Peak District mountain rescue team look for new member of trustee group

The Edale Mountain Rescue Team is looking for a new member of their Trustees Group.

The team was founded in 1956 following the designation of the Peak District National Park which lead to a dramatic increase in the numbers of walkers and climbers visiting the area.

They are involved in rescuing a number of casualties; ranging from climbers and walkers to paraglider pilots and mountain bikers, as well as searching for missing walkers who get lost on the moors.

The team are also asked to assist the police in searching for missing vulnerable people in a variety of different environments.

The team is now in the process of changing from a Charitable Limited Company to Charitable Incorporated Organisation.

Ian Donaldson, Secretary of Edale Mountain Rescue Team, said: “As part of that change we will be reducing from nine trustees to five, one of whom we would like to be an external trustee.

“We would like it to be someone who would bring experience in corporate governance to the team’s management. We are looking for a person who would like to help the team and provide an independent voice in our quarterly meetings.”

There are currently about 50 members on the Edale Mountain Rescue call out list and the team responds to between 120 and 140 call outs per year.

The team run a fleet of three Land Rovers, a Toyota Hilux and a Mercedes Sprinter van in order to respond quickly to incidents in the area, which stretches from the top of the Derwent Valley in the north to the area around Bakewell in the south and from the Kinder plateau in the west over to Sheffield, Chesterfield and Dronfield in the east.

The Chairman of the Edale Mountain Rescue team, said: “Edale Mountain Rescue Team held its first training exercise in 1956, meeting outside the Nags Head pub in Edale.

“Since that day, generations of team members have been on call, day and night 365 days a year to help those in need on the hills.

“In recent years our assistance has been requested by various police forces to help search for missing people closer to the urban fringes that surround our locality.

“Whilst technology advances and undoubtably assist in what we do, the most important element of our team are its members. Not only the operational people who go on the hill but also our support members that work tirelessly behind the scenes to keep the team running.

“Like all other teams within the UK we are a registered charity and rely solely on donations to fund our work.

“This would not be possible without the generosity of public who take the time to send a donation, put money in collecting tins and undertake sponsored events to raise money for us.”

Please get in touch with Ian at [email protected], if you would like to apply to be the new trustee, or you would like more information. Visit www.edalemrt.co.uk.