SRT Operational Member Training.

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GregMay
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by GregMay »

Hi benp1, happy to be of interest. That was the hope with this, that people who have always wondered what it is about once you start training - may take an interest and apply.

Couldn't give you stats on the turnover rates as I've no idea! But from website and the chats with others the team is about 50 operational members, and 17 supporter members. People who join, join because they want to be part of it, not give it a go for a few months. Or that would appear to be the case. Turnover that there is appears to be for a year or so break, then they come back.

I'm sharing nothing online that you can't get already, there is already quite a bit I'm not sharing. But those are mostly things that would be of little interest really :) Don't expect a blow by blow account of call outs for example!
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thenorthwind
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by thenorthwind »

I missed this first time round and so have just caught up after your update. Thanks for sharing, it's really interesting, particularly as someone who has been considering whether they're in a position to join an MRT in recent years.

I would argue you're performing a very useful role in giving an honest description of what it's like to be a member of an SRT, and more importantly going through the process of joining.

Well done for getting as far as you have with it and please keep the updates coming.
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by akak »

That is a fascinating report - well done.

I have asked about joining http://wilsar.org.uk/ but when I had the time to do it I didn't have the spare money which is a shame. I am also local to https://www.serveon.org.uk/ which is advertised in the changing room at work, will try to find out what they are really like when I am more settled.

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GregMay
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by GregMay »

thenorthwind wrote: I would argue you're performing a very useful role in giving an honest description of what it's like to be a member of an SRT, and more importantly going through the process of joining.
That was the intention. Honesty I can do, sometimes too bluntly :/
Last edited by GregMay on Thu Mar 02, 2017 10:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Crazy English
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by Crazy English »

Congratulations Greg, and welcome to SAR :)
Sounds like your assessment day was a lot of fun and hard work.
My lowland rescue training wasn't nearly as exciting but was still good fun.

I hope the rest of your training goes well.
Scud wrote:Good for you mate, hard work but ultimately rewarding and no doubt you'll learn a lot.

A random joke about "not much need for Mountain Rescue" where i live (north Norfolk) led me to search and actually find Norfolk Lowland search and rescue and an application to them, hoping that my diving experience may come in handy as a lot of work is looking for missing people and can involve the many dykes of the Fens and waterways of the Broads.

http://www.norlsar.org.uk/

It shows that wherever you are in the country there is a way of getting involved.

Scud, you should absolutely apply. I joined CAMSAR in May last year and haven't looked back.
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by GregMay »

Update after second month of training:

Total aside to the training - more of a brain dump than anything: Finally starting to feel like I know something and may be of some use. Odd way to describe it, but there are people with so much knowledge and experience on the team that I feel like I have to try to overcompensate. Odd when you know you've been chosen due to your skill set and ability to learn. Almost like joining a new race team and realising you've got a long way to go to get on the first team. Either way, onwards.

~~
4 team Call-outs - attended none.

ImageNight_opps by Greg.May, on Flickr

Feb was to be an odd orientation for the team, training wise, as it included one of the core skill training days for the team - a full day working on all the aspects of what they do. Sadly due to prior commitments instructing for the FRA I was not going to be able to attend. We'd decided at home, with the imminent arrival of #1, that I'd get to all the sessions this month and next month before I may have to miss a few. The first night out was a stretcher training night. While at this point I felt like we'd done nothing else in training bar learn to use the stretchers, it all made sense when we spent 2.5 hours dragging, lifting, sledging, carrying all the team stretchers over walls and fences. Playing with the wheel attachments, figuring out what we can and can't do, trying to take apart and reassemble in the dark on a 30 degree slope. Normal things. I was spent by the end of the night. But, it was an excellent night, it really put into perspective how we need to work as a team and at the same time, do as you're told by whoever is at the helm of the casualty. It also worked well as a socialising event, forcing us to work with other members of the team, of whom we met nearly all of the operational members that night. I slept well. I was surprisingly sore the next day.

ImageDSC00349.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

The next weekend was Core Skills Day. Sadly, I had to miss out and wander about the North Yorkshire Dales for two days drinking and teaching....well someone had to do it otherwise those pesky fell runners would get lost and we'd have to go find them. With the weekend being in Upper Warfdale it ticked the boxes on getting out on similar ground in which we have to operate. Two long days and some night work, think I managed to get about 17 hours on the fells in over three days.
Core Skills went well...well, it was, until the team had a callout and had to abandon half the days training. Sort of inevitable, but appears to have made for even better on the job training.

