in the news
On Saturday team members headed to the Brick Community Stadium in Wigan, home of Wigan Athletic Football Club. Just before the match against league leaders Wycombe Wanderers Football Club began, the stadium was filled with the theme tune of the "Mission Impossible" films.
The attention of the thousands of spectators was then drawn to a group of people, dressed in red, perched at the very edge of the stadium's roof. It was announced that these were members of Bolton Mountain Rescue Team! A rope could be seen hanging free from that point all the way down to the pitch. There were gasps as one of the figures, team member Alex, began slowly abseiling down the rope. He was carrying the match ball! Once safely on the ground, he handed the ball to team member Diane who walked with it across to the centre spot and over to the other side of the pitch where the referee was waiting to receive the ball to start the game. It was all carefully planned and rehearsed, of course, and made for a great spectacle to entertain the crowd.
We are very pleased to have been able to create the spectacle that the club and stadium authorities had wished for, and also for being allowed to fundraise before the match and then watch the match itself.
Thank you Wigan Athletic! Sorry you lost the match 0 - 1 to Wycombe Wanderers.
Mountain Rescue England and Wales
Wigan Athletic
At 12:39 on Saturday afternoon the team was alerted to an incident on the Middle Brook trail, Ladybridge, Bolton. A 52 year old female was reported to be suffering from a serious medical emergency.
Team members were coincidentally at our base, less than 1km away. A vehicle was immediately despatched and was on scene within a few minutes, alongside multiple North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust resources, Greater Manchester Police and the North West Air Ambulance Charity.
The casualty was treated by NWAS and NWAA crews and was carried back on a stretcher to Ladybridge Lane, up a flight of steps on the bridge and then handed back to the ambulance crews for further treatment at hospital.
Our thoughts are with the casualty and her family at this time.
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Take care if visiting Rivington Pike tonight, visibility is very poor.The conditions up here are terrible at Rivington Pike, please take extra caution if travelling up. Visibility is down to tens of metres at best.
Late on Thursday evening, we were alerted to an incident at Holcombe Moor above Ramsbottom. Simultaneous calls to us came from Greater Manchester Police and North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust .
A 47 year old male, out fell running, was reported to be in cardiac arrest a short distance away from Pilgrim’s Cross. Members of Rossendale & Pendle Mountain Rescue Team were coincidentally running nearby and had started resuscitation attempts.
Team vehicles responded and conveyed NWAS and GMP personnel, alongside rescue and medical equipment, to the location.
Sadly, the casualty did not survive. Team members remained on scene whilst routine police enquiries were conducted. The casualty was carried off the moor by the team. The team stood down at 02:00.
Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of the man involved.
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Tomorrow team members will be paying our respects to the fallen at the Wellington bomber crash memorial at Lead Mine's Clough.
All are welcome to join us for the service, gathering from 10.45.
Parking is available at the Anglezarke quarries car park. The memorial is a one mile walk away.
On Sunday morning at 10:12 we were alerted to an incident on the banks of Wayoh Reservoir, Edgworth.
A 72 year old female was reported to have sustained a lower leg injury whilst walking along the footpath around the reservoir, and was unable to walk off. Two team members happen to live very near to the accident and were quickly on scene, accompanied by an ambulance crew from North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
Additional team members and vehicles attended and the lady was carried by mountain rescue stretcher to the nearby NWAS ambulance.
The casualty was helped by members of the public before we were alerted to this incident, and we are grateful for their assistance.
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Next week is Trustees’ Week and, with it, we have a special announcement.
All of us at Bolton MRT would like to congratulate our Chair of Trustees, and operational team member, Chris Lomas, on his appointment as a Deputy Lieutenant for Lancashire. Deputy Lieutenants assist the Lord-Lieutenant in their role as the King’s representative in the county of Lancashire.
Chris has a long history of volunteering, and we’re sure he’ll be as successful in this role as he has been in his others.
