The 84 year old man, from Stratford upon Avon and part of a well equipped family group of three, was struggling in the increasing strong winds that built through the evening, and the party were making little headway down the hill. Using Phonefind, a smartphone protocol, the group's position was identified as about a kilometer away from the car-park, and they were encouraged to proceed in that direction as the Team's response was built.
A hasty party of 3 rescue volunteers headed up to meet the group as other Team members derigged the training session, and from early assessments it was clear that although uninjured, the levels of fatigue was such that progress was going to be extremely slow. With this in mind a second wave of rescuers was dispatched with extra lighting and the stretcher to be used if required.
With a great deal of assistance, the man made it down to Ty Nant on foot, and everyone was safely back at the car-park by 11:30 p.m.