Across the UK, from the wilds of the Scottish Highlands to the majestic Lake District and the magical Cornish coastline, thousands of volunteer heroes and search and rescue specialists put their lives on the line to keep us safe. >> I'm not afraid of heights. I'm afraid of falling. >> Whenever the phone goes, your heart does miss a beat. >> Friends and family do get used to you suddenly dropping everything and going. Braving the elements on our highest mountains. >> It's just cold. >> Very cold. >> Most dangerous coastlines. >> Let's go rescue. >> Got a bad head injury. He's fallen off the cliff. >> And wildest seas. >> When the weather is getting bad, we're generally going out. >> They're in the sea. They've fallen off the rock. >> Things can change very, very quickly. >> I'm not glad to see you. >> I feel such a I cannot thank you enough. We all make mistakes and you don't need to be judged on it. >> With unique access to Her Majesty's Coast Guard. Visual. >> It's a whole team thing. It's as simple as that. >> And Britain's elite volunteer mountain rescue teams. >> I want to be able to offer something back to the communities in which I work and live. >> Now the dog is safe. >> Yes, she is. I'm >> very proud of what we achieve. >> These are their stories. Humbersside airport near Grimby, home to HM Coast Guard Search and Rescue Helicopter 912, responsible for an area of around 144,000 km across both sides of the Humber Estie. Crews here provide a vital service across the east of England. >> 103 knots nicely. Good turn. Crews consist of two pilots, a winch operator, and a winch paramedic. Working 24-hour shifts, they live and work on base. >> Somebody's toast here. Anybody? >> Andrew, I'm ready for the uh the drink, mate. >> Yes. Okay. >> Cheers. >> Have you got bag checks to do or something? Already done, buddy. >> What do you reckon? Quip trick this morning. >> Absolutely. I think it's perfect. >> Everybody gets a judicious amount of teas in for one thing or another, especially if you deserve it. >> Let's get the briefing complete. Then we can all go home. >> Oh, no. Just four of us. Half of us. >> It's handover time as the new shift come on duty. Pilots Richard Tai and Wendy Miller, winch operator Paul Bramley. >> Oh, I do. >> And winch paramedic Andy FTH. What you need is a good job every so often. Something really challenging. Good jobs make it really. And you do you'll get a good job every now and again. It'll remind you why you do this. >> Guard rescue. >> Humbersside is one of 10 search and rescue helicopter bases around the UK which are all coordinated by the aeronautical rescue coordination center known as ARK in Hampshire. Maritime operations controller Pier Stanbury is based at the National Control Center. >> We're here 24/7, 365 days a year, awaiting to hear from people who are in distress or in danger. The crew are tasked to an incident 50 mi north of base at Thornwick Bay in Flamra where an elderly man has fallen on the rocky coastline. >> It can be quite busy, quite an intense period when you first launch. You're running around the back getting everything out ready, presuming the worst really is what I'd say and hope for the best. The injured man, John, had been knocked out when he fell. Luckily, people nearby heard a noise as he went down. They found him and despite a poor phone signal, have managed to raise the alarm. >> 77 bashed his head, his eye, and his wrist. >> Has he fallen off something or fallen? >> It sounds like he's fallen onto the rocks. >> Speed is the essence really to get up there. Anything head or torso related, there's potential for him to deteriorate quite quickly. The intention now come over the end if I remember every much to make a left hand turn that will give me a chance to slow down and yeah drop the height off. >> John is on holiday with his wife Andrea and their 10-year-old granddaughter Hannah. He'd left Andrea and Hannah on the beach while he explored the rocky bay on his own. >> Probably best to stay high initially. >> Flamra Head is a rugged 8 mile stretch of chalk cliffs, a special area of conservation popular with bird watchers and walkers. John is in Thornwick Bay, a secluded area difficult for the aircraft to access. >> You got cliffs all the way around it. We're going to be pointing into the bay, which is going to limit my options for escaping should we have a technical problem with the aircraft. >> All right, starting to descend. Yes, blue line. As soon as we arrive, it's apparent that the guy has fallen in a area of large boulders and broken rocks on a very rocky beach. So, finding somewhere uncluttered and flat for us to land is going to be awkward. So, it became apparent that we're going to have to winch our man down. And he was then going to have to make his way to the casualty. >> Okay. 600 ft. >> Prives out all the answers at the front of your cabin to check, please. Okay. So, we'll move uh we'll move forward and right descending. Uh we'll uh win out an appropriate point. >> Yes. I'll pop on in there and then we'll uh open, shall we? >> Yes. >> Are you going to win me? They're just landing that field back there. >> Yes. >> I'll get