At 15:07 on Sunday we were contacted by North West Ambulance Service in relation to a 44 year old male who had taken a tumble and sustained a painful knee injury on the path from Lyon's Den to Slipper Lowe, Roddlesworth. Unable to walk, the man was getting very cold. The team administered pain relief, applied a vacuum splint, and placed the casualty into a warm casualty bag before commencing a short carry to the road where we were met by the ambulance. The team wishes the man involved a speedy recovery.
Today is Mountain Rescue Awareness Day.
There are several posts below (and above) that tell the story of teams, remind you of safety information and give you an insight into what we do and who we are.
But why today?
The last Sunday in October is when the "clocks go back" in the UK. And that means it'll start getting dark at an earlier time tonight. Depending on the weather, that could be soon after 4pm.
So PLEASE start your walk as early as you can and carry a torch and a spare in case you get delayed.
A head torch is ideal - LED ones are light to carry and really light on the hills too.
Your phone torch is not ideal - it'll eat the battery power that you might need to contact the Police and Mountain Rescue in an emergency.
This advice might be too late for today's adventures - but please Share so that it's a reminder for people in the coming weeks and months.
Thank you. #BeAdventureSmart
IMAGE CREDIT: South Snowdonia MRT
Photos from Ruth Lee Ltd's post
Kenton Cool, legendary mountaineer, guide, and the man with more Everest summits than any other non-Nepali, kindly allowed us to fundraise for - and promote - our team before his recent tour stop at Waterside Arts Centre, Sale.
Kenton’s current tour provides a knowledgable, humorous journey through the history of K2 - the savage mountain. Covering early attempts, the controversial first ascent, commercialisation, and his own tough ascent in 2021, this is a fascinating insight into what is regarded - by many - as the toughest mountain on Earth.
If you get a chance to see this tour, jump at it.
Thanks for having us, Kenton.
We would like to say a big thank you to the Morrisons Foundation for their very generous grant to Bolton MRT of £4,600. This grant was made to us as part of their 125 Year Anniversary Community Spaces Fund. The grant has meant we can buy a vacuum mattress which is vital for keeping people safe during a rescue.
We would also like to thank Meghan, the community champion at Harwood, for her support and look forward to working with her in the future, as we stay involved with the local community.
On Friday, 12 team members took part in a multi-agency wildfire training exercise on Winter Hill.
Winter Hill and the surrounding moorland span the border of Lancashire and Greater Manchester and are a part of the West Pennine Moors Site of Special Scientific Interest. This exercise - involving Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS), United Utilities, Woodland Trust, Arqiva, BT, the Environment Agency and local authorities - aimed to simulate a wildfire event and have all agencies working together.
Our part in the exercise involved the search for, and rescue of, a missing and injured firefighter. Using a what3words reference and a description from the firefighter’s teammates, we quickly located the exercise casualty. Working with the assistance of LFRS firefighters, we then secured him to a stretcher and hauled him to safety. The stretcher was then put in the back of a Hägglund tracked vehicle so the ‘injured’ firefighter could be transported back to incident control.
Thanks to all those involved in the planning of this exercise. We found it hugely informative, and it was great to further strengthen our working relationships with colleagues in other organisations.
At 19:32 on Monday we were contacted by North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust. They required assistance extricating a casualty who had fallen off their horse on farmland in Atherton.
Team members were quickly on scene and, with the casualty in the ambulance, the incident was stood down at 20:08.
This week, Chair of Trustees Chris, and President Bob, presented Support Group member Gillian with a certificate celebrating her remarkable 20 years of service. Gillian was accompanied by her husband Hindle. Gillian is a founding member of the team's Support Group and is the longest-serving member. She also served as the team's Secretary for 12 years from March 2006, and organised the team’s lectures and visits for many years.
During her time with the team, Gillian built up the number of collection tins from just 30 to more than 100 and continues to manage them across our patch - she never stops!
Thank you, Gillian, from all the team for your fantastic service!
What a weekend our team had!
