Wren Crag, High Rigg (32)

Callout Date: 05/05/2022
Callout Time: 9:50 pm
Agencies Involved: Keswick MRT

The team were alerted by the police of an ’emergency’ at the south end of High Rigg between St John’s in the Vale and the Naddle valleys. Unfortunately mobile reception was bad and no more details could be ascertained. Keswick sent 3 vehicles with team members with others going direct to initially search the location from where the 999 call had been made then the rest of the south end area of High Rigg. The night was mild and dry with good visibility. At 23:30 following discussion with the police the search was called off due to lack of information.

The full story emerged the next day: a couple had broken down in a very precarious position and the man had to climb to the top of Wren Crag before he got a phone signal from where he called the police but then almost immediately got cut off. Repeated attempts failed until his phone battery died. He had meantime managed to get hold of the RAC who came to their rescue.

One very useful tool in the case of poor reception is the emergencySMS text service which will get through much easier than a call. To use this service you need to register your mobile first. Text the word ‘register’ to 999. You will receive a text back with simple instructions. More details here: https://keswickmrt.org.uk/before-you-go-out/

21 team members – 2 hours 20 minutes