ImageR116 by Greg.May, on Flickr

As i'd missed CS, I'd not realised that the team kit check had been moved forward a week in the calendar. As all the kit was used, from each vehicle over the weekend it all needed to be taken out, vehicles stripped, kit checked/dried/replaced where needed. It was a long night and I was tasked with one vehicle and handed over to a member of the team to be taught. A long list of things to try and remember, but learning while doing tends to work well for me. Spent a lot of time learning how the Landy works, where everything goes, how the stretcher goes in, what not to do and so on. Useful for a few weeks time when we were to be out driving the vehicles we're most likely to be assigned to. The Landy and Navara being most likely for me. We were also issued some kit. Looking like maybe they want to keep us.

It was an odd day for me personally as I'd found out that Rescue 116, Irish SAR helicopter, had gone down off the west cost of Ireland that morning. I'd worked extensively with the team back in 2011 during my PhD research when we were doing some work for them and collecting data for my own work. I was quite touched to have the team speak about the incident and offer a form of remembrance for a crew who they did not personally know. Sadly, later that night I found out that I'd known three of the members who were killed.

Week after was basic life support, AED and hypothermia training/reminders. Most of the trainees have some form of extended first aid training, I think only one did not. This was the first in what will be many nights of training towards further Cas.Care work down the line. Worked as a nice update to me, filling in any changes that had happened since the last time I'd refreshed my training. Interesting to see a potential move towards no breaths during CPR, understandable from a physiological perspective, stunningly far from the way I was originally taught back in the early 90's.

ImageUntitled by Greg.May, on Flickr

Lets off-road...slowly. Last night of training for the month and it was vehicle familiarisation. Reality being, if we're on a shout we are liable to be asked to drive, or at least move, any one of the four team vehicles. We spent the night working with the Landy and Navara getting used to where things were packed and their "unique" personalities on and off road. It's a few years since I've driven a Landrover and hopping into a emblazoned team vehicle and taking it out locally had me more stressed than my driving test! Don't crash, don't hit another car, don't crush that wall. That was in my brain. Much bigger and more physical than my little Berlingo, saying that, much more fun. Some basic water board tracks and farm routes before we got back to tarmac and swapped into the Navara. More used to driving one of these, but the switch from the Landy was noticeable - less vision, less noise, more control, tighter turning circle wider...way wider. Had to pay attention to not clipping walls!

Night was a bit longer than expected as we came across a downed powerline on a one way road over the fells. Police had attended and blue lights were there. Sadly, this resulted in a much longer return to home than planned - via Burnely - an hour long detour. Saying that, it does mean we've at least go to spend about 40mins each driving the vehicles!

April will be an odd one, lighter now so we'll be out training in the evenings, and I'm also tasked at a job supporting the Tour of Britain at the end of the month as well as a charity event this Saturday. Usual training as well as preparing for changes at home may mean that I may not make all sessions, but we shall see.
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by GregMay »

April update, a little later than normal due to the Bank Holiday weekend!

5 team callouts - attended none.
~~

After four months on the team I'm finally starting to feel like I'm actually a part of it. Not sure when it happened but all of a sudden click and I feel like I've been here a lot longer than I have. Possible that I've started to relax a lot more with the team members, not something I tend to be good at with people I don't know well. Also, I've learnt a lot more than I expected. But still no operational experience yet. My time will come.

ImageDSC01772-Edit by Greg.May, on Flickr

April was always going to be an odd month training wise with our little one expected to arrive at some point near the middle of the month. She decided to pop along early so training sessions I'd planned on doing were sacked off and others I'd not taken on instead.

The month started with a visit as a team member to a fund raising evert for the new mayor of Hebden Bridge. Standing around, talking to people, eating food, but showing a face to the team that is, this year, the named charity for the mayors fundraising. As ever, all SRTs are charities, funds need to be raised and it's a major part of being an operational (or non operational) member - going along to charity events to raise funds, or to cover sporting events. Something I was aware before joining, but other friends were surprised at, "you mean you have to raise money for the team?" Well yes, otherwise who will?

The first training session of the month was radio communication work. Learning not only how to use our own internal MRT radios, but how to talk with police, Yorkshire air ambulance, and if needed the coast guard SA72 heli. Evening was spent working our way in groups through all the radio kit vehicle by vehicle, learning to put up and disassemble the VHF mast on the control vehicle and talking about the correct terms for use on the radios. Open band radio means we have to talk in a manner that we assume others are listening, but it also stops waffle and gets things out that need to be said - not the other way. We'd put this into practice a few weeks later on the hill.

I missed the next two evenings training as my little one arrived - one was focused on patient care and packaging, the other the regular maintenance night. There will be plenty of chances to catch up in a few weeks on the former.

