This wintry evening our Team Training Officer Alistair Greenough, had planned an exercise involving basic mountain rescue skills and some navigation work, in and around the Noon Hill area of Rivington Moor. (further details cannot be entered in to, because this exercise will be repeated, and Alistair does not want team members to know too much about what was planned)

All went well for the 20.00hrs exercise start at the high moorland road car park of Hordern Stoops, midway between Rivington and Belmont, with members being sent out in to the rain, sleet and boggy moorland.

Conditions soon rapidly became extremely wintry with heavy snow falling, but it was the accompanying lightning and thunder that saw a rapid (and safe) abandonment of the exercise – regular readers may recall this happening on another recent exercise as well!

All members present then faced a very snowy descent of the moorland roads into Belmont or Rivington, depending on their direction of travel.

In total seventeen operational team members and six of our probationary members took part in tonight’s somewhat ‘weather challenged’ exercise.

A further three team members in the warmth of our Ladybridge hall Base / HQ, were at the same time taking part in and monitoring the progress of the SARCALL LDSAMRA ‘Exercise Cloudburst,’ alongside some essential team IT administrative work.