Real-life rescues part of exercise weekend
Mountain teams are mobilised
A large-scale mountain rescue training exercise was bookended by two real-life emergencies on Stirling area peaks at the weekend.
Police joined forced with volunteers from Killin, Lomond and Ochils Mountain Rescue Teams for the major exercise – which took place in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, near Crianlarich, on Sunday.
However, just hours before the event was due to get underway mountain rescue volunteers were called out to assist a group of walkers who had encountered difficulty on Stob Binnein, also close to Crianlarich.
As one member of the party had fallen ill, police were contacted and at around 5pm on Saturday Killin MRT were mobilised, along with Rescue 199 – the SAR helicopter from Prestwick.
Given the adverse weather conditions the helicopter was unable to assist and mountain rescue volunteers made their way up the mountain on foot.
After briefly being treated on the hill, the group was brought back down to safety and the incident concluded around midnight.
After a few hours sleep most of those involved in the operation were back out at 9am Sunday morning for the joint exercise.
Around 70 people were involved in the day – which saw groups of volunteers dealing with a scenario which involved a group of missing walkers. A second scenario was then added later in the day to pose an additional challenge.
The aim was to give police and mountain rescue teams an extra opportunity to plan and prepare their response to search and rescue incidents.
As the exercise was coming to an end at around 3pm police were made aware of an injured walker on Ben Challuim, near Tyndrum, and Killin MRT were again mobilised.
Volunteers made their way to the scene and quickly located the female walker, who had suffered a minor injury and she was assisted off the hill.
The second real-life rescue concluded at around 5pm, rounding off an eventful weekend for mountain rescue volunteers.
PC William Diamond, mountain rescue co-ordinator for Forth Valley, said: “Winter is one of the most dangerous times of year for those taking part in mountain activities. As the temperature and number of daylight hours decrease, the stakes for both police, volunteers and those being rescued become much higher.
“We make use of a range of specialist resources to assist in locating those who are lost and injured in the mountains, including helicopters and search dogs; however it is the local mountain rescue teams who undertake the vast majorities of searches and rescues.”
He added: “I would also take this opportunity to remind those taking to the hills in Forth Valley this winter to make sure you plan your visit, dress for the weather and know your limits.
“Remember that the weather conditions on the top of the mountain will be very different to that where you park your car.
“By ensuring that you leave some basic information including your intended route and return time, it can greatly assist rescuers and reduce the time taken to deal with an emergency situation.”
Bill Rose of Killin MRT added: “The three teams train regularly in order to practise their skills, and by working together on an exercise such as this, it allows the sharing of ideas as well as practising how the teams can work together which is often required on larger searches or avalanches.”