The new Mountain Rescue Team Headquarters
at Kinloss was visited and opened by HRH Duke of Edinburgh; he opened
the section for us. There was a big turnout of team members, (more
than for a weekend training exercise!) Hopefully HRH enjoyed his
visit and spoke to the majority of the team members.
The great weather has allowed the team to get rock climbing and
some classic routes have been climbed. At Aviemore in the Cairngorms,
Flt Richard Long (Lossiemouth) and young Ben (14Sqn) climbed the
classic line of Clean Sweep at Loch Avon. This is a magic route
in superb surroundings and though the weather was good the crag
was still wet, making the route “interesting” to young
Ben. It must have been a great day as Ritchie was a bit excited
after the route and got a bit involved in “high spirits”
that night. Three of the other troops had a superb day on Savage
Slit, another climb in Coire An Lochan in the Cairngorms. Cpl Shane,
A Roussel and Cpl Don Donnelly took one of the older members up
the route. This was made interesting by a large patch of snow before
the start of the climb. The young ones looked after the old man
and we had a superb climb. The day ended with a quick rush down
into Aviemore to watch the England game. The team was in Aviemore
as it was Sgt Jimmy Coates (PTT Lossiemouth) stag night. Jimmy had
a great night and dressed for the occasion as the picture
shows. We all wish Jimmy and his lovely lass Kim a happy wedding
day.
The next weekend the team where deep in Leuchars area at Glen Clova,
small hills but a marvellous location. This small glen is in an
ideal location as it has good hills, great rock climbing and a superb
pub. The weather was not too kind but it was an enjoyable trip.
The next weekend we went to Torridon on the West Coast is a superb
area and has so many magic hills. It is a special area for the team
as this is an area steeped in history for the team. This was where
the Lancaster from Kinloss 120 Sqn crashed
in 14 March 1951, all the crew were killed. The area where the
plane came down is an incredible place. This is one of the most
imposing places in Scotland, three huge buttresses over 1000 feet
high soaring
from a wonderful loch to the summit of the mountain. The aircraft
hit the top of the mountain in a wild winters night and it took
several days to locate the wreckage. A 3-hour walk in, in a very
remote area, guards the mountain. The team in those days had fairly
basic equipment and training and had a real struggle to cope with
the conditions. The recovery of the casualties went on for several
months and RAF Mountain Rescue learnt many valuable lessons. One
of the propellers from the crash site is outside the new section
as a memorial to the crew. During July the brother of one of the
crew who died in the crash all these years ago visited the team.
This was a very emotional visit as he had visited his brother’s
grave at the Abbey at Kinloss. It is incredible that all these years
after such a tragic event over 50 years ago that memories are so
clear for all those who were involved. It was a very humbling experience
for the team to meet the relatives and receive their thanks for
what was done by our predecessors all these years ago. Most of the
team managed a visit to the crash site and managed a route on the
Alpine Triple Buttresses.
Skye
the mountaineer's paradise was the venue of the next training
weekend, the weather on Saturday was incredible and most of the
team were climbing
on the ridge. Cpl Stu Wright and SAC “Stretch” the
Classic line of Arrow Route and Integrity on the majestic Coire
Lagan. The rock Gabro has superb friction qualities and is very
hard on the hands. The rock is so rough that it leaves your fingers
extremely tender after a days climbing scrambling, so much so that
when you wash your hands they sting after a day out. Another party
lead by our new man Ben from Leuchars climbed Cioch
Direct and finished a Classic day on the Cioch. This was a great
introduction for Sgt
Nicky Appleby who is holding with the Team for the next few
months, lucky lass. The Silver Fox kept and eye on them all and
was even seen leading on the Coich Slab, with a young
troop who had another eye opener of a day. Sunday the weather
changed to rain and clag (fog), which make Skye an even greater
adventure. This is where a mountaineer learns his craft as the map
is a bit of a joke book in this area. To prove this point one of
our young stars had a wee epic on Blaven – Clach Glas Traverse,
where due to the weather, they had to abseil off! This involved
4 long abseils, over 150 feet each one, down slimy wet, dank rock.
All character building stuff for the young lads. It was a late journey
back to Kinloss after a great weekend with many of the troops fast
asleep in the back of the wagons. The rest of the team enjoyed a
day on Pinnacle Ridge and up on Am Bastier and Bruach Na Frithe,
they managed to
get off the hill in good time!
The Team is sending eight team members to the Alps as part of
our Training for altitude. The lucky troops are out there now, we
look forward to the tales of daring but will it be as special as
the weekend on Skye?
Welcome to the following new team members SAC Chris Fawcett NLS,
Cpl Ali Moxon JRMess, and SAC Stu Williams 617 Sqn RAF Lossiemouth.
All steady team members and seem to be enjoying their weekends out
with the team. That’s all our news for now, have a safe and
enjoyable summer, get out and about the mountains are fantastic
at this time of year.
Kinloss MRT Callouts 2006, total Rescue 14.
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