Liathach 18th/19th February 2003
A guided party consisting of 3 people were climbing a very thin
"Poachers
Fall", a 600ft [V], in Coireag Dubh Mor, Liathach, when the leader took
a
substantial fall. He suffered a broken femur together with several
lesser
injuries. He was tied securely to the route, 2 pitches up, whilst his
clients were lowered and sent to raise the alarm. 12 members of the
Torridon
Team, together with another local climbing guide, gathered at Torridon
Base, where a recce was made by an RAF helicopter to look at the
possibility
of winching the casualty directly into the helicopter. Due to the
length and
verticality of the route, this was deemed impossible, nor was it
possible
to drop troops onto the ridge above due to adverse winds. The RAF
Kinloss
MRT had been mobilised to assist, and soon, most available troops and
much
equipment was deployed at the base of the route by helicopter in order
to
facilitate the later evacuation of the casualty. Meanwhile, a handfull
of
troops climbed up a gully from the Coireag and located the top of
"Poachers", whereby a team medic, together with the assisting guide,
were
lowered several hundred feet to the casualty. The three were then
lowered
together to the base of the route whereby the casualty was transferred
to a
stretcher to await uplift from the Stornoway Coastguard helicopter.
Good
teamwork and morale persisted throughout all assisting teams, and our
thanks
goes out to them. The casualty was flown to Raigmore Hospital in
Inverness.
Neil Hinchliff team leader
False alarm, 2nd/3rd February 2003
Late on the evening of the 2nd, a car was flagged to the team as not
having
been retrieved from the glen. It was covered in snow and had been seen
parking up at 0930 on the 2nd. From here, there is only one feasible
destination, and that is the mountain of Liathach. The weather during
the
day had been wintry, but reasonable, and a highly attractive
proposition
from a mountaineering perspective. It was sensible to think that the
occupants had taken a walk up the hill, and had not returned.
On the morning of the 3rd the car was still in position. Messages were
left
on the vehicle advising the occupants to contact the police
immediately,
should they return to the car. Meanwhile, checks were made at local
accommodation in an attempt to discover whether anyone hadn't appeared
the
night before. This drew a blank. "So, they are possible still up
there!!"
Around 1230 on the 3rd, the keen eye of Murdo Alec MacKenzie, the local
snow
plough operator and member of the mountain rescue team, spotted 2
figures
descending the mountain, making extremely slow progress. These folk
were met
at the roadside at 1340, and were confirmed to belong to the vehicle.
They
were 2 Dutch lads, who had just returned from their very successful
expedition high on Liathach. Amongst other things, they had been
testing out
their new tent, in winter, on the exposed ridge of the mountain. They
were
full of achievement and smiles. All that was left to be done was to
advise
them of the "route card" system that is in operation around the
Highlands.
Neil Hinchliff team leader
Lurg Mhor, 30 - 31st October 2002
Two men were this morning safe and well having been benighted in
the
mountains. The two middle-aged men from the South of England had
planned to
climb Bidein a Choire Sheasgaich & Lurg Mhor in the Achnashellach
Forest.
These were to be the final two Munros for one of them. Winter
conditions and
poor visibility contributed to them failing to return to their
accommodation
in Dornie that evening. One of them had, however, returned to the road
by
first light the following morning. 13 members of the Torridon MRT,
together
with 5 members of the Kintail MRT, with the assistance of an RAF
helicopter
and crew from Lossiemouth, found the missing walker later that morning
at
the Bealach Bhearnaise. They had become separated as they were walking
out
in the darkness the previous evening. Following a head torch failure, a
sensible decision was made by the second man to "sit it out" until
first
light. A very memorable last Munro!
Beinn Eighe, 13 - 15th September 2002
A BUSY WEEKEND FOR RESCUES
On the Friday evening a walker was reported overdue from Beinn Eighe. A
relatively "low key" rescue followed, whereby a couple of "spotters"
were
deployed in Glen Torridon, with the missing male walking off the hill
by
himself, having grossly underestimated the time it would take.
However, on the Saturday evening a climber was reported as being
"crag-fast"
on the Eastern Buttress in Coire Mhic Fhearchair, also Beinn Eighe. The
two
men's plans had been to climb the very straight forward classic rock
route
of "Eastern Buttress", but had strayed onto a much harder route. One of
them
became too tired to complete the route, necessitating the other to
"climb
out" and raise the alarm. Due to the conditions not being ideal during
the
evening, the rescue continued at first light the next day, with the
Stornoway helicopter and a couple from neighbouring Dundonnell mountain
rescue team assisting. A rescuer was later lowered 100ft to the
crag-fast
climber where they were hauled to the top.
