Spring 2019 68
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ISSN 1756-8749 5 7 . 4 £ SPRING 2019 68 THE ONLY OFFICIAL MAG AZINE FOR MOUNTAIN RESCUE IN ENGLAND, WALES, SCOTLAND AND IRELAND WELCOME TO ISSU E 68: SPRING 2 019 Mountain Rescue is the only in this issue official magazine for mountain rescue in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. EDITORIAL Judy Whiteside 07836 509 812 editor@ mountain.rescue.org.uk Andy Simpson ack 0161 764 0999 ngTr Keepi ... [email protected] the life A year in The MREW Land Rover heads Caroline Davenport ery to North Wales WDiscov 01270 878 324 #MRE 13 [email protected] mountain.rescue.org.uk Getting to know your insurance policies: Important information for NEXT ISSUE teams about the key MREW policies, ISSU E 69: Hinkes from Integro’s Chris Jones SUMMER 2 019 thinks Editorial Copy Deadline: 15 Sunday 9 June 2019 Editorial copy must be supplied as Word document. Images must be supplied as 26 high resolution (300 dpi) JPG/EPS/TIFF/PDF. 11 Advertising artwork must be Alan Hinkes talks about a Fifty years of mountain rescue in supplied, ready prepared on winter filled with tragedy in Wasdale: Judy Whiteside reviews CD or via email as font the mountains their anniversary book embedded high resolution PDF/EPS/TIFF (300 dpi). What’s in an avalanche forecast? 42 Bill Strachan talks us through the Cover SAIS website sGtettoing tor knyow the ropes without the casualty on board: Mountain Rescue Ireland team members at their annual rope rescue rigging course in Dementia Awareness: Lesley Gill, from Doolin, County Dignity in Dementia, offers a guide to Clare © MRI. 52 dealing with dementia sufferers PLEASE NOTE Articles carried in Mountain what’s in at a glance Rescue do not necessarily NATIONAL NEWS: 7- 13 AVALANCHE AWARE: 42 reflect the opinions of Mountain Rescue England and Wales. TEAM NEWS: 18-39 HEALTH & WELLBEING: 46-53 We do not accept responsibility for advertising content. MEDIA ADVICE: 9 CAVE RESCUE: 54-59 FUNDRAISING: 30-33 WHO’S WHO: 60-61 WOMEN IN RESCUE: 38-41 SPRING 2019 MOUNTAIN RESCUE MAGAZINE 5 MIKE MARGESON SIGNIFICANT DISCOUNTS MREW OPERATIONS MREW NEWS ON PANORAMA RANGE OF I have to start by reflecting on recent rescues ANTENNAS north of the border in serious winter conditions with high avalanche risk, sadly resulting in Moonraker UK Ltd is delighted to offer the Panorama range of MIKE FRANCE MREW CHAIRMAN mobile installations ltd five fatalities in a week. It’s a reminder to us APB antennas to the search and rescue market sector. Products are all that familiarity can breed contempt. The SPECIALIST BLUE LIGHT EQUIPMENT INSTALLERS offered with significant discounts and we are happy to cater for mountains are not I’ve not yet seen the official incident figures for 20 18, but from feedback on VAT exempt groups. Moonraker also offers an extensive range benign and it highlights social media and the last regional chairs’ meeting, it sounds like most teams have had another record year. The concern continues. When teams in tourist of antenna hardware along with PMR, DMR and Network radios. the importance of our own personal skills areas report a third of their calls as ‘avoidable’ if people took some basic actions and team training before going on the fell, we need to see what we can do to help. programmes. Following on from the launch of #AdventureSmartWales, the Lakes teams have been working with #AdventureSmart over the last twenty months, with financial input from the SEE WWW.MOONRAKER.EU Nick Owen (Langdale teams, LDSAMRA, MREW and the JD Foundation to launch in Cumbria this spring. It would FOR FULL PRODUCT DETAILS Ambleside MRT) reports be nice for another national park/MR region to take on the mantle as the next area. that the Lake District We know it’s really hard to find a benchmark to monitor if this project is working as all EMAIL YOUR REQUIREMENTS #AdventureSmart project we’ve got is call-out numbers. I know we’d all like to see these reducing but when you TO [email protected] will be hosted and promote the great outdoors, more people venture out. Being realistic it will take time before launched by the Lake our calls drop, so we need to keep using teams’ social media and the press to remind OR CALL THE SALES TEAM ON District National Park on 3 May. I can also report hillgoers to think safe. A bit of pre-planning can save a call to us for help. As specialists in the installation of blue light 01908281705 that MTE, the BMC and MTC have agreed to As you all know, MREW was asked by the membership ‘What does MREW