IMAGINE a glorious early spring day in the Dales, ideal for a brisk walk to blow away the cobwebs of a hard winter.
You set out with the appropriate clothing, map, compass and mobile phone, having let a loved one know where you are heading and roughly how long you will be.
All is right with the world until, while descending a steep incline, you lose your footing, tumble down the hill and end up in a wooded gully. Bruised and shaken, your right ankle hurts badly. It could be badly sprained or even broken but one thing is clear: you can’t walk on it.
In the fall you have also smashed your phone beyond use. You have no option but to wait for help to arrive as the weather closes in and that glorious spring day reverts to bitter winter again.
Thankfully, help does arrive in the form of a very special group of people – the Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team - who firstly check your vital signs, make your ankle as comfortable as possible before strapping you to a stretcher and carrying you to an ambulance on the nearest road half a mile away. Never have you felt so relieved.
In July this year it will be 50 years since 12 local men responded to their first reported incident and the SMRT was born. Today, there are more than 40 male and female volunteers providing a 365-day-a-year 24/7 service. Occupations range from civil servants to teachers or engineers, and they include both serving and ex-military personnel. They also have trained rescue dogs
Training for the volunteers usually lasts 18 months before they can become a full team member. First aid is one of the highest priorities with all rescuers trained at a basic level. Several are qualified to higher standard and permitted to administer drugs, and there are two doctors on the team.
I recently had the privilege of attending one of their regular training sessions, an exercise in Hudswell Woods, just west of Richmond. The rescue scenario was similar to one I’ve outlined above. On this occasion, “Karen”, a 30-year-old forager, had been missing for two hours and after a team briefing in Round Howe car park, we set off in the gathering gloom along the banks of the Swale.
With the help of technology in the form of GPS mapping to organise the search area and Oli, the Border Collie rescue dog, Karen was quickly found sheltering in a cave on a steep escarpment. After receiving first aid for her injury, she was expertly brought down to safety in the darkness by a stretcher team.
It was hugely impressive to see such skilled professionalism from the volunteers as they were put through their paces. Their commitment is admirable.
While the team has had some recent assistance from Government in the form of a £14,500 grant for a new rescue boat, the team’s £25,000 annual running costs (maintenance of vehicles, its Catterick Garrison base, clothing, medical equipment etc) is covered by local fundraising and there’s a special push in this anniversary year. The team (www.swaledalemrt.org.uk) deserves our support.
As ever, the team will be on standby for the Tour de Yorkshire passing through its patch on Saturday and Sunday and bringing thousands of visitors to the Dales. I’ll be at Richmond to see the start of the third stage on Saturday. It promises to be a fantastic spectacle with our glorious county in the spotlight around the world.