A big welcome from the Team. It's great that you have joined us and we hope that you will enjoy your training. A year may seem a long time, but believe me it goes so quickly and there's so much to learn, you'll be glad of the time. There are some good milestones that will keep you going; a 3 month review, a 6 month review after which you will go on call and finally a 12 month review when you become a full team member and get all your team kit. More detail regarding your assessments under ‘training programme’ section.

We have a mentorship programme which gives you lots of opportunities for one to one discussion, training and support. Regular team training sessions 2-3 times a month which help you build your skills quickly and give you an opportunity to get to know team members. An important ingredient to being a trainee and team member is having fun and enjoying what we do. Yes, there is a very serious side to what we do, but we all get a real buzz and reward from doing the job.

So don't worry too much about knowing everything straightaway, just do your best, enjoy yourself and take as much time as you can to get to know the 'ropes', so when you are ready to join us on rescues you will feel confident and enjoy the experience. 

This section will give you a brief insight into the workings of the team and tips on how to settle in quickly.

Getting to know Mountain Rescue (MR)

Unlike many parts of Europe where MR is centrally funded and organised, mountain rescue teams in the UK are largely autonomous, with each team being an independent self funded charity. This allows for each team to be organised and equipped specifically to deal with the peculiarities of their own local geography and the types of rescue they typically undertake. 

Teams also work together to share knowledge and resources through their regional associations and the national organisation. 

All MR teams come under the national umbrella organisation, Mountain Rescue England & Wales (MREW). This organisation receives a grant from the Government to provide advicem co-ordinisation and support to teams across the country, but does not undertake rescue work itself. MREW produces a quarterly magazine, Mountain Rescue, which is a good read and will give you a useful introduction to all things in MR across the country and a regular overview of what is happening at the national level. The magazine will be put in your pigeon hole when you are a full member but there are always spares copies hanging around the kitchen for you to take.  MREW also have a website which can give you some additional information at www.mountain.rescue.org.uk.

This edition (Spring 2015) of the magazine shows a picture of LAMRT on the front cover, carrying a casualty down by the side of a very full Raise Beck (footpath up to Fairfield from Dunmail Raise).

The magazine details the number of rescues across the country for a 3 month period, this is interesting to see how busy we are in relation to other teams. 

In addition to MREW, teams are also members a regional body which help to co-ordinate search and rescue services in their respective part of the country. In LAMRTs' case we're members of the Lake District Search And Mountain Rescue Association (LDSAMRA) along with:

• Cockermouth

• Coniston

• Duddon & Furness

• Kendal

• Keswick

• Kirkby Stephen

• Patterdale

• Penrith

• Lake District Mountain Rescue Search Dog 

• Wasdale

• COMRU (Cave Rescue)

The LDSAMRA website www.ldsamra.org.uk/ provides information about the association and links to it's members.

What LAMRT Does

LAMRT is responsible for search and rescue activity taking place in the mountains, rivers and open spaces around Langdale, Ambleside, Grasmere, Windermere, Troutbeck and the Western shore of Lake Windermere down to Wray Castle, although we can be asked to operate in other areas in support of other teams.

We deal with around 100 incidents each year from simple trips on the Coffin Route, to climbing accidents on Pavey Ark and searches on the Crinkles Crags. Our Annual Report is a good way of getting a feel for our 'rescue patch'. Get hold of a copy of the latest report and also have a look at some back copies (lying around the Base somewhere!). These are useful as a guide to where some of our 'hot spots' are for rescues and the type of injuries we deal with. You can also use it as a guide to get to know the local patch better ... go through the incidents listed and using your map identify the area where the incident took place - do you know it? If not, go and have a look at it when you're next out walking. 

The Team website also has a good range of photos in the Photo Gallery and this is a good source to get a feel for what we are doing on rescues and in training e.g. it's a useful way for you to see how the kit is used in practice and the type of terrain we are working on. Take time to think about how you would feel in those situations e.g. are you happy on steep ground? are you happy with your navigation skills in a raging storm? are you comfortable out on the fell in the dark? You have 6 months before coming out with us and team members will be there to support you when you go on the hill, so there is time for you to build up some of these skills yourself.