The last session for the month was another comms. based exercise for the trainees only. Control vehicle, us, radios, nighttime and a very tasking night of micro navigation from control to control around Norland Moor talking and relaying with control to finalise tasks and grid ref's to the next site. A night with no sleep beforehand and a day of running around hospitals and the like had me jaded before I got there, sneaky flask of strong coffee and it was ok on the night, but as with anything needs more practice.

Then, the cherry on this months cake. Coast Guard helicopter training! A frantic drive to Hull after baby decided to ruin best laid plans (getting used to this) resulted in getting to the base just in time. The next three hours were spent crawling in and over the helicopter, after safety and operational briefing obviously, before we spent the next two hours alternately below the heli getting blasted by the down draft, or watching others get blown around. Training was concerned with winch operations as well as our safety when working with the heli crew. We worked on lowering the stretcher from the heli to the ground with a haul line to stop it spinning out of control, then returning it to the heli which was in hover at 40ft with a full payload of fuel - engines on full, very very windy below. Probably the worst possible conditions we will experience. After a few goes of this we were told to hold until the heli dropped to 20ft, windier again, then we got to be winched up in the strop while spinning around like uncontrolled marionettes. Again, worst case scenario for us. After that, a quick fly around the Humber estuary before swapping over to the other team members.

I was supposed to be supporting the team on call at the Tour of Yorkshire on the last day but we were stood down. Shame as it would have been my first day out dealing with potential issues. With summer looming and the influx of walkers and riders into Calderdale building, it's only a matter of time now. Also, two months until the next assessment (in Ireland) after which I go on call albeit as a probie. But another step closer.
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by GregMay »

7 Team callouts - attended none

~

Another month done. Flying past at this stage. June being prime holiday time and with the new baby I missed a lot of training sessions, only made 2 of the 5 possible ones this month. I did manage to catch our team running on the Calderdale Way Relay - two of whom had attended to two runners, then gone and run their own leg of the relay!

ImageDSC01773.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

The second session of the month was spent search training. A large part of what we do now revolves around finding people - be they lost on this hills - or in some case vulnerable people who've not been seen for a few days, or left the care they have been under. Four different search sessions were used to task us in different ground, light and search tactics. We got to experience how good an asset a search dog is - we're lucky to have 4 of the 35 SARDA dogs on our team. The speed they can search an area at is stunning. A really useful evening, mixing technical skills with maps, with plain just moving fast over rough ground.

The usual maintenance night was spent with one of our team doctors learning about the controlled drugs we use, where they are kept, how they are accounted for and the legality behind it. We talked through some operational matters and about the CasCare qualification we will hopefully get to attend as probies, but not get assessed on until we pass (if we do) in late February next year. Looking like we will spend much of the winter working on the background reading and implication of this. Exciting. Also spent more time with the vehicles getting used to how they pack and where we pack things. Bloody confusing with 4 vehicles, no two identical yet.

Missed the rest of the months training, however, I did get to interact with some high level MRT cover for the Jura fell race over the BH weekend. 4 of the Scottish teams sent members over with about 30 MRT members placed across the race route for the whole day. Jura is a brutally difficult race to run, let alone get a casualty off. A lot of respect to the members who I saw shuttling crew and kit from late on Friday night (we were in the pub) to very late on Saturday night (pub again). Suffice to say, quite a few quid went into the donation box.

ImageDSC01786.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

We went out onto Skye for a few days after the race, playing about in the Cullins in excellent weather. Again, it makes me realise that without real MRT cover in these mountains people could die on a much more regular basis. The level of "experience" we saw with walkers going up to Corrie Laggan was eye watering, people trying to get to the ridge of Sgurr Dearg on the scree to view the Inn Pin and getting into difficulty. Was happy that most of them had the sense to turn round again.
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by atk »

Very interesting read Greg, interesting to read a full account rather than the odd Twitter snippets (ah, back in the day...). Only just through the first page but intrigued and looking forward to the second tomorrow morning :-bd
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by GregMay »

June Update: 5 months of training in

9 incidents - attended none - despite being at events!
~

Another month over and the start of the busy summer season for the team with events every weekend requiring cover, or likely to generate incidents. Schools not yet on holiday, which may lead to a spate of "I don't know where I am" calls. Just in time for us trainees to be added to the call out list at the end of this month. But I'm jumping ahead.

