A couple were following a walk from Edale to Kinder Downfall and back across the plateau.  They had completed the route to the Downfall, but as they started out back across the plateau they became less confident of the route.  The conditions on Kinder were very cold with patches of snow and ice still remaining on the tops.  The path across the plateau is notoriously difficult and indistinct. 

As it was starting to get dark and they were becoming increasingly cold they decided to ask for help.  There was no mobile service at their location, but they were fortunately able to call for help using the satellite SOS system available on new iPhones.  We were able to speak with the Apple desk directly and get a location from them.  This meant we could send a couple of parties directly to the lost couple.  Although this means we can locate casualties quickly, they still have to wait for a significant amount of time in the cold while we walk in to recover them.  Both casualties were becoming mildly hypothermic when we arrived, so we warmed them up inside one of our casualty shelters and gave them hot drinks and sugary food.  Fortunately we were able to get them back to a state where they could walk. So wearing our emergency Blizzard jackets and fuelled with Haribo we walked them back to our vehicles at Edale cross and then brought them back down to the safety of our base in Hayfield.

Kinder Mountain Rescue Team is staffed by volunteers who give their time free of charge and is funded entirely by public donations.

https://www.justgiving.com/kmrt

– Time: 17:30

– Type: Mountain Incident

– Location: Kinder Scout

– Team members: 20

– Duration: 5.5 hours

– Volunteer hours on this incident: 110 hours

– Total callout hours in 2025: 1500 hours