Last night, our second Wednesday evening exercise of this New Year, saw no sign of winter ice or snow, instead it was a ‘warm’ 7c, misty with light rain and very wet conditions underfoot.

The scenario for tonight’s exercise arranged by our Training Officer Dave Marsh, was a man prospecting for Gold (Well it was an exercise!) in a steep sided moorland stream valley near Walker Fold, off the moorland fringe Scout Road.

This hapless prospector played by Team Support Group member Gary Melia, had twisted his leg on a boulder in the stream, and was now awaiting rescue, with an ‘exercise’ fractured leg and no clear idea of his exact location.

The ‘response’ to this exercise commenced at our (For this exercise) nearby Ladybridge Hall Base / HQ, with information on the necessary search and rescue resulting in all four of our Land Rovers quickly assembling at the RVP at
Walker Fold, near to the locally named ‘Ciggy Tunnel’ by 20.00hrs.

Twenty six Team Call Out list members attended, and as the exercise unfolded in ‘real time’ the members present were able to practise small fast party searching resulting in a quick ‘exercise casualty’ find, followed by appropriate casualty care and treatment, and then evacuation out of the immediate location, using drag ropes for a simple rope haul, followed by a stretcher evacuation on our SAR Alpine Lite Mountain Rescue Stretcher to the Team vehicle RVP, arriving back at the RVP for 21.35hrs.

The rope haul, using a very steep slope adjacent to the ‘casualty’ site, where many had slipped and slided in the wet ground conditions underfoot, was enjoyed so much, our keen members present decided to repeat this part of the exercise again, much to everybody’s delight present!

Thanks as usual to Team Support Group member Gary Melia for his acting skills as a ‘hillbilly panning for gold in them there local hills,’ and for somehow once more enjoying another very wet night out with the team, whilst enduring yet another exercise ‘injury.’

Will our third weekly exercise of this New Year next Wednesday evening be any drier than the first two? Fingers crossed for a clear night and dry (Drier) conditions underfoot.