ImageDSC01798-Edit.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

First session of the month was scheduled to be an evening of steep ground work and refreshing current practice for team members. However, weather was having none of it and we were faced with torrential rain and wind on the night of training (liable to be a call out night) but also not great for keeping team kit dry in case it did need to be used. The night was flipped and we did some training on steep ground with a simulated search and rescue task for several missing walkers one with a suspected MI on steep ground below a dam wall. Lots of kicking about initially as I was on the final team tasked with bringing in what the response teams needed, a quick pick and run down with the stretcher (wheel attachment means it can move quite fast) to get into a section of tussocky hell that Stu would love to sledge a casualty up a 30 degree slope by hand. In short - lots of human effort needed. Teams 1 and 2 we're busy dealing with another casualty and what turned out to be a third one we'd not been made aware of. Overall a good night to get to work in the field with something that happens quite a lot. Little info of what were dealing with and what we get not always correct.

The week after had us doing the steep ground training that was planned. Different anchor systems (hedgehog being something new to me), ropework (easier for me from climbing days), manual access and egress with ropes (bloody hard work) then some pully systems ( different to how I'd learnt, but made sense. Will need to learn way more here). A good night all in and spent time getting to know some members of the team I'd not really talked to, or rather, who'd not really interacted with me as a trainee before.

Missed out on maintenance night as I'd things on at home - but did support at a local MTB event that was being run for a local hospice. 190 riders, the hottest day of the year, dry trails and not much ground water. We were expecting to be dealing with a few cases of heat stroke and maybe some crashes, but it turned into a day of driving the team vehicle about and being there for cover rather than any need to treat anyone. Not bad persay, but felt a bit eager :) However, a great day to spend time talking and getting to know some of the established members - one who's been on the team 28 years!

ImageDSC01806-Edit.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

Weather came in again on the last Tuesday so we had to scratch what was going to be a night of crag work - replaced by a not so fun night talking about the realities of searching for a probable known dead body, then dealing with the area as a crime scene for reporting to the police. Night was incredibly useful in making me think a little more about the other side of what we do, or what we may be tasked with doing.

Another month of training ahead and mostly it's going to be crag and steep ground work. Easier this time of year when dry, but it will mean we get midged to death where we are planning to train. So be it. Also quite a few events to support, trying to get to a few more now, but baby and life means I need to give a bit of balance to the family as well. The end of this month see's us trainees off to Ireland for our first full weekend assessment over Reek Sunday. Sure to be a bit of a laugh, but also going to be nuts with p to 15,000 people expected out on Croagh Patrick over the weekend. Still, if it goes well, and I don't do crap, I'll be on call come the start of August.

*gulp*
Last edited by GregMay on Wed Jul 26, 2017 9:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Richard G
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by Richard G »

Fascinating. Cheers for these.
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by GregMay »

No problem! Happy to do them, good for me so I can sort of think about what I'm actually learning too.
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by GregMay »

June Update: 6 months of training done.

(Total re-write after getting a cannot submit..... grrrrrrrr)

5 incidents - attended none.
~

Early update with a sensible reason - this weekend is our six month assessment/appraisal and we're off to Ireland for three days working with the Irish MRTs on Reek Sunday (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reek_Sunday) where we can expect anywhere between 10,000 and 40,000 people on the mountain in one day depending on weather. Barefoot. For mass at sunrise. On top of Croagh Patrick. Pilgrims confuse me.

It's a day you know about growing up in Ireland, being raised RC, but I've never understood why people want to partake. It's a lovely mountain, right on the waters edge (so it gets nailed with weather if anything is coming off the Atlantic), one of the uber classic fell runs in the the country. All the Irish MRTs are involved in the weekend, training on Saturday, and manning the mountain from 3am on Sunday until the last walker is off, or carried off. We're over to support our sister team DWMRT (Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team) and it's become a handy "chuck em in the deep end" assessment weekend for us trainees. When we come back, we become probationary team members and we're on call. Final assessment in February and we're either on the team, or off.

I'll update on Monday or Tuesday after I get back from the weekend.

~

Night 1:
Team Leaders Challenge, that's all it said on the schedule for the week. Turn up to base, full team kit, you'll be out for the night. Arrived not knowing what to expect, paired with Steve, and handed a set of instructions and the verbal warning "no running". Steve looking at me and saying "I'm not a runner, or fit" so we took it as a fun night. Turns out Steve is a lot fitter than most normal people...which isn't hard. What followed was a fun evening in the sun, power hiking around a two hour loop. Our instructions were a mixture of grid refs., local names for standing stones, and poorly described directions - exactly what we're likely to get from a casualty or dispatcher unfamiliar with the area. Get around the course, stop at the checkpoints, do as they ask. Checkpoints were a mixture of team kit checks, rope work, first aid knowledge, all the things we're expected to be able to do on the fly. You stay at the checkpoint until you get it right or done, clock ticking...prizes were Haribo if you went under a certain time you'd not know until you got back if you got in or not.

