Dogs lured with hotdogs on Scafell Pike in rescue of fallen owner

The snowfall was reported to be at six to 12 inches on Friday when a concerned dad reported his son overdue from a walk up Scafell Pike with his two pets.

He was reported to have reached the summit at around 4pm however no contact had been established since then.

After not knowing which route the walker had taken, a search of the surrounding car park was done and his car was discovered at Seathwaite by Keswick MRT.

Due to the 'very cold conditions' and the walker's inexperience, a full callout was mobilised around 8.14pm involving nearly 50 people from various mountain rescue teams.

These included Keswick MRT, Duddon and Furness MRT, RAF Leeming, RAF Valley and Coastguard helicopter.

Coastguard helicopter Rescue 199 was unable to complete its requested search area of Piers Gill however due to low cloud.

Some parties also had to abort some search routes at higher elevations due to the snow which was at height.

At about 2am, shouts from rescuers were rewarded with a faint call back followed by a whistle at Piers Gill.

The walker was located via searchlight and thermal imaging scope with the man himself confirming that he had a broken leg and couldn’t move.

His two dogs were located above a waterfall pitch away from him but both were reported to be 'fit and well.'

After a very tricky rescue  of the man with eight loads of equipment, different methods considered, and Rescue 936 from Caernarfon and RAF MRT called in, a team casualty carer was then lowered via a side gully into the bottom of the gill.

They found the walker had suffered serious injuries and was very cold but had managed to find a small shelf to keep himself mostly out of the water.

Medical assessment and treatment was given and cold wet clothing exchanged for dry.

As quickly as possible in the challenging conditions, a stretcher, casualty bag, heat blankets, vacuum mattress and dual rope system was also established and the walker was packaged securely. The haul out of the gill was completed to the awaiting team members.

All that was left was to rescue the walker’s two dogs. Team members from Duddon and Furness MRT and Wasdale volunteered to rescue the stranded pair.

A spokesperson for WMRT said: "They were cragfast and unable to reach their owner below.

"As the ‘nightshift’ clocked off and returned to base, the relief dayshift was heading up the fell.

"Once on scene, ropes were again used to keep team members safe whilst descending steep snowy ground to locate the dogs. They were encouraged gently with the lure of hotdogs back up the hill to safety and then back to base to be reunited later with family members."

The entire rescue lasted 19 hours and 23 minutes in total.