​Just before 5:00 p.m. on Sunday 7th October, Team were requested to help the Welsh Ambulance Service attend to an injured woman on Cader Idris, near Dolgellau.

The 76 year old woman, from Sutton Coldfield, was part of a walking group making its way down the Pony Path from a successful trip to the summit. She had tripped and fallen forward onto both arms which had given way and resulted in her banging her head on the floor. With both arms injured and with considerable pain from suspected fractures, the lady was unable to continue on foot, and assistance from the Coastguard helicopter R936 was requested by the Team call-handler.

Team volunteers reached the casualty and found the lady cold but in good spirits. R936 arrived on scene shortly afterwards and Team members assisted the winchman paramedic in treating and preparing her for evacuation by helicopter. She was flown to Ysbyty Gwynedd for further assessment and treatment. Team members and the remaining members of the walking group were safely off the hill by 8:30 p.m.

At around 4:30 p.m. Team call-handlers were made aware of a couple lost on the hills above Dinas Mawddwy.

The couple, in their early 50's, were uninjured but had become disorientated on the plateau of Foel Dinas. A good phone signal meant that a discussion could be had about their journey so far, and any landmarks they could see. The use of the SARLOC protocol to quiz their phone for its location gave the final confirmation of their location.

With this information, the call-handler was able to give verbal instructions to direct the pair to a suitable exit point from the plateau. In the meantime, two more volunteers set off walking up to meet them.

​Everyone was safely down off the hill by 6:15 p.m.

At around 4:40 p.m. as the cyclist rescue was coming to a close, the Team was made aware of a couple lost on Cader Idris.

​In a replay of yesterday's lost walkers, the couple were located using the Findphone protocol and were directed verbally to features on the mountain that they could follow to safety.

Just after 3:00 p.m. the Team was requested to assist a Welsh Ambulance Service crew with the transportation of an injured cyclist.

The man, in his early forties and from Kent, had lost control of his bike on a steep and slippery section of road above Arthog, near Dolgellau, and he had hit the adjacent dry stone wall injuring his chest and back.

​Team volunteers helped transport the man by stretcher into a nearby field where he was picked up by Coastguard R187 and flown to Bronglais hospital for further assessment and treatment.

Just before 2:00 p.m., Team call-handlers were made of a collapsed female on Cader Idris

The 16 year old was part of a large outdoor education centre group walking on the Foxes Path On Cader Idris near Dolgellau. She had taken a small tumble of the loose and steep ground and was badly shaken but appeared otherwise unhurt.  A number of other factors then came into play, which likely included the poor weather and physical location of the incident, and the casualty started to deteriorate and lose consciousness. A second 16 year old female from the same group also started to deteriorate and display signs of hypothermia.

Mountain rescue volunteers arrived on scene to stabilise the situation, and to co-ordinate the response of the Coastguard helicopter R936. Despite thick mist and driving rain, the aircraft was able to find a way in under the cloudbase and in seperate actions winched both girls aboard. The two casualties were flown to Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth, for further assessment and treatment.

The rest of the group were assisted off the hill, and everyone was back at their vehicles by 7.00 p.m.

The Team would like to thank the Maritime & Coastguard Agency R936 crew for their exceptional work in very challenging conditions, and also South Snowdonia Search & Rescue Team who assisted us in this rescue.

Aberdyfi Team Leader Chris Dunn was pleased with the operation. "This was a good example of the seamless inter-team and inter-agency working as the requirements of the incident escalated. It is what we plan and train for."

At around 4:20 p.m., and while Team volunteers were dealing with the collapsed teenagers on the Cader Idris, Team call-handlers were informed of a pair of walkers also lost on the mountain.

The pair, both soaked to the skin, were attempting to navigate the mountain using Google Maps but the intermittent phone signal and lack of topographical detail on this resource meant that they were unable to find a way through steep ground and called for help.

A Team call handler was able to pinpoint their location using a Phonefind protocol to quiz their smartphone, and was able to give verbal directions using map-features to guide them back onto the correct route. Fortunately resources did not need to be diverted from the serious incident unfolding a short distance higher up the mountain.

At around 2:20 p.m. call-handlers from the Team were made aware of a man and his 13 year-old daughter who had become crag-fast on Pencoed Pillar in the Cader Idris range near Dolgellau.

The pair had set out to scramble up Pencoed Pillar on Cader Idris, but the route they took became increasingly challenging, and, at about 2/3 of the way up the climb, they became unable to move either up or down.

Given the age of the child and the challenges of the location, a request for assistance was placed with the Coastguard Helicopter R936. Already airborne for training, the aircraft was quickly on scene, but having visually located the pair, and given that they were not in any immediate danger, it was considered that a winch rescue was too risky an option. Instead, the aircraft picked up four Team volunteers and crag-rescue equipment and flew them to Pencoed Pillar to start rigging the crag for a rescue. R936 the left the scene to refuel and on return a further 10 mountain rescue volunteers along with more technical kit was uplifted to the crag top.

Having established anchors and belay positions a rescuer was lowered to the waiting casualty party. The two climbers were raised to the belay position, then a short scramble took them to the Minffordd Path at the top of Pencoed. The pair were then walked off the hill down the south ridge. The last rescuers were safely off the hill by 10:20 p.m.

Shortly after 5:00 p.m. the Team was requested by Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) to assist in attending to a man with a head injury a short distance up the Minffordd path on Cader Idris.

The man, in his early 60's and from Gloucestershire, had enjoyed a successful day out on the mountain, but a short distance away from reaching the car-park and the end of his journey, he slipped on a rock. Falling a short way into the undergrowth at the side of the path he sustained a nasty cut to his scalp.

By the time the first Team volunteers were on scene, the man had self-rescued himself down to the cafe at the bottom of the path. The man was assessed by Team casualty carers, and the scalp wound was dressed. A WAST ambulance was able to drive right up to the cafe, and the man was taken for further hospital based treatment.

​At around 5:30 p.m. the Team was requested to assist a Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) crew in moving an injured man off a hillside to their ambulance.

The man, an 83 year-old Belgian, was part of a party plane-spotting on the popular "Mach-loop," a training circuit used by military aircraft. He had slipped and injured his ankle on a steep slope just below Bwlch Oerddrws near Dinas Mawddwy.

The man was attended by WAST paramedics, while Team voluteers carried up a stretcher and rigging equipment to lower the man down the slope.

Everyone was down off thew hill by 7:50 p.m. and the man was transferred to ambulance care for further hospital-based assessment and treatment.