Another early start for call-handlers at both Aberdyfi and South Snowdonia Search & Rescue Team with a 3:30 a.m. call regarding a missing person near Barmouth.

The male had been reported missing at around 9:30 p.m. the previous evening, and having conducted a local search with no result, North Wales Police officers decided to extend the search to the steep ground above the town and requested assistance from Mountain Rescue Services. The call came through initially to the Aberdyfi Team, and discussions on the best approach were conducted between team leaders from both Aberdyfi and South Snowdonia Team (in whose area Barmouth falls). Searching at night presents extra hazards to rescue workers, both in terms of their movements on the hill and the knock-on effects of driving to and away from incidents with little or no sleep. Having weighed up the circumstances, including the equipment carried by the missing person and the mild prevailing weather conditions, it was decided that the South Snowdonia Team would initiate a search at 7:00 a.m. As rescuers gathered, the missing person turned up, safe and well at around 7:30 a.m.

 ASART volunteer team co-ordinators faced an early start when at 2:40 a.m. reports were received of a flashing light spotted above Dolgellau on the ridge below Mynydd Moel.

As well as the first informant, the light was observed by local Police officers and a local team member joined them to assess the situation. Having viewed the area, talked to the first informant and local Police officers, a decision was taken that the source was moving when last spotted, and therefore unlikely to be a distress call. It was concluded that this was a false alarm-with good intent, and by 5:30 a.m. team members were back in bed. Unfortunately some were then woken at 7:30 a.m. by another call-handler  who had missed the original message and wanted to know what was going on. Sorry Dave!

At about 1:30 p.m. volunteers from Aberdyfi Search & Rescue Team were alerted to a man suspected to have suffered a stroke on the hills near Devil's Bridge. The ambulance service was in attendance, but needed assistance in evacuating the casualty. A helicopter rescue had been ruled out because of low cloud and so both ASART and Brecon MRT were requested.

As the teams were en route, a window in the weather meant that a helicopter was able to get the man out, and both teams were stood down.

At around  5:20 p.m.  on Saturday 5th July, Aberdyfi  Search and Rescue Team (ASART) were alerted to a 44 yr old man missing on Arran Fawddwy.

The man had been walking the Arran Ridge from Llanuwchllyn with a group of friends. Feeling tired, he stopped to rest whilst the others pressed on to summit Arran Fawddwy, but on their return the man was no longer in position. The group continued down, assuming that the man must have done the same, but on their return to the village, there was no sign of him.

The North Wales Police Air Support Unit helicopter was available to help, an excellent option given the good visibility. Assistance was requested, and the crew began a sweep of the ridge-line, while volunteers from the Team were put on standby.

While news of the helicopter search was awaited, a second call came in from North Wales Police reporting concerns for an overdue walker near Aberdyfi. The 27 year old woman was walking between Abergynolwyn and Pennal to meet her friend but had not appeared at the agreed time. A team leader contacted the friend who reported that she had made phone contact with the missing walker and that all was well. The call-out was about to be cancelled when the walker got back in contact to say she didn’t know where she was. An attempt to get a fix on her position using the SARLOC smart-phone protocol was attempted but could not get a good enough phone signal.  As the next moves by ASART were being planned, the walker encountered another party who were able to give her correct directions to reach her destination.

As this second call-out was being closed down, news came in that the Police helicopter had located the missing man a good distance from his last known position on the Arran Ridge. He had set off to descend as predicted, but had drifted a good way off the expected route. The involvement of the Police Helicopter significantly speeded up the search for the man, and it saved the Team a long evening on the hill.

At about 5:45 p.m. volunteers from Aberdyfi Search & Rescue Team were alerted to two elderly brothers who had become crag-fast on the hills immediately above Barmouth.

The men, one in his late 60's, the other in his late  70's, had walked up the 100 steps path, along to Gellfawr farm and were making their way back to the town when they became separated from the path and found themselves on steep and overgrown terrain. The elder of the two brothers  slipped on a small rock step, and finding himself tangled in ferns and sliding downhill every time he moved, was unable to right himself. The man, who had a history of heart attack and stroke, was also experiencing chest tightness.

The Barmouth Coast-Guard was alerted, and teams of volunteers had started searching for the men. Local police officers were in contact to the men by phone, were able to spot their position from the town, and with this information a party from ASART was able to quickly reach the casualties. Given the potential serious nature of any cardiac complications, it was decided to request assistance from the RAF Sea King helicopter, who arrived on scene just as ASART volunteers reached the casualties. The two men were winched off the hill-side and delivered to Barmouth Beach for further assessment by awaiting services. Initial assessments suggested the men  would not need further treatment.

Everyone was safely off the hill by about 7:30 p.m. Many thanks to all agencies involved.

At around 2:45 p.m.  the team was informed of a 20 year old woman who had fallen down a crevice a short distance from the summit of Cadair Idris.

