Rescue team turns to drones
Picture the scene. Freezing temperatures, a thick blanket of snow, tricky terrain and a vast area of open space to cover.
It’s a daunting prospect for the volunteers of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team, but it is a scenario which they face on an all-too-frequent basis.
Over the years, the dedicated and brave volunteers have used a combination of techniques and experience to aid stricken walkers who get lost or need medical assistance in the hills.
But recently, Scotland’s busiest mountain rescue team has found that using drone technology has proved to be a life-saver – in some cases, literally.
Team member Mike Smith said: ‘The drone is becoming an invaluable tool for our mountain rescue.’
Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team has two Mavic drones in its fleet, having bought them from North East England UAV expert Heliguy.
Embracing this modern technology has been beneficial to the crew for a number of reasons – helping it to scale and search large areas quickly, especially those which are remote and difficult to access by foot, and allowing the volunteers to do this without placing team members into danger.
This is crucial. After all, Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team covers a vast area. While the majority of rescues take place on Ben Nevis, the crew is responsible for an area which exceeds 5,000 sq km, from Creag Mheagaidh in the east to Rum and the Small Isles in the west. On average, the team carries out more than 100 mountain rescues each year.
Mike said: ‘Everywhere we operate is dangerous and the main problem in the mountains is that travelling even small distances can take a long time. But using the drone and its high-quality zoom camera allows us to scale difficult terrain much quicker and get the information a lot safer. I would say that using a drone makes it 50 per cent quicker than traditional methods to do a search. It widens the search area for us, allowing us to get an overview of the area – how big it is and inspect areas of concern, such as cornices (an overhanging ledge of snow), which can be 40 feet long.
‘This is vital, especially when we are inspecting avalanche sites – which is our highest-risk activity – and allows us to make decisions about deployment. It means we can check out the area without having to climb up.
‘Once we send our crew out, the drone allows us to see where they are and what the conditions are around them.
‘We also use it for 3D mapping, to take photographs and create a 3D image of the area, which is great if we are not familiar with an area.’
The rescue team used drone technology at the start of last year when searching for a hillwalker who plunged 1,600 feet to his death on Ben Nevis.
Polish hiker Marcin Bialas, 36, fell in an area close to Observatory Gully and Gardyloo Gully on January 21. He fell through a cornice and was buried deep below the surface. At the time of the fall, near to the summit, the search area was more than 30ft deep with snow. Due to this hostile environment, it took five months to find his body. While the rescue teams couldn’t save Mr Bialas’ life, using a drone made the search for his body a lot easier and safer.
The story of Mr Bialas was tragic, but there are many examples of how the mountain-rescue team has used its drones to create happy endings. One such incident happened with two cragfast climbers, who were stranded approximately 3,600ft up Ben Nevis. Thankfully, they were rescued by helicopter 40 minutes later, after their location was confirmed by an image captured by the drone.
Mike said: ‘We carry a lot of kit, so the fact the drones are light, foldable and easy to carry is a big advantage. They are easily deployable and we can operate them with gloves on.’