GMRT Maps Out Rescues With ViewRanger

posted by cw on Wednesday, March 10, 2010


Glossop Mountain Rescue Team (GMRT) are one of the latest teams to join our ViewRanger Volunteer Search and Rescue Program. This scheme provides ViewRanger software and maps to volunteer search and rescue teams.

GMRT is one of the seven voluntary teams covering the moorlands and mountains of the Peak District National Park. GMRT work closely with the RAF, Air Ambulance and Police helicopters. However, sometimes the weather defeats even these machines and GMRT falls back on sheer manpower and the stretcher carrying techniques that existed back when the team was founded in 1957.

GMRT joined the program in the middle of February, and deployed ViewRanger across their team shortly thereafter. They'd already put it to critical use a few days later:

Peter from GMRT contacted us this week to say:

"First of all may I thank you for supplying the team with ViewRanger mapping software. It as already proved useful on our callouts.

On Saturday the 20th of February the team was called out to a 65 year old male who became ill and was suffering chest pains whilst walking on Bleaklow moor.

The weather conditions were very poor with visibility down to 50 meters in heavy snow! The casualty had to be carried to Snake Summit on the A57 following three attempts by two air ambulances and one police helicopter to land.

ViewRanger was used to guide the stretcher party to and from the casualty site, an operation which took around five hours and 45 rescue team members from Glossop, dale and Kinder Teams!"

You can find out more about GMRT at their website.

Check out more about the ViewRanger VSAR Program here.