Early reports suggested that the woman, who was uninjured, had been trying to retrieve a dog, but had become crag-fast around Pencoed Pillar and was unable to recover herself.

The Team was called out and gathered at the base of the Minffordd Path. The RAF Sea King, Rescue 122, was also able to offer assistance, and the initial intention was to uplift a crag-rescue party to the scene of the incident. The helicopter crew made an initial fly-by assessment of the incident, and were able to resolve the situation themselves by winching both the woman and the dog to the top of the gulley where they were able to make their own way off the mountain.

At about 4:00 p.m., once it was clear that no further assistance was required, the Team were stood down.

At around 10 p.m. the team was made aware of a group of 3 lost walkers on Cadair Idris. The alarm had been raised by the father of one of the group, who reported that his son was lost in the mist and could not find a path. Volunteers from the Team were put on Standby as information was gathered, but were stood down about 30 min. later when the party turned up safe and well.

At around 4:00 p.m. on Saturday 10th May, Aberdyfi Search and Rescue Team (ASART) were alerted to a man with a serious leg injury near Aran Fawddwy in Southern Snowdonia.

The man was one of a party taking part in gorge-scrambling amongst the waterfalls on the Llaethnant on the upper reaches of the Dyfi river. He slipped and fell down a bank into a rockpool amongst the falls, sustaining a suspected fractured femur.

Volunteers from ASART were called to attend the incident, as was Rescue 122, the RAF Sea King helicopter from RAF Valley, and both parties arrived at around the same time. In poor and worsening weather conditions, the casualty was quickly assessed, and his injured leg was stabilised with a traction splint. Given the potential seriousness of the injury, the casualty was rapidly evacuated to the awaiting helicopter for transfer to hospital based emergency care.

Everyone was down off the hill by around 8:00 p.m.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-27362020

At around 3:15 pm on Monday 5th of May, volunteers from Aberdyfi Search & Rescue Team (ASART) were made aware of a dog that had fallen down the cliffs at the side of the Minffordd path in the Pencoed area of the south ridge of Cadair Idris in Southern Snowdonia.

The dog, a Labrador-cross called Taz, had been enjoying a day on the mountain with his owners, a couple from near Bristol in Gloucestershire. Whilst descending the difficult ground of the scree on Pencoed, the couple had decided that it would be safer to release Taz from his lead, only to watch in horror as he disappeared down one of the gulleys sliced into the cliff-face. Some distant wimpering and an occasional bark suggested that Taz had survived, and had not fallen the full cliff height, and the assistance of Mountain Rescue was sought.

A party of ASART volunteers, along with Snowdonia National Park Rangers, made their way onto the hill and set about the task of locating the dog. Some of the group headed to the far shore of Llyn Cau at the base of the cliff to see if Taz could be spotted, while another party headed to the cliff-top where, in deteriorating weather conditions, they began the process of searching the many gulleys in the area. On the edge of nightfall, Taz was spotted on a small ledge 130m down the cliff face, but with encroaching darkness and insufficient equipment for the scale of the task, the hard decision was taken to withdraw until morning.

At 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday 6th of May, a further team of ASART volunteers headed up the mountain, this time lugging the considerable weight of a full crag-rescue kit. The technical rope rescue equipment takes time and concentration to set up, and it was well into the morning before the team were ready to send two rescuers down the cliff face. The crew manning the ropes at the top of the cliff, and those at operation control, waited to hear what scene awaited the rescuers as they approached the ledge. All involved were finally rewarded with ‘Taz has just eaten a biscuit’ coming over the radio.

It is perhaps not the most dignified of strategies, but Taz was placed in a big secure canvas bag for the ride, and the whole party were hoisted back to the cliff top. A quick survey of one very happy dog showed no more than a few bumps and scrapes to speak of his ordeal, and Taz was able to walk down the mountain unassisted, to be reunited with his equally happy owners.
 
Everyone was down off the mountain by about 2:30 pm

According to our walking archive, this was the 39th Dog rescued by the Team

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-27305141

 http://youtu.be/EywdmUNeMJQ

At around 2:45 p.m.  the Team was informed of a 20 year old woman who had fallen down a crevice a short distance from the summit of Cadair Idris. Early reports suggested that the woman, who was uninjured, had been trying to retrieve a dog, but had become crag-fast around Pencoed Pillar and was unable to recover herself.

The Team was called out  and gathered at the base of the Minffordd Path. The RAF Sea King, Rescue 122, was also able to offer assistance, and the initial intention was to uplift a crag-rescue party to the scene of the incident. The helicopter crew made an initial fly-by assessment of the incident, and were able to resolve the situation themselves by winching both the woman and the dog to the top of the gulley where they were able to make their own way off the mountain.

At about 4:00 p.m., once it was clear that no further assistance was required, the Team was stood down.