From Thursday to Sunday evening (yes, four nights on the run), we provided safety cover for the magnificent Rivington Terraced Gardens Festival of Lights. This event, organised by a team of dedicated volunteers, is enjoyed by around 4000 people each year. Providing entertainment, food, refreshments, and more, it is a true marvel. The festival also provides a great opportunity for us to interact with the public and to fundraise in a fun environment. We had a few small incidents to deal with during the four nights, but all were resolved quickly.
On Saturday morning, we provided safety cover for the Rivington Trail Half Marathon. This test of any runner’s mettle saw 196 runners take on a mix of terrains over the 13-and-a-bit mile course. We dealt with two incidents during the race, with both parties requiring further treatment at hospital. We’d like to wish them both a quick recovery and return to running, and pass our congratulations to all those who finished the race. The winner finished in just 1 hour and 20 minutes.
We had two call-outs last weekend.
The first call-out was to assist a man who was located next to Lower Rivington Reservoir. He had a painful ankle injury. Team members helped him get back to his own vehicle.
The second call-out was to a fallen mountain biker near Turton. Colleagues at North West Ambulance Service had requested our help to extricate the casualty.
We wish both casualties quick recoveries!
Earlier this week, Diane and Bob from the team delivered a presentation to Swinton Women's Institute. They talked about the history of the team and some of the work we do today. We'd like to thank everyone for their kind donations and the cake!
If you're involved in a group and would like a presentation from the team, please drop us a message and someone will be in contact.
The team would like to give a big thank you to Craftprint Limited in Horwich, who have recently donated the printing of some leaflets to us to raise awareness of the team and give ideas on fundraising. It’s great to have local businesses to support the team, helping us manage our annual costs of over £50,000.
Congratulations to a wonderful Bolton business that is a fantastic supporter of our team.
We recently received a fantastic donation of £1000 from Horwich RMI Harriers. Their members kindly donated this sum to our team as a thank you for providing standby rescue covers for various races they have held over the past year.
Remember, Bolton MRT is an organisation that costs around £52k per year to run, which means we have to raise an average of £1,000 per week to maintain the vital service we provide. Replacing essential kit can bring our annual costs up to a whopping £65k!
If you would like to help our work by donating, you can do so by following the link below.
boltonmrt.enthuse.com/#!/
The team is at Agecroft fire station open day today. Why not head down there, meet the team and learn about the work that we do? You might even get chance to lie on one of our stretchers!
We were treated to a lecture on cold-related illnesses and injuries during last week’s Wednesday training evening. Team member Dav took us through the signs, symptoms and treatments for hypothermia, non-freezing cold injuries, and the various levels of frostbite.
Afterwards, as usual during our medical training events, this classroom session was followed by four related practical scenarios in the grounds of our base.
Thanks to the training team, and Dav in particular, for arranging such a useful evening of learning.
The team was out for most of the past weekend.
On Saturday, Water Team members conducted powerboat training on High Rid Reservoir. This is an inportant part of our training, as recoveries and searches in water often rely on boats.
Then, on Sunday, we provided standby rescue covers for two fantastic events.
One was Horwich Cycling Club’s ‘Horwich Humdinger’ cyclo-cross races. This event, in Leverhulme Park, saw competitors take on a tough course that quickly became extremely muddy. Over 200 riders braved the conditions to take part. Our congratulations go out to all those who completed the course.
The second event we covered was the Moors to Mountains ‘The Three Towers’ charity fundraiser walk. This event, in which walkers follow a route that visits Peel Tower, Darwen Tower, and Rivington Pike, was in aid of The Woodland Trust, Rivington Terraced Gardens, and Bolton MRT. As well as providing standby rescue cover for this walk, we also had three team members take part! Well done to all those who took part and raised money for three fantastic organisations.
Carolina, the Community Champion from Asda’s Farnworth store, recently donated some very well-received (and energy-giving) chocolate bars to our team. Here she is pictured with Support Group member Michelle.
Thanks again for your support, Carolina!