CHRISTMAS DAY brought Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team's 100th callout of the year as, assisted by colleagues from Penrith, they rescued a woman who had become unwell on Dove Crag.
Volunteers of Penrith MRT were contacted by Cumbria Police on the evening of December 25 with a report of a walker in distress.
Police later became aware that the broken emergency call may have been from within the Patterdale MRT patch, passing the incident to the team's duty leader.
Further calls informed mountain rescue teams that the casualty was a female in the area of Dove Crag, who had become unwell and unable to descend with her family member.
During their ascent to the summit of Dove Crag, the 19 mountain rescue volunteers were met by the walker who made the report.
Volunteers found the casualty protected from the elements in an emergency shelter, or bivvy bag as well as sleeping bags.
The rescue, which lasted five hours and 30 minutes, was Patterdale MRT's 100th callout of 2025.
It comes as the News & Star reports an expected rise in callouts across Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue teams.
A spokesperson for Patterdale MRT said: "Reaching 100 rescues for the second year running is a significant milestone.
"It is particularly resonant that this occurred on Christmas Day. It highlights the unwavering commitment of our members who, like all mountain rescue volunteers, provide this professional service entirely for free, regardless of the day or hour."
Nick Owen, Joint Ops Lead at Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association has told the News & Star that teams are heading for another record year.
Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team responded to callout 153 on December 23 when four inexperienced walkers lost the light on Great Gable.
Mr Owen said that mountain rescue teams are seeing "a slightly worrying rise in the number of avoidable incidents" which are disproportionately affecting Wasdale MRT.
The allure of tackling England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike, leads hikers to take-on the 978 metre peak before realising they are unable to navigate their way back down.
Mr Owen said: "To people who are relatively inexperienced, it's a big mountain and once you get past a certain point, the paths become quite vague, especially in poor weather and poor visibility."
He said that the callouts are often to people who are uninjured, "people just can't get back down on their own steam for some reason."
Mountain rescue teams are manned entirely by volunteers and like all charities, are reliant on donations.
To support the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association, visit: www.ldsamra.org.uk/donate
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