Another call-out

With all the patient transport I had been involved in recently, I had got a little bit behind with work. So on a Friday I biked home, had a shower, had my dinner, and then got ready to do a bit more marking in my home office. But the evening didn't pan out that way. A WhatsApp message pinged on my phone; there seemed to be a mine explorer overdue. In CRTT, as usual. We could expect a call-out.

I shut down my computer and got my stuff ready. I make sure to include the waterproof jacket! The forecast was rain all night. And I wasn't going to set off until I knew where I was expected to go; the Croesor side or the Rhosydd side? That is always the question with call-outs there.

Then the official call-out came, with a rendezvous point on the Rhosydd side. But moments later I received a phone call from our controller. Was I okay going to the other side? We might want to check both entrances. And of course I was! So I got into the car and set off. It was going to be a fair drive.

When I got to the parking lot in Croesor I saw a van with my teammate Gethin in it. And there already was a 4WD of Aberglaslyn Mountain Rescue waiting. And quite soon, another van appeared, with Sharon in it. We were complete! And I got the update; it was actually two people that were overdue, and we had a strong suspicion we were parked next to their vehicle. It concerned a person with good mountain experience, who had been in this mine system several times before. And a second person of unknown experience. That sounded good. The person who had set the call-out sounded sensible. In the past, the team has had to get people out of this mine who had gone in in T-shirts and with hand torches. What a bad idea!

The idea was that we would get kitted up, put a selection of kit in the 4WD, get a ride to the entrance, unload, and say goodbye to the mountain rescue chap. He wasn't going to wait for us. That saved us a long walk uphill with a lot of kit in the rain!

When we got there we stashed quite a lot of the kit near the entrance. We brought one rope, the first aid kit, and some rigging kit with us. If it turned out we would need more we could just send a runner and get more. But our first priority now was finding the casualties. 

We went to the top of the first pitch. The previous time, the person we needed to get out had been right at the bottom of that. But we had known that in advance; this time, all bets were off. Hence that half the team had gone in on the other side! 

Gethin, with his long legs, reached the pitch head first. He shouted into the darkness. And he got a reply! And then we saw two little lights in the distance! Wow, this rescue was going very well. Sharon quickly scampered outside to phone the controller to let him know. The team on the other side could possibly just walk over the surface to our side. No need to search that side of the system! But it turned out they were already in and couldn't be contacted.

Pic from the people going in from the other side. Pic: NWCRO

I descended the rope to go and meet the party. Gethin was close behind. Then we introduced ourselves. The party was two people in a fine condition, be it a bit tired and somewhat fed up with being in there. There was nothing really wrong with them! That was great. It basically just had taken them a very long time to navigate the mine, and therefore they weren't out by the time they had asked a friend to phone the police if they hadn't been in touch by then.

The only thing they now needed to do was ascend the final pitch. Gethin decided to use an electron ladder. Neither quite enjoyed that, but they flew up it! The experienced person had done it before and knew what he got himself into, and the other person was warned it isn't very comfortable. But it is effective.

I went up the rope. Gethin asked me to de-rig it. That almost resulted in an additional casualty; Gethin is quite tall, and I had to actually climb the in situ rope in order to be able to reach the anchors he had used for our own rope. Gethin almost laughed himself an aneurysm. I did remind him of the fact that being tall underground isn't always a boon…

A pic of me Sharon took

After that we got back to the entrance, where a surprise awaited us. Another team member had driven his personal 4WD up the path! So he could take all the heavy kit down. And he even had space inside for the casualties. This really was the most comfortable rescue ever!

We didn't all fit inside the car so Gethin and I walked down in the rain. I was glad I had my extra jacket. On the way, Gethin phoned the controller to give him the update. 

Back at the parking lot we changed back into civilian gear, and said goodbye to the casualties who set off in their vehicle. Then we needed to make a decision. The other search party was still in, and had still not received the message that the casualties had already been located. What should we do? Hang around? Go to the other side? With them still being inside, there was the hypothetical possibility we would have to go and rescue them. But then Gethin volunteered to drive via the parking lot on the Rhosydd side, and check out the situation. Sharon and I would just head home. They could always send us a text if we were needed after all!

I accepted the long way home, and arrive there at about 1:30. Way beyond my bedtime! But at least there was still quite some night left. I had a quick shower and then headed to bed. Exactly like our previous call-out, I had a race the next day! I know I wasn't going to be in peak shape. But I was probably going to be good enough to at least run and enjoy it…