South Rake, Dow Crag, March 31st 2013 12:16hrs (9/2013)

The team was called to the assistance of a walker who had become cragfast whilst descending South Rake, one of the gullies dropping from Dow Crag ridge.

The hard compacted snow made it increasingly difficult for this man to carry on. Due to the heavy drifts and deep snow, the team was faced with a longer and more difficult walk in than usual. The casualty was therefore advised that we would be with him in about 1 1/2hrs. This obviously influenced the man because he decided to attempt to climb out of the gully. He successfully made it on to the ridge and was able to walk off the fell safely without our aid. The team leader asked him to let us know when he was back down, which he duly did.

This meant that the 12 team members who were deployed were only active for an hour, although it was understood that the incident would not be closed down until we had received the final call from the walker to say he was safe.