The women were found sheltering on Great Rigg

The women were found sheltering on Great Rigg

Rescuers reached two stranded walkers on a Lake District fell after hurricane-speed winds forced them to abort their first attempt.

The two women were finally found sheltering in their tent on the Fairfield horseshoe, seven hours after first calling for help.

Langdale Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team faced blizzard conditions after being called out in ‘horrendous’ conditions at 6.30pm yesterday, Wednesday.

A team spokesperson said: “We managed to identify their position using Sarloc, but were unable to get near them for seven hours, battling hurricane-force winds which made progress via two routes impossible.”

Sarloc is a smartphone system that allows rescuers to pinpoint the position of the user by sending a link for them to use that then enables their location to be plotted.

The spokesperson said the team enlisted the help of Kendal Mountain Rescue Team and RAF Leeming Mountain Rescue Team. “It was a horrendous night, with team members battered to the ground by the wind and encountering very difficult conditions underfoot,” the spokesperson said. “A brief lull in the winds, dropping to around 40mph for an hour or so, assisted the rescue.

“If we had not known the women’s location, the rescue would have be almost impossible.”

The pair were found on Great Rigg about a kilometre south of the main Fairfield summit.

A Kendal MRT spokesperson said: “One attempt at reaching them had to be aborted due to weather conditions. In stormy conditions, a fresh three-pronged attempt at reaching the females via three different routes proved successful.

“They were found in their tent at 1.40am, cold and wet but able to descend with the teams. The team from RAF Leeming MRT also responded in what was an excellent outcome.”

The rescue ended about 4am today.

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