the car to clear all the standard out the way. >> The people that found John have now also located Andrea and Hannah, and they're watching anxiously from a distance. >> Okay. Tokyo ejects bring the winchman to the door and you clear forward right descending. >> When we arrive on scene, I'm very keen to get on the ground and and make an assessment. But we have to operate the aircraft properly to make sure it's safe cuz otherwise could injure myself. We could injure the people on the ground and we've also got to be aware of other bystanders. out two on the harness. Okay, continue for the right one, steady on the ground. >> We couldn't establish how long he'd been down there for. He was cold, which isn't good for someone with head injuries and potential bleeding. He also complained of some back pain as well and neck pain. So that made it a little bit difficult in that it weren't going to be a straightforward windshield. Was going to have to package him and immobilize him at scene before we could move him. >> Andy radios up to Paul. He's got a comfortable face. He's quite cold and he's in a little bit worse condition than we imagined. I was concerned when I saw the head injury cuz it had swollen quite significantly. What's happening inside? I can't tell that on in Thor Mc Bay. Only a hospital X-ray and scan can do that. >> The swelling could be caused by bleeding in John's brain building pressure inside his skull. >> Someone with a head injury, they could die from that. Cornwall, the southwest tip of Britain with 400 miles of rocky cliffs and bays and hidden sandy beaches. To the south, the English Channel. To the north, the Celtic Sea. 20 Coast Guard rescue teams are responsible for land-based search and rescue along this diverse coastline. And during the busy summer months, attend on average 38 callouts per week. >> The great thing about living in Cornwall, where I live, is I'm right next to the beach. I've grown up to next to the beach and I was going to make sure I was always going to be next to the beach so I could go surfing. >> As senior coastal operations officer or sku, Rob is responsible for the welfare of all volunteer coastg guard team members. >> The sku's role can cover anything from responding to incidents right the way down to sorting out that they've got the right number of carabiners and kit at the stations. Uh, >> that one. >> How many coast guards does it take to check a carabiner? >> Depends if they've got their glasses on. >> I'm a Devon boy. Uh, and and even having been on in Cornwall all this time, I'm I'm pretty much accepted, but I'm still on a visitor's passport. >> Just noticing a bit of wear on that one. Just trying to work out where it's come from. >> That bottom corner there. >> Yeah. Do you want me glasses? >> The time of year that's busiest for us is generally in the summer. The jobs we get cut off from the tide. That's probably the most usual one. >> Pagium Coast Guard team male stuck in Gorard mobile. just now mobile to Morning Church 4 POV. >> Roger. Thank you very much. >> The incident at Mourn Beach near Falmouth, a 10-minute drive away, might not sound like one of their cut off by the tide jobs, but in fact, that's exactly what's happened. Caught out by the incoming tide, a man has tried to escape high water by climbing a cliff. But he's become trapped in Gors and is now in a precarious position high up on the cliff edge. >> By the time I arrive, he'd probably been stuck there for an hour. How long is that person going to be able to stay in that position before they get too tired and fall off? >> As Rob arrives at the coastal path at the back of the cliff edge, he makes contact with another team member who got there first and has already ventured into the gor. >> Who's that sat in there? >> Andy. >> Andy. >> Yeah. Where's the cliff edge then? >> It's that thick. I won't get anywhere. >> Retired firefighter Andy is one of 280 local volunteers. >> When the pager goes off, it just becomes second nature. I just grab the kit, grab my keys, tell my wife if she's in that, I'm going on a call, and I'll give her a ring as soon as I can. >> After holidaying in Cornwall for many years, Andy and his wife moved to the area when they retired. I personally know that area from dog walking. Generally speaking, it seems to be holiday makers that put themselves into that situation. >> Okay, proceed. >> Yeah, that's all right. >> Andy still hasn't managed to get to the casualty. >> I would say the cliff was about 50 foot. We could hear the casualty's voice, but we couldn't see him. Common gor is a large evergreen shrub covered in needle-like leaves and distinctive coconut perfumed yellow flowers during spring and summer. It provides shelter and food for insects and birds and can grow into dense impassible hedges up to 15 ft in height. >> Keep talking. >> The hedges along the coastal path are so thick and wiry. I've never seen anything like it in my life. It was quite difficult to push through it. >> It's starting to clear a bit. So, where are you? >> I got to a clearing and I was close enough to talk to him. >> Can you see me at all? >> I can see you. >> Yeah. >> Ah, I see you. >> I want to find out if he'd got any injuries, how he was feeling. You just want to strike up a a casual conversation with him, inject a bit of humor, calm him down, and reassurance that we're going to get him out. >> Can you hear me, Rob? >> Yeah. >> Right. Made contact, but he's just got a t-shirt on and I've put ribbons. >> But although Andy can see the man, he can't actually get to him and returns alone. Thank you. It's really thick ramble and scrub and very tight. I was a firefighter for over 30 years. So when you come to an incident, I'm always trying to think of uh a plan A and a plan B. Um how to um deal with a casualty >> and they'll need to implement plan B pretty soon. >> You're cold. >> Even in the summer months, there's a serious risk of hypothermia. But with the man stuck on the cliff edge with no way back or forward, that's not the only danger. >> We were at the end of the day by this point. The sun was going down and my concern was also what was the stability of the cliff edge that he was sat on. At that point, he could well fall back and back down the cliff. >> Rescue 912 based in Humbersside has been tasked to Thornwick Bay on the Yorkshire coast. It's a rocky area inaccessible to land ambulances. A fall has left 77year-old John with a serious head injury and Andy, rescue 912's winch paramedic, is worried he may have also damaged vertebrae in his neck. John needs an urgent transfer to hospital. >> Okay. >> With a casualty with a severe injury, it became apparent that they're going to need a serious level of medical care. There's two hospitals in Hull, which is not that far away. The main major trauma center there is Hull Royal Infirmary. >> Three, two, >> winch. Operator Paul lowers the stretcher. >> Steady. >> This is one of around 2 and a half thousand civilian search and rescue helicopter rescues tasked each year in the UK. >> Sir, I copy that thoughts for a direct hospital. >> Yeah. Yes, please. >> I'll tell Brid Oscar just so they're aware. >> With the hospital alerted, pilots Richard and Windy look for a safe landing spot. >> Okay, well, give us a squirt of the windscreen wipers, please. >> The top of the range Sakorski S92A helicopter is able to take on all the demands of search and rescue day and night. But its size and power make it a noisy beast. If you have somewhere sensible nearby to loiter, it makes it easier for the paramedic to have a conversation with the casualty. 6. >> I can ask questions. I can examine the patient. Can listen to the chest potentially cuz you're not going to get the opportunity once you get them up in the aircraft. You can't use a stethoscope in the aircraft. >> That's the casual shivering and then in a little bit of distress, a little bit of shock maybe as well. from all the fuss and attention. A lot of the old like making fuss and attention. >> Down on the rocks, it's a team effort to prepare John for the airlift. >> There was an ambulance crew down there as well. So, there's four of us with the two coast guard guys somewhere. >> Yeah, it does, doesn't it? Yeah. To a winching position here. >> With the ground team carefully moving Jon across the tricky terrain, rescue 912 makes its way back to the overhead. Andy updates his colleagues on John's condition. >> He's got head injuries, quite a big sher and a bit of a damaged wrist. >> If somebody is fully immobilized in a stretcher and they have a head injury, possible concussion, it's a real concern to make sure that they don't start to feel nauseous and if they do, give them something to reduce that. >> We'll see how he does. I'm a bit worried he might start throwing up. CRT a Coast Guard rescue team on scene and the gents from there man the high line which is a technique we use to reduce the spin. >> The highline is a rope attached to the stretcher which is held taut from the ground and ensures that Jon doesn't spin during the 100 ft lift. However, this doesn't mean the lift isn't difficult for him. >> Steady. >> A lot of people don't like flying. So you can imagine being flown whilst looking vertically up in a big noisy vibrating atmosphere. You can't sit up. You can't move because you're strapped onto a board. >> It's the pilot. Pilot shout out. Out. >> I've had a few on the wire with me who screamed all the way up. >> Closing the door. Roger. >> Because we've moved him. The whole process if you like on the ground that happened starts again in the aircraft and we go right through that again. Whilst we're doing that the guys are getting us off to hospital. >> Okay. >> John, can you hear me? >> Yes, I can. >> You can. Oh, that's great. We can hear you. So, any new pain anywhere? >> No. >> No. >> Just the same before. So, the head and the wrist. Just asking somebody questions and how they convey the answers to you and how appropriate that responses are can tell you an awful lot. So if they don't answer yeah they're unconscious. That's not a good thing. If they answer it in full sentences and full words, then they're probably breathing okay cuz they can speak properly. If they can't speak in full sentences, then is that cuz they're breathing? Is that the pain? Is that cuz they're