The missing walkers were a male aged 26, and a lady, aged 35, both from Dronfield near Chesterfield. Both were equipped for a days walking, carried a rucksack and a map. Although neither were injured, it was dark, very cold and the fact that they had fallen on ice into water attempting to descend Crowden Brook created concern about their welfare.

Rescue units were deployed from Jacobs Ladder to Golden Clough. The South Yorkshire Police helicopter was available and requested to fly over the area. The missing walkers heard the aircraft and set fire to their map to attract the aircrews attention: this worked. The aircraft landed on and picked up the pair near to Crowden Brook. The helicopter flew them to Sheffield, where they were met by ambulance service paramedics, checked over, and released.

A lone 54 year old male walker had telephoned his wife to say he had twisted his knee and was lost on Kinder Scout. The couple were on holiday in the Peak District staying locally in the Hayfield area.

Our colleagues in the Kinder Team couldn’t talk to the walker, presuming his mobile phone battery had gone down. However, it was thought he was somewhere in the Kinder Low area. Buxton Team and search dogs were tasked with searching the Jacobs Ladder, Kinder Southern Edges to Crowden Brook.

Whilst final search planning preparations were being made, the missing walker made his own way off without assistance to Booth Farm, Farlands, Hayfield. The team was stood down.

It was Ho Ho Ho in the Wanted Inn at Sparrowpit the week before Christmas when Santa popped in to deliver a few presents. The locals packed the pub and were treated to a festive night of carols accompanied by Sparrowpit Brass Band. The hosts, Steve and Sheila Philips, provided magnificent mince pies and led the party games in a fun night enjoyed by all.

However, the evening also had the serious aim of raising money for two volunteer local rescue teams. Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation, and Buxton Mountain Rescue Team each received a generous £125 at an informal presentation night in the pub last Tuesday night.

Roger Bennett, Chairman of Buxton MRT, said: “Local support like this is really appreciated by the rescue teams. It is good to know that our voluntary work is valued. Both rescue teams are always looking for cash to keep the services operational and together offer a huge thank you to Sheila, Steve and all the Sparrowpit community.”

A couple from the Bedford area, walking on Kinder Scout had telephoned for assistance on becoming benighted. One person had sustained an ankle injury and was unable to walk rendering both cold from inaction. They gave their location as somewhere between Ringing Roger and Madwoman’s Stones on the south eastern side of the Kinder Plateau.

They were using a smart phone which was connected to the internet and had an inbuilt geographical locator. A system known as SARLOC, developed by Ogwen Mountain Rescue Team in Snowdonia, was used by search managers to pinpoint the phone’s location. This technology can help to re-check any given details. On this occassion it identified the location as being near Druids Stone, which was indeed between the two points supplied by the distressed party.

Personnel were deployed onto the hill, however due to the reported injuries of the walker and the frosty conditions, an RAF Sea King helicopter evacuation was also requested. The helicopter landed and airlifted the party to Leeds General Infirmary, which was the nearest hospital with a suitable night landing facility.

As far as we are aware, this is the first time that SARLOC has been used operationally in the Peak District. Although successful on this occassion, it should be noted that several factors are required to make this technology work. Therefore, as the comments on this grough magazine article states, you can’t bank on it.

We located a 57 year old female from Stretford, Manchester, who had slipped on the icy and muddy surface whilst descending from Lose Hill into the Hope valley. She had fractured her left ankle, and by being immobile was becoming cold. After, Buxton’s Team Leader had treated her with pain relief, her leg was splintered. She was then placed into a casualty bag and then loaded onto our Ferno Titan stretcher, carried down the hill to Crimea Farm and placed into a team vehicle to keep her warm.

Later she was transferred into a land ambulance and taken to Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport for further treatment.

Neil Carruthers, Buxton Team Leader said:
“This was a straightforward incident without difficulty. This sort of accident could happen to anyone. We used our newly acquired Titan stretcher for the first time operationally which worked well.”

Other agencies including the Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service, Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire Police helicopter, East Midlands Ambulance Service, Yorkshire Air Ambulance also attended.

A glider had crashed into trees and a wire fence on the moor adjacent to fields and a 25 foot deep ravine. The trees and fence held the glider in a vertical position and prevented the casuality from falling deeper into the ravine itself.

The fire service secured the aircraft and cut the 74 year old male pilot free. This was a difficult operation as he was hanging upside down in the aircraft. The pilot sustained injuries to his lower legs and scalp lacerations. He was treated by a Mountain Rescue team doctor and air ambulance paramedics on site.

The casualty was transferred to a stretcher by fire service and mountain rescue personnel, and lifted over steep and muddy ground with rope assistance. Once on level ground he was reassessed, and put into a waiting air ambulance to be flown to the Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, for further treatment.

They were stood down whilst en-route to the incident, when the missing party was located safe and well.

Three Mountain Rescue teams (Edale, Glossop and Woodhead), with 7 Search Dog units, including one from Buxton, were deployed in the search which was conducted in driving rain, strong wind and hill fog. All water courses were in full spate.

The walker, from the Manchester area, was eventually located just before midnight by a foot section from Glossop MRT at the top of the West End Valley. He was walked off the hill un-injured, albeit slightly hypothermic. Read a further write-up in the outdoor magazine, Grough.

A 35 year old male from the Bedfordshire area had fallen from his mountain bike and sustained serious head injuries. The incident occurred whilst he was descending a track in the Deep Rake area. He was treated on site by paramedics and mountain rescue team doctors, before being evacuated to a waiting helicopter.

The man was then flown in the Warwickshire and Northants Air Ambulance to the University Hospital, Coventry, for further treatment.

A 59 year old male hill walker from the Nottingham area, had slipped and sustained a fractured ankle whilst walking the ridge between Win Hill and Hope Cross. To raise the alarm, his walking companion had to walk down to the nearest farm, as neither had a mobile phone available.

The casualty was treated on site by rescue team personnel who splintered his injury and gave pain relief. The gentleman was then placed into a vacuum mattress, and onto a stretcher. The low cloud and hill mist created poor visibility so the air ambulance was not available. Team memebers carried the casualty downhill where he was transferred to a waiting land ambulance and taken to hospital for further treatment.