Buxton Mountain Rescue Team wishes to extend a hearty “Happy New Year” to all its members and supporters.

Thank you to all those who have helped in anyway to make 2013 another successful year for the rescue team.  Everyone who has generously made a donation of any size into one of the team’s red collection boxes has helped to maintain the community service offered by the team.  Without the unseen help of so many people and organisation who had given so generously throughout the year the work of mountain rescue teams simply could not continue.  The knowledge that the team has the fantastic support of the local community is a great morale boost to the hill-going members who freely give up their time to help others.

In 2013 Buxton Mountain Rescue Team attended a total of eighty-four incidents at the request of the police or ambulance services.  The team assisted 121 people in all sorts of situations and locations and team members spent 2,800 hours on call-outs alone.  Add to that the time required for training, equipment maintenance, fundraising and general team administration, then the time freely given by the volunteer members exceeded 7.000 hours, roughly equating to 5 hours per week for each member.

The team was involved in four extended searches for vulnerable people and several other non-mountain incidents.  Many of the call-outs involved some of the the other seven voluntary rescue teams of The Peak District Mountain Rescue Organisation, in particularly our neighbouring colleagues in Edale MRT and Kinder MRT.

2014 is Buxton Mountain Rescue Team’s Golden Anniversary and the 50th year is to be celebrated in many different ways.  It also marks the start of a major campaign to raise funds to replace the team’s Incident Control Vehicle which is currently eleven years old.  “£50,000 for Fifty Years Service” is out campaign banner and we hope that we may count on the continued generosity and help of local people to achieve the target.

Thanks to everyone who has helped the team this year in any way large or small.  May your 2014 be Safe and Peaceful.

Roger Bennett, Chairman Buxton MRT>