Taylorgill Force (73)

Callout Date: 27/07/2023
Callout Time: 7:08 pm
Agencies Involved: Keswick MRT, NWAS

Whilst descending the Sty Head path near Taylorgill Force some walkers noticed a flashing light across the valley with possibly an SOS pattern (6 flashes repeated every minute). Zooming in with a camera, they saw a pair of legs sticking out from under a tarp. They reported to the farm at Seathwaite who called Mountain Rescue. A separate call was made by two Mountain Leaders who had gone up to investigate and had found the injured man.

After having spent a couple of days in the fells with a wild camp on Great End to celebrate his birthday the man was descending the path alongside Taylorgill Force. He tried to avoid a steep and hazardous part of the descent path alongside Taylorgill Force by doing a scrambling traverse. He then fell breaking his lower leg. Well off the beaten track the well-equipped man fortunately had a torch with which he could signal but it was quite some time before he was noticed.

Three team vehicles attended with some members going direct. After a tricky scramble up to the man he was examined and given pain relief, his leg was then splinted before a very tricky extraction was initiated. The ground was steep and bouldery with a fence and wall above a vertical drop. A two stage lower with a traverse in between was performed to get the man down to the path from where a more straight-forward carry was possible back to an awaiting ambulance at Seathwaite.

26 team members – 4 hours 49 minutes