do for us?’ equipment, we can cater for all your needs: contribute £ 1,500 each to funds already donated, By the time you read this, we will have visited all the regions with the roadshow. So far these Blue lights, headlamp flash, 2-tone sirens, rear towards the creation of six short film clips and have gone very well. Those who attended had views about the direction of the national reds, covert blues, diesel heaters, run lock website development. body, all comments made have been recorded and will be put into a report. It was a little systems, tracker units, strobes, hands-free Speaking with Mike Park (SAR-H lead) and our disappointing more newer members didn’t come along as our phone systems, 2-way radios, speakers, GPS and Scottish colleagues, there is still work to be done aim was to inform the next leadership of MR what MREW does. satnav systems, plus much more. to improve our helicopter and winch training to The Powerpoint used will go on the website and if there is enough keep our members safe. There is only so much interest we could run it as a workshop at the conference in Our on-site service limits down time on the time and aircraft resource availability and this September. Talking of which — have you booked your place yet? vehicle, or we can offer our equipped needs to be targeted where most needed. This is From what I’ve seen of the work streams it’s going to be a good workshops near Peterborough. the only way we are going to get the aircraft weekend. training time for those who need it and are going I also hope that by the time you read this, we will have moved ● Blue Light Conversions to use it. Discussions on the next SAR-H contract to the CIO. There’s a transfer pack out there, a lot of work by ● Airwave Installations ● Vehicle CC TV are beginning and we must present a united voice many members has gone into this — apart from trustees, both at UKSAR of our operational and training needs. the operations and regional chairs groups have spent time ● Vehicle Tracking Clearly this is not happening at the present time. getting the information right for you. Can I take this opportunity to ● Amber Light Conversions The Operations group has been busy since thank everyone involved in getting us to this point, and also thank ● Vehicle Racking ● Conspicui ty January updating, reviewing and significantly the unincorporated trustees for their work over many years. They will still have some modernising the MREW Primary and Core responsibility for some time. ● Vehicle Lighting Capabilities to be a member team. This has been Sadly, I need to report that Jody, our freelance fundraiser, is no longer working with us. A Morton Emergency a significant piece of work and will be circulated lot of research and contacts have been made giving us a foundation for the next person to Utility Vehicle with other documents for CIO member teams join us. I am keen not to lose the momentum with this role. On the plus side after many For further information and prior to the AGM meeting in May. years of searching for a national fundraising officer, Richard Carratu, of Buxton MRT, has prices please contact: At our recent meeting we discussed the Peer put his hat in the ring to take on the role. A Y Morton & Co Ltd Review programme, which comes to an end in I am also pleased we now have the job description out there for anyone of you who would Station Road December. There was consensus about the value like to give my job a go, once my stint as chairman is up, next year. ✪ Strathaven ML10 6BE Order direct on of the process to teams and how useful it could be 01 357 522 311 0141 352 6816 in sharing good practice. It’s clearly the sort of [email protected] process that those outside MR, looking in for or click: whatever reason, would expect to see us having www.aymortonpolaris.co.uk www.alwych.co.uk e ABOVE: THE BUXTON MRT VEHICLE in place. A request was made to the management u group for further support and funding and the c s programme has now been extended and funded e R till the end of 2020. Tim Cain, who has done an n excellent job delivering the project, is also to i a continue until the end of 2020 in this role. t n For further information contact APB Mobile Installations Ltd Technical stuff: there are regular debates u Tel: 0845 331 2727 Fax: 0845 331 2722 around methods and kit used for managing o M Photo © Sara Spillett Web: www.apb-ltd.co.uk Email: [email protected] rescue loads. I am aware of at least two new Unit 1, Pinnacle Close, Crowland, Peterborough PE6 0GB products coming to the market.