Ironically, 7 of Torridon's main team members were in Edinburgh for the
weekend, attending the UK Mountain Rescue Conference, but the remaining
troops executed a textbook rescue, one of our more technical for some
time.
Neil Hinchliff team leader
Liathach, 14th August 2002
A man in his 30s was today rescued from the summit ridge of
Liathach, Wester Ross, following a 30ft fall on its notorious
"pinnacles".
The Torridon Mountain Rescue Team, together with an RAF Lossiemouth
helicopter and crew, made a series of flights up the mountain. The
ridge was
in cloud, necessitating the team and equipment to be deployed at 825m,
and
then carried to the casualty at 1055m. Once stable, the casualty was
stretchered to below cloud level to be retrieved by the RAF. He was
later
air-lifted to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness having sustained
lacerations,
damaged ribs, and breathing difficulties.
Liathach, 6th August 2002
A man in his early 40s became disorientated today whilst traversing
the
ridge of Liathach. Conditions remained misty throughout the day, and
following many unsuccessful attempts to find the correct route off the
main
summit, Spidean a Choire Leith, he decided to call for assistance. We
later
escorted him from the ridge.
Of note; the whole situation may have been avoided if our friend had
remembered to pack his map. However, even with a map, good navigation
is
essential up here.
Liathach, 9th July 2002
A 30 year old man was today rescued from the eastern-most summit of
Liathach. The group of 3 men and 2 dogs were just completing a west to
east
traverse when a boulder gave way underfoot. This happened as they
approached
the top of the final descent scramble. The boulder rolled over the
casualty
causing severe bruising to his legs and pelvis.
The Torridon mountain rescue team were assisted by a helicopter and
crew
from RAF Lossiemouth.
3rd June 2002
The alarm was raised by mobile telephone at 1500 hrs after a
Glossop man
had stumbled and fallen more than 100ft down steep terrain on the
Western
slopes of Bidein a Choire Sheasgaich, south of Glen Carron. A
helicopter
from RAF Lossiemouth was immediately scrambled due to the severe head
injuries reported. Meanwhile, the Torridon troops made progress towards
the
casualty on foot as back-up should the helicopter fail to assist due to
a
possibility of poor viz. Following a quick recce of the accident , the
helicopter crew decided to uplift the 3 nearest Torridon troops to
assist,
on scene, with the loading of the casualty onto a stretcher. The
casualty
was then flown straight to Raigmore Hospital, Inverness. The Torridon
MRT
later escorted the casualty's friends to the roadside in Glencarron.
Of note, the accident actually happened in poor viz when the party were
traversing above steep terrain. The casualty was travelling in
extremely
light foorwear, which may or may not have contributed towards the fall.
It
was rather wet underfoot.
Liathach, 25th May 2002
Torridon Mountain Rescue Team were today called out to assist a 23 year
old
female with a suspected broken ankle. The accident happened just after
3pm,
when the medical student from the Edinburgh area stumbled, just below
the
main summit of Liathach. The team went in fully prepared for a long
stretcher off the mountain, but were met at the scene by an RAF
helicopter
from Lossiemouth. The casualty was airlifted to Raigmore Hospital in
Inverness and released later that evening.
21st May 2002
A man was reported missing, last seen on the Northern slopes of Lurg
Mor.
The 2 men had been descending Northwards from the col between Lurg Mor
and
Bidein a Choire Sheasgaich. After a while, the leading man stopped to
allow
his friend to catch up. He never appeared, resulting in the leading man
retracing his steps, looking and shouting, yet finding no sign of his
companion . He walked out to raise the alarm.
After gathering information, our local stalker and team member, Chris
MacKenzie, was very concerned for the safety of the missing person due
to
the proximity of a hidden gorge in the area where they had become
separated.
8 rescue team members were put on stand-by, and a helicopter scrambled
from
RAF Lossiemouth.
Meanwhile, our missing man walked off the hill unharmed about 3 hours
after
the alarm had been raised. Apparently, he too had been looking around
for
his friend before deciding to walk out. Interestingly, the weather had
been
clear. These things happen.
Beinn Alligin, 4th May 2002
The Torridon Mountain Rescue team was in action again this evening. Following a superb traverse of Beinn Alligin in excellent weather, a 61 year old female stumbled on the final scramble descent, sustaining a suspected broken ankle. The alarm was raised using a passer-by's mobile phone. The team were assisted by some members of the Search and Rescue DogAssociation who were training nearby, as well as an RAF helicopter and crew from lossiemouth. The casualty was flown straight to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness
