera, I'm filling in for him...

I'm sitting on the Manchester to Buxton Express on my way home from work (yes - University staff really do work in August!) when my phone goes off. Whilst our glorious leaders are on their hols, John's got the follow-me number and has sent the callout message. Luckily, the train's approaching Disley station, so I text back to say I'm on my way.

At New Mills, I jump in the car, call in at my house to pick up my gear and continue to the hut. When I arrive, Nigel's in the control room starting to organise the job. A father and his 8 year old son have reported themselves lost by mobile phone. They know that they set off from Hayfield and walked up Kinder via the reservoir, but the story then becomes vague. In the best traditions of mobile phones, they then loose signal so we have no more information from them.

This looks like it might be a long job and having had no tea, I stock up on Muesli bars, grab the casualty care kit and a search lamp and jump in the landrover with John, Vinnie and Ryan. Ryan is a new probationary member who only did his assessment walk to get on the callout list yesterday, so it's straight into the action for him.

We drive up to the filter house and set off on up Sandy Heys. Kinder 1 are ahead of us going up William Clough and report meeting a lady who has heard shouts for help in the Red Brook / Cluther Rocks area. We relay this back to base and, a few minutes later, meet the lady who confirms it.

We've cover the first part of the Sandy Hey's ascent when Kinder 3, who are checking the Three Knolls path, report that they can see the casualty party well below them on Broad Clough. We divert from our route and go up and over to the casualties' location. Kinder 3, having the advantage of coming downhill, beat us to it. They report that both casualties are fine and can walk off the hill, so they bring them down to the landrover. We cross-country to the landrover to discover that it's already full, so carry on walking back to John's vehicle.

A good result and, as a bonus, a pleasant evening stroll around Kinder Reservoir.

Thursday 17th August

From our sub-deputy-first-reserve Diary Writer...

If I have to have another tea of muesli bars this week I'm going to resign from the team. I'm once again on the Manchester to Buxton Express (yes, I do work for more than 1 day a week) and my phone goes off as we draw into New Mills. It's 18.20. I jump on my bike and peddle furiously to get home. You might have seen stories in the paper about paramedics on push bikes in city centre Manchester - well, we're following their example.

After picking up my kit, I head off to the hut. There's a note on the board saying that a group of 2 adults and 3 children (2 of them under 8) have phoned in lost. They're 'somewhere near the summit/pennine way'. This doesn't narrow the search area down very much. Whilst Darren sorts out what he wants us to do, we all raid the muesli bars, as no-one's had tea yet. There's a bit of general milling around. Darren, our deputy leader, comes out of the control room to let us know that our inactivity is all part of his cunning plan and should not be interpreted as indecisiveness. Apparently, there's been some communication with the casualty via mobile phone and it looks like they're on the south side of Kinder. A Buxton MRT hill party is going up to their location. We send a landrover over to Edale to help out with communications. The rest of us wait to see if we're needed.

Steve nips out to the fish and chip shop and harangs them into giving him a fish supper, even though they're closed. Being a team player, he decides to discretely sit in the middle of the hut and eat it, whilst the rest of the team look on, munching mournfully on yet another muesli bar (by the way, number 1 Diary Writer, did you notice the cunning use of alliteration here??).

About 19.30, Darren lets us know that Buxton MRT have found the casualty party and so we're free to go. The phrase 'Don't unpack your sacks' has never been more apt - we've had 6 shouts in the last month, at what is normally a quiet time for us. Just goes to show how unpredictable this business is.