Windgather Rocks, north west of Buxton.
- Call out for year: 15
- Date: 30/03/21
- Time: 3:04 pm
- Grid ref: SJ 99541 78007
- Type of incident: Climber Injured(1)
- Team members involved: 14
- Time taken: 1 hour 17 minutes
- Total man hours: 18 hours
Incident report
Facing into the afternoon sun Windgather Rocks is a superb location to relax and enjoy the Peak District and is a magnet to rock-climbers and walkers. A climbing pair had just finished a route and were walking off the top of the crag when one slipped sustaining a painful lower leg injury.
They quickly identified that mountain rescue help would be needed to evacuate the climber, and they made a 999 call was made to Derbyshire Constabulary who called for assistance from Buxton MRT.
The initial medical assessment was made by team members who decided that a stretcher evacuation would be necessary. A vehicle from our Buxton base was soon on site and as further team members arrived the equipment necessary to carry the climber off the crag was carried to the crag top. The climber was helped onto the stretcher, which was then carried to the road where a friend of the casualty was ready to drive the patient to hospital for further treatment.
Equipment was then cleaned down as per our Covid-19 protocols before being packed away on the vehicles ready for the next callout.
It was such a pleasure to see people out and about enjoying the Peak District National Park, and we wish the casualty a speedy recovery and return to climbing the area’s gritstone.
