Patterdale team members in action on Striding Edge. Photo: Patterdale MRT

A Lake District rescue team had a busy week, with eight callouts, including three on the same day within two hours.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team had to request the help of a neighbouring team when it received three simultaneous requests for help on Saturday.

The Patterdale volunteers were alerted about 3.15pm to a man who suffered an ankle injury from a falling rock on Striding Edge, near the summit of Helvellyn.

A team spokesperson said: “On arrival to the casualty’s location, team members were able to splint the casualty’s damaged ankle and give them some pain relief before beginning the long descent back to the valley bottom.

“Four team vehicles were then transported from the drop-off location in Greenside into the Grisedale Valley where we then transferred the casualty into one of the team Land Rovers and onwards to our base where he was met by friends and taken to hospital to be checked out.”

The incident lasted 6¾ hours and involved 16 Patterdale MRT members.

Within 20 minutes of the callout to Helvellyn, the team was alerted to an incident where a man had taken a tumbling fall above Martindale, injuring his head and chest. Because the rescuers were committed to the Striding Edge incident, they asked Penrith MRT to take on the rescue.

A Penrith MRT spokesperson said: “A walker had taken a small fall while descending Steel Knotts, suffering suspected broken ribs and a small head injury.

“The team made their way to the casualty and having evaluated the injuries gave pain relief before placing him in a vacuum mattress. He was then stretchered back to the car park where he was transferred to an ambulance for transport to Carlisle infirmary.”

Ten Penrith MRT volunteers were involved for four hours.

Meanwhile on Helvellyn, another call was received by Patterdale MRT reporting a walker lost on Stybarrow Dodd as cloud descended on the summits.

The Patterdale spokesperson said: “This was our third job in the space of two hours, Penrith taking over the previous job in Martindale.

“Thankfully, we had a few spare team members by this time and were able to send two people out in one of our team Land Rovers to locate the lost person. The team members parked at Dowthwaitehead and using our PhoneFind system were able to locate the lost person and walk them off the fell.”

Four team members were involved for five hours.

The following day, while team members were training on Ullswater, police alerted them to a walker in difficulties on Hallin Fell. “They had walked off the path then tried to get to the summit of Hallin Fell,” the spokesperson said. “En route they ended up in very high bracken and had become disoriented. We talked with them and helped guide them back to the lake shore path via a slightly adventurous route down, fighting through the bracken.

“They were then able to compete the rest of their journey on their own.”

The incident involved four team members for just over an hour.

Later that day, Langdale Ambleside MRT requested the help of Patterdale colleagues in finding a missing 14-year-old in the Kirkstone Pass area.

The spokesperson said: “A few unconfirmed sightings of him had been reported down the valley. A full team callout was initiated and as team members made their way to base, one of them spotted the missing person en route.

“The young person was transported to the rescue base where they were reunited with their parents.”

Eight team volunteers responded to the callout, which lasted less than an hour.

Earlier in the week, a walker reported finding climbing ropes, but no climbers, at the Priest’s Hole cave. “Six team members made their way to investigate,” the spokesperson said. “They searched Priest’s Hole and the surrounding area. When the team had done a thorough search to ensure there were no lost or injured persons the team then made their way back to base.”

Seven team members were involved for 4½ hours.

Patterdale MRT was also called out twice to Aira Force, once to a woman who had slipped at the waterfall site and again to the same site for a woman reporting chest pains, sweating and vomiting.

Both were treated and the former was taken by her partner to hospital with the latter stretchered to an ambulance.