Great night out and really social in an odd way. We had a team debrief where it was brought up that we do this because we enjoy being out in the hills, moving, moving fast for a lot of us. It was discussed that there is talk of a minimum fitness requirement for operational members being brought in, as some other teams have. Few of the people who turned up for the TLC argued with it, I suspect some that were not there may have.

Night 2:
A big team night that we knew had been coming for a while, advanced rope access techniques, nearly a full team turnout. Some sly "oh you missed out last weeks fitness evening?" comments being thrown at certain team members during a steep walk into Jumble Hole Cough (aka midge hell). The team we're split into 4 operational groups; two rope, one medical (my team), one haul/carry team. Scenario was explained - casualty had fallen somewhere in the gorge, was not mobile, river was in spate but dropping, it was expect that we'd need to use a high-line to get across the river, then haul to get the casualty out while on the stretcher. It was going to be a big, and long night.

ImageDSC01829-Edit.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

Our team went in fast and light, we crossed the river above where the casualty had been located after rigging a quick hand line and body abseil down a steep bank. They'd fallen 10/15m onto a shelf on the far side of the river right on the lip of another 10m drop. Arrival found them conscious, breathing, no bleeds, cold, with suspected lower leg and pelvic fracture. We spent the next 30mins packaging them and getting them warm while the second team moved above us to bicycle an anchor for our side of the high-line. Time passed slowly. We got the stretcher across the now dropping river, but not something we were ever going to be able to carry across even if it dropped fully. Casualty moved to the stretcher, high-line under tension, stretcher across the river to the receiving team member on the far side. All in probably 60 to 90 minutes had passed. Now the fun started for the teams up top.

While we moved to clear the lines we'd put in place, and get ourselves extracted, the upper teams had to haul the stretcher and casualty, and the team member (barrowboy) 40m up a near vertical mud face. A 5:1 pulley system with double redundant stops and anchors had been rigged - so to get the 40m up, they'd need to pull through 200m of rope. While avoiding trees. With two live people on the system. Suffice to say, it took a while. What we didn't know, was that the team had had a call out while we were moving back, thankfully we were stood down within a few minutes as it would have been a very "fun" night to strip all the kit we'd got out on the gorge then get to a shout.

Team debrief was blunt - could have been better, communications were poor, but for something we do once in a blue moon, we did well, get the kit dry tonight. It was 2330 before I got home. We started the walk in at 1900. I slept well. By the time I was in bed, full team members were still at the base laying out kit to dry.

Night 3:
Maintenance night. Getting more used to stripping and rebuilding kit. I spent the night working on the medical and paramedic kits for each of the team vehicles. Starting to know what goes where now, even where things are at the rescue post. Bloody hard work to remember it all.
Night ended with a bit of a bollocking for the team. A few weeks earlier ropes had been packed away wet (not at the advanced rope night previously). They went quite mouldy in the humid weather and had to be scrapped. Two brand new 150m rescue lines, gone, due to someone being sloppy/lazy. We were bluntly reminded that the kit is what we need to be able to do the work we do, also that it is paid for by donations, so we're wasting other peoples money who believe we're there to help them and the community. As normal, no blame was placed, just a team reprimand. Almost a parental "we're not angry, just disappointed in you".

Night 4:
Business meeting for the team while we trainees spent the night in the sun, on top of a crag, playing with ropes. Pretty sure we got the better end of the stick. But, someone has to run the team!

The night was spent working with Dan from the team who runs a rope access training facility. We spent the evening building anchors and lowering systems on top of a crag, something we commonly end up doing on steep ground rather than vertical edges, but the process is the same. The night was more fun that anything for me with my climbing background, but I was reminded sharply while watching one of the other trainees who had no climbing experience, how terrifying being lowered off a vertical crag can be if you've no experience of it. For me, looking at two 20mm static lines attached to my harness which go back to two separate and redundant rescue systems is luxury. My brain remembers sketchy Alpine routes with a single 9mm half rope as our only rope for the entire climb. Complacency around crag edges and the strength of our kit is something we often develop as climbers, but only really get drawn back to reality when people start to question it. If nothing else, this was good for me to remember that not everyone trusts metal and rope, let alone trees as anchor points.

ImageDSC01836-Edit.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

We rigged a few lowers, worked with the systems around the different operational roles, and took turns lowering and being lowered down a nice small crag. Personally, I had fun, I like hanging about with nice views and steep drops while attached to ropes. Myself and one of the other climbers talked about getting the guys who've done no climbing out, getting them some more experience on the vertical playground that is gritstone. Hopefully this can help them get a bit more comfortable.

