Swirl Howe 25th January 14:47hrs 3/2016

The weather was wet and misty, with strong winds higher up the fell.

A couple had been planning to walk up the Old Man of Coniston via Goats Hawse when heavy winds, mist and underlying snow made progress very difficult. They became disorientated and after finding themselves somewhere on the ridge by a large cairn, they requested our assistance.

At the Rescue Base we were able to determine their location, this being at Swirl How, via the SARLOC system. Due to the poor weather conditions and time of day, it was decided that a small team of three would leave the base immediately, and only calling out the rest of the team if necessary. The Land Rover parked up at Levers Water whilst two Team personnel made their way quickly to the casualties via Levers Hawse. After being provided with warm clothing, the walkers were led down Prison Band to Swirl Hawse, and then on to Levers Water where a warm vehicle was waiting to take them to the Base. They were given hot drinks and chocolate, and once warm and dry were able to return to their car parked nearby.

Although a full team call out was not initiated, in addition to the three members who left for Levers Water, the base was manned throughout. The incident took 3 hours from the time we first received the request from Cumbria Police.