At around 9:00 a.m. the volunteers from Aberdyfi Search & Rescue Team were made aware of a casualty with suspected hypothermia near the summit of Cadair Idris.
The casualty, a 19 year old man was part of a party of three who had camped near the summit overnight. They had experienced a rough night, with the tent being flattened at one point, but had remained in good spirits throughout. When it came to breaking camp however, the man started to struggle with the task and sought out shelter from the strengthening wind.
The man's two companions, a man and woman of similar age, recognised his deterioration as the onset of hypothermia, and took a number of steps to stabilise his condition. The group took what shelter they could find in a circular cairn, got the man into his sleeping bag, into a survival bag and then under the fabric of the tent. In the meantime they worked out an accurate grid reference and rang the police to summon help.
Groups of volunteers from the team set off up the mountain, with a hasty-party reaching the casualties as quickly as possible and other groups lugging equipment up the slope in increasingly poor conditions.
The casualty group were placed in a group-shelter while assessments were made and preparations for a stretcher evacuation got underway.
The exit across the upper slopes of the mountain was particularly hard, with driving rain and high winds making any movement slow. Lower down, the rescue party were a little more sheltered from the wind, but did not escape the continuing rain.
The casualty was assessed by a paramedic crew with an ECG before being cleared of the need for further hospital based care.
Everyone was down of the mountain by 3:00 p.m.
The casualty, a 19 year old man was part of a party of three who had camped near the summit overnight. They had experienced a rough night, with the tent being flattened at one point, but had remained in good spirits throughout. When it came to breaking camp however, the man started to struggle with the task and sought out shelter from the strengthening wind.
The man's two companions, a man and woman of similar age, recognised his deterioration as the onset of hypothermia, and took a number of steps to stabilise his condition. The group took what shelter they could find in a circular cairn, got the man into his sleeping bag, into a survival bag and then under the fabric of the tent. In the meantime they worked out an accurate grid reference and rang the police to summon help.
Groups of volunteers from the team set off up the mountain, with a hasty-party reaching the casualties as quickly as possible and other groups lugging equipment up the slope in increasingly poor conditions.
The casualty group were placed in a group-shelter while assessments were made and preparations for a stretcher evacuation got underway.
The exit across the upper slopes of the mountain was particularly hard, with driving rain and high winds making any movement slow. Lower down, the rescue party were a little more sheltered from the wind, but did not escape the continuing rain.
The casualty was assessed by a paramedic crew with an ECG before being cleared of the need for further hospital based care.
Everyone was down of the mountain by 3:00 p.m.