More next week when I get back from Ireland, hopefully still on the team :-bd
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by Pete-G »

Thanks for this Greg.
I've only just seen this as a bit of a part timer on here. Its been an eye opening read. Makes you think what goes on behind the scenes.
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by GregMay »

Pete-G wrote:Thanks for this Greg.
I've only just seen this as a bit of a part timer on here. Its been an eye opening read. Makes you think what goes on behind the scenes.
No problem Pete, that was why I started it. Good to let people get an idea of what happens even before you get on a team.

I hope to keep it going as a team member down the line.
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by danielgroves »

Major respect for signing up Greg.

I thought about doing it when I was based in Plymouth and joining the Plymouth branch of DSRT. Unfortunately they requite that every team member has a car, and I fell down t that point. There's no teams local for me now, however should I get the chance in the future, I'll be joining up as well (if they'll take me).

There's some really interesting read you've posted up here -- thanks. Not sure how I'd missed this thread before! Will have to give this a better read after work.
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by GregMay »

Dan, always a lowland team. Check if there are any near you.
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by danielgroves »

Looked at the most local teams to me. Problem I have at the moment is I can't get back from work early enough to make the training evenings. Don't leave the office till gone six a lot at the moment, and I'm lucky to get home by 7:30 if the trains are on-time.

For now the idea of on the back-burner, but I'm looking to change jobs in the next few months to something nearer home, so I'll have to see if it become more feasible then.
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MarkW
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by MarkW »

Thanks for posting all this Greg. I have enjoyed reading. As others have said: quite an eye opener. I already knew about the lack of funding and commitment required. I had no idea about the intensity of the training, or the realities of what's involved.

Keep up the good work :)
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GregMay
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by GregMay »

No problem MarkW , happy to be of interest.

Back from Ireland - very interesting trip, proper full day of reality for us all. Will write words tomorrow. Have been awake for the last 36hrs and need some sleep and beer.
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atk
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by atk »

6 months already! Yikes!
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GregMay
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by GregMay »

First shout tonight. Less than 6hrs after being put on call.

Will update Irish trip later today. Words and photos done.

In the last 7 days I've put in 57 hours with the team. Admittedly some were sleeping and in the pub....not at the same time.
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GregMay
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by GregMay »

Make some tea.

ImageDSC00820-Edit.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr
~
Probationary Member Six Month Assessment. Reek Sunday, County Mayo, Republic of Ireland.
Onsite 48 hours (Friday to Sunday) - Training 3 hours, operational 10, pub... a few.
Operational members: CVSRT 7, DWMRT 10, other Irish MRTs circa 90 operation and base members.
Public numbers on the mountain estimated at over 20,000 during a 12 hour period.
~
Friday morning early wake up call from our baby daughter. Hungry as ever. Feed, shower, breakfast for the adults shaking off yesterdays wedding haze. A relaxed morning chatting with old friends over breakfast. Coffee. Car packed, then drive for four hours to Liverpool airport. Quick food stop for the screaming baby and decaffeinated adults at a mega off motorway garden centre. Quick superhero change in the baby changing toilets into team branded kit. Quick drive before getting dropped at the airport to meet the other members of the team at departures.
Ballistic path flight to Ireland. 50minutes in the air, barely enough time to get the trolley around let alone drink the two bottles of wine the woman beside me buys. Saying that, she tried her best. We land at Knock International Airport with a runway built to 747 landing standards, a single roomed porta-cabin and ancillary Duty Free building the only clue that it is actually an airport. Welcome to Knock Airport, the start of your pilgrimage to the basilica, and gateway to Croagh Patrick, Curach Phádraig, the mountain of Saint Patrick. To locals, The Reek.

Car hires collected, 7 team members with kit crammed into two compact cars, turn left off the airport grounds straight onto a single track road with passing places, turn right onto a narrower road with no passing places. Not exactly the easiest airport to access in the country. Eventually the N5 and off to the hostel. Foxford, Boholo, Castlebar, Westport, finally Murrisk and the base of the mountain. It’d be another 40 hours before we’d get a glimpse of the top hidden beneath the clag from the moist air driven up off the Atlantic.

ImageDSC00822.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

With its top less than 1km from the sea, and rising 764m from the coast, Croagh Patrick is notorious for poor weather. Any wind or rain that comes off the Atlantic is accelerated up the west facing corrie, along the shoulder of the mountain to beat against the summit ascent known as The Cone. With an average gradient of 28 degrees and its steepest section at 44 degrees, this was where we were to be stationed with other mountain rescue teams for the day of pilgrimage called Reek Sunday.

