26th June 2008 Mountain Rescue appeal

TIME TO HELP THE MOUNTAIN RESCUERS The Lake District National Park has put out the following appeal on behalf of Mountain Rescue LDSAMRA http://www.ldsamra.org.uk/ Walkers coming to the Lake District to take part in one of the country’s toughest charity challenges are being urged to raise funds for the volunteers they rely on to help them out if they get into difficulties on treacherous mountain peaks. Every year millions of pounds are raised for charities by people who take part in the Three Peaks Challenge – which involves climbing the highest mountains in England (Scafell Pike), Scotland (Ben Nevis) and Wales (Snowdon). But very little of that money ever finds its way towards the mountains rescue teams, who themselves rely totally on donations for their funding. Last year it cost £500,000 to fund the 12 Lake District mountain rescue teams and together they carried out 425 rescues, helping 557 walkers and climbers who’d got into difficulties. Now the Lake District National Park Authority has joined forces with the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association (LDSAMARA) to encourage charity walkers to also think about the volunteer rescue service while they are raising valuable funds for animal, medical, children’s, social and sporting charities. In the next few weeks – when there is the maximum amount of daylight for these strenuous mountain challenges – the paths up and down Scafell Pike will be packed both day and night with charity walkers. Some of these will undoubtedly get into trouble and call on the services of Wasdale, Keswick and Langdale mountain rescue teams, as well as the Lakes search dogs and handlers teams (SARDA). Richard Warren, the chairman of LDSAMRA, said the 450 strong volunteer professionals covering the Lake District are dedicated to going to the aid of anyone who gets into trouble on Cumbria’s fells and the surrounding lowland and coastal areas. Existing fund raisers, who are team members themselves, were keen to carry on organising special events to continue financing the rescue service. “However the harsh facts of life are that money is always tight and we do need fresh sources of funding. Unlike the police, fire and ambulance services, we do not receive any public money to fund the mountain rescue service – we are totally dependant on voluntary donations. I am sure that when this is explained to people taking part in mountain challenges, like the Three Peaks, many of them will want to make some kind of contribution to our service. “More importantly we also need walkers to accept greater personal responsibility for their safety and their environmental impact, both in the preparation for the event, and then during the challenge itself. Having the correct clothing, equipment and experience will reduce the increasing workload they put on the rescue teams,” he added. LDNPA Chief Executive Richard Leafe said he was delighted that so many thousands of walkers wanted to come to enjoy the Lake District while raising vital funds for such worthwhile charities at the same time. “But some times charity has to begin at home, and I would encourage as many people as possible to think about raising some funds for the people who – no matter how difficult conditions may be - will come to their rescue as soon as the alarm is raised. Small donations from many thousands of walkers can, and will, make a huge difference,” he added.