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Team Training Weekend

 

As part of the 50th Anniversary of the team, Alan Rae, Team Vehicle Officer, contacted Land Rover Monthly (LRM) so they could run a piece on the team landies. For the piece LRM sent a journalist and photographer up for the day and the team put on a demonstration at the Pass of Ballater. For a few reasons the team were required relocated the demo to different location which allowed the visitors to witness the team work required when moving locations. The team raised the journalist several meters up a vertical face on the crag whilst the photographer took snaps before lowering him and moving to a new location for team and Land Rover pictures/interviews.

After the excitement of getting our photos taken the team returned to the Bothy at the Spittal of Glenmuick for some high tea before a quick walk up Lochnagar. This allowed the team management to pick up the pace and see who's had too much ice cream over the summer! All the team members kept up a good pace to the Fox Cairn Well before the team split up, one group going direct to the summit via the ladder and the other via the West Ridge.

The main training event for the weekend was a missing dog walker search and rescue scenario on the moors East of the Spittal of Glenmuick. The team set off up the path following the Allt Darrarie stream until the path stopped whilst the team SARDA (Search and Rescue Dog Association) dog handler headed out as the missing person. The team then spread out in a search line with two team members navigating and team management in the centre coordinating the line and providing feedback to team members on search technique. The team searched to the Water of Mark river before searching towards the Sheilin of Mark bothy for a spot of lunch. The team then searched across the moor via Creag na Slabhraidh and searched the banks of the Allt Fileachaidh stream. The search team located the casualty at the foot of the waterfall on the stream and performed a casualty assessment followed by a challenging stretcher extraction down the streamline towards the road to the two waiting landies. A very wetday!

Words: Stuart Gillan

Photo: Iain Powell