Reek Sunday pilgrims follow the path of Ireland's patron Saint. Patrick, who is said to have walked up the mountain barefoot, to sleep at the top and perform a service at sunrise the next day. No pagan connotations obviously. Pilgrims do the same, walking the mountain, many barefoot, at some point over the last weekend in July. Many many the ascent to attend one of the hourly masses performed at the summit church. Numbers have declined in recent years and long gone are the heydays of Reek Sunday where over 50,000 people could be expected on the mountain.

ImageDSC00810-Edit.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

After a break from travel for coffee and Cherry Bakewells at the back of the hostel, we made our way to dinner at the local eating pub. Another short trip to the drinking pub where we were due to meet members of Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team (DWMRT) and a few more local beverages before bed. Just a few. We’re working. Maybe one more.

Early doors and most CVSRT team members were up and about. For some, young baby wake up patterns embedded in sleep deprived brains are difficult to shift. Everyone ready, vehicles packed, and off we were to Doo Lough at the base of Ben Bury. The aim was to train with the DWMRT kit that’d we would be using for the weekend. Different stretchers, team calls, movement patterns; all had to be worked through so we could function as one on the mountain on Sunday. A few hours working and talking, grunting, pushing and lowering, and it was time for lunch at the local farm shop. Food ordered, chatting with the owner who was stunned that we had come over from Yorkshire, before being told that food was on the house. Free food for 17 very hungry people who’d ordered as much as they could. We were stunned and appreciated the generosity, each of us leaving a substantial tip to cover part of what we gorged.

ImageDSC00824-Pano.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

ImageDSC00828.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

Back to the hostel and people’s feet were getting itchy for the mountain. 5 of us ditched the team kit from our bags, stashed our MR branded gear and went for a fast moving hike up the mountain, bordering on a run. An hour and twenty minutes later we were on the top having passed several hundred people on the way up. It was sinking in how difficult a mountain this was going to be to perform a rescue off with the constantly moving scree and boulders of the Cone. A poor weather forecast for the day ahead was going to give us a very tough day with the possibility of no helicopter cover. We were lucky to have a break in the clouds so that we could see the view over Clew Bay and realise how arduous a walk this would be for the pilgrims the next day, many of whom you would not class as hillwalkers, let alone members of the outdoor community. Less than 40 minutes later we stood at the bottom having descended past many of the walkers we’d passed on the way up.

ImageDSC00835.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

ImageDSC00836.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

ImageDSC00841-Edit.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

Gear was packed away, bags ready for the early morning start, before we drove to Westport for a team meal with CVSRT and DWMRT members. Three courses later, bloated and sleepy we were told to put our money away as the Dublin team were picking up the bill. Again, random acts of kindness. 9pm, a final kit check, hill food made, bags into the car for a 2am start. Bedtime.
~
Reek Sunday:

ImageDSC00851-Edit.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

0200 – Up, kit on, toilet stop #1, coffee, second coffee, toast, third coffee, toilet #2.

0230 – In the car, roll from hostel towards Mayo MR team base a 40 minute away.

0320 – Coffee, stew for breakfast, toilet stop #3. Unpack team kit and split among all members, pack the rest onto the stretcher with lifting strops and wheel attached.

0400 – Leave the base, head up the first part of the Reek, a bog, tussock racing ground. Drag kit.

ImageDSC00845-Edit.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

0455 – Reach the shoulder, head for med tent, 300m vertical height gained, rest for 10mins while waiting for deployment. We know we’re going to the top, DWMRT always gets the top.
Pilgrims are already walking to the top in the traditional night time ascent. Some are worse for wear than others, maybe a few too many drinks in Campbells under their belts?

0505 – Radio shout to deploy to the top, surprised….not at all. Thank you sir, may we have another?

0600 – In position 60minuites earlier than any previous year, worked very well as a team despite the amount of walkers already coming down from the summit. 400m height gained. Very tired now.
ImageDSC00854-Edit.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

0600 – 0730 – Spread across the summit and 100m below the summit. Sat in a group shelter talking poor show with other DWMRT members, occasionally looking out to make sure no one is dead. Relatively quiet, but constant stream of pilgrims. Likely lads in local football jerseys come past fresh from the nightclub, pissed to high heaven, chanting something about pilgrimage and penitence that I probably shouldn’t write.

0736 – Redeployment to the base of the cone….400m below us. We “misinterpret” orders and redeploy 200m lower at a known hotspot that wasn’t being covered at the time. Lowering the stretcher on a V belay with full kit in a bivi bag looks like we’re taking a corpse off the hill. Quite a few explanations needed to passers by. Also quite a bit of people skills needed as they are intent on walking through our ropes whether we like it or not. UK accents garner some very confused looks from the locals. The legacy of Cromwell is not forgotten easily in these parts. Local belligerence is amusing.

ImageDSC00865.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

0800 – 0915 – Group shelter cuddle time out of the rock fall line while the weather craps out all around us. Four shelters in a row like a line of giant mutant Skittles. Lots of people now, constant stream of them, very quiet, visibility about 20m at best.

0900 – Need a piss, so we all get out to stretch our legs. Vis up to about 40m and we spent some time out watching the parade of silent focused zombies trudge past with the occasional stumble. The odd person takes the faster, safer fell race route down, I nod in silent agreement with two fell runners who were out for the spectacle.

ImageDSC00868.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

0900 ish – Fast descending walker takes a fall, lands face first, tumbles a further 20m before coming to a rest. We wait to see if he gets up. He doesn’t. DWMRT team member crosses the moraine to him. Arm flag, paramedic crosses. Arm flag, two more over, two more up to stop falling rocks and move people out of the rock trap above. Rest of us strip the stretcher for med kit, and ropes. Definite evac. We’re on a 40 degree gradient a lot of loose rock above us.

0900 – 0930 – Bleeding stemmed, arm and shoulder splinted, pain care underway. We move across moraine with all team kit, pilgrims are kindly asked to move aside so we can get there.

0930 - 0945 – Patient being packaged into vac mat and winter cas bag, medication upped, a lot of screaming, kishu doing well as a visual block. Many people walking over to have a gawk, politely asked to move along just in case they may get hit with a rock from above. They only move when we point out their safety, not that they should respect a person in pain.
At some point, the clag started to lift and we heard a heli inbound. Coast guard s92 landed, we were on coms to find out if we could use it, sadly it was for a cardiac that had occurred. We were notified that 5 events had occurred within 20mins of each other. ICRO – Irish Cave Rescue, were acting as runners trying to get more kit on the hill where it was needed.

0945-1030 – moving belay with 10 on a V back rope attached to stretcher with 6 out riggers and one navigator/person herder at the front. Strenuous moving the stretcher down the steep slope, down meter high drops where brute force is the only option. Regular stops to check ABC on cas and reassess what we were planning. Finally, flat ground, wheel stretcher to med tent.
As we arrive to the med tent are told we’ve a heil inbound from the Air Corps, worried about the head injury we got bumped up the line. Looking back, we see two more teams split and head for a single point high up the hill, a sixth injury. All stretchers are currently occupied. New teams are moving up for shift change and go into action, moving their kit into place having had no rest from the initial movement from the ground level base to the shoulder of the Reek. They get a further 7 injuries in the next 6 hours. Coast Guard and Air Corps provided amazing cover when they could fly. We were very lucky that the casualties happened later in the day when the clag lifted.

ImageDSC00869.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

1035 – Quick team briefing on the heli type we have inbound. Military craft we don’t normally deal with. Smoke popped. Heli lands hot and stays hot, abnormal loading procedure for us, but there is a bit of a rush on. Cas transferred to heli stretcher, much smaller than what we use. Paramedics brief each other. Load casualty onto heli, downwash even directly under rotor is less than a s92 so not as bad as I expected. Cas flown to Castlebar hospital with DWMRT vac mat and winter cas bag.

ImageHeli_lift_CP_2017.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

1050 – We end shift in 10 mins. Team debrief from DWMRT paramedic on medical treatment given, thoroughly in depth. DWMRT TL debrief on how we performed, then the CVSRT TL chips in. Repack stretcher to leave the Reek. Radio to base that we are off call. General feeling of being a useful member of society prevails in the team. Time to walk off. Pack kit, start to lug it out on a flying V.
1140 – Get to car, change into dry clothes, eat two bowls of stew and a packet of Fruit Pastels, toilet.
1200 – drive back to airport. Ditch rental car. Check in. Drink a beer. Get on plane. Sleep.

More please.
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GregMay
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by GregMay »

Last post for a while.

On-call now, so can't comment on any jobs we do. Training will be continuing.

I'll update occasionally, with how I feel I'm progressing, but not much more.

Since we went on call on Wednesday we've had two live jobs. Hopefully more in the future!
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NewRetroTom
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Re: SRT Operational Member Training.

Post by NewRetroTom »

Nice one Greg, sounds like you're really starting to show your worth to the team!

It sounds like there were a lot of incidents on the Reek. Is that normal, or was it worse this year due to the weather?

Were there many folks doing it barefoot?

I saw a video a couple of years ago about a lad who went up Cruach Phádraig every day for a year. Pretty impressive commitment!
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