confused? >> Okay, John, if it's okay with you, I'm just going to take your blood sugar. Okay. You just need to be pricking your finger. >> Yeah. >> Just to take a bit more blood off you. >> Yeah. >> One of the main concerns we have with treating anybody is they have a pain in airway. Can they breathe? When you've got someone laid flat in a stretcher with a head injury, possible concussion, they may become nauseous. And if they're vomiting, that vomit is going to sit in the back of their mouth, in the back of their airway. If they lose the airway, they're dead. >> You look like you're in a you're suffering a bit there, John. John, you hear me? So, he's just breathing. >> You look like you're struggling a bit there. Wave your hand if you got a problem. All right. If we need be, we can sit you up, but I'd rather keep you laid down in case you hurt your neck. >> He has a potential spinal injury. So, you don't want him moving. You don't want him sat up. That'll create more load on the spine. But his airway and his breathing is more important than that. So, if if that was going to compromise his breathing somehow, you don't want to move them. But if you have to, you're going to have to. >> That's just landing at the hospital now. Okay. It's taken just 10 minutes to fly the 28 mi from the scene to Hull Royal Infirmary. >> Right, John, that's us on the ground. I'm just going to wrap you back upwards and move you out the aircraft. Okay. >> When it's all done, you've handed over you're quite satisfied. We do sometimes get responses from people. We get a letter maybe thanking us. Might get a phone call. You you want my dad, can you tell them thanks? And then the message will get through to you eventually. The Lake District National Park in Cumbria. 500 million years of geological processes and volcanic activity have created the 150 peaks, including England's highest mountain, Scafel Pike, and the many lakes and tarns, after which it's named. It's a challenging landscape and a magnet for hill walkers and climbers. 12 mountain rescue teams operate here, all run by volunteers who combine full-time jobs with attending callouts. >> My claim to fame is that I joined the team before I could drive. So, I used to have to bike down to mountain rescues. >> Pataddale Mountain Rescue Team has 30 active volunteer members and is one of the country's busiest teams. >> What makes a good mountain rescue member? Having enough time to be able to dedicate to training and rescues and be willing to buy the drinks like an excuse to be out in the hills helping people and doing rescues is satisfying. It's feels like giving something back I suppose. >> This is Darren. >> I'm Darren. >> I'm Darren. >> Oh yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. Makes my life easy. >> The mountain rescue golden hour between about half one half two. Just as people have reached the summit, they're just starting to make their way down. Beep beep beep. >> Hello. Come here, please. How can I help? >> A lady's had an injury at Fdale. >> What's the nature of the lady's injuries? >> She's gone over on her ankle. She's with her friends. They are elderly. >> What sort of age is she? >> I would say she's probably in her 70s. The Pataddale Mountain Rescue team are needed 5 miles away at Graleale Tarn, where Maria, a 72-year-old American holiday maker, has taken a tumble. >> With Maria being in her 70s, we think that she's probably fallen sometime before we were actually alerted to the incident. She's been out for quite a long time, laid on the ground. She's going to be getting colder. And although it's summer, there's still the risk of patient becoming cold and hypothermic. Risedale Tarn is over 500 m in altitude and inaccessible by car. Team members Matt and Elco set off in the first responder vehicle to the base of the Cryale Valley where they will continue their journey by foot. >> So, we got part of a female believed to be in the 70s. She's got ankle injury. We don't know to what extent. We're just setting off and see what we can find. >> As a deputy leader, be planning about contingencies and planning about what we're going to take now, what's the next group going to take and how we're going to get them out of there. If >> we get both of the stretcher and the cars back, then we can we can almost start to move, can't we? >> If Maria has already been laid out on the fell side for a couple of hours, she's going to be cooling down very, very quickly >> there shortly. breaking. We're on the trail now. >> It can be quite a steep walk up to Grale Tan. And because the ground is quite broken and the path is quite rocky, it can be quite difficult to move with any amount of haste really up there. Doubly so when you're carrying a big mountain rescue rucksack. >> Mountain Rescue works closely with other emergency services. And due to Maria's age and her location, Matt is keen to ask the local Coast Guard helicopter for help. We were aware that there was a helicopter in the area. It can pick the casualty up and fly them directly to hospital. So what a helicopter can do in 10 or 15 minutes, mountain rescue and the land ambulance will probably take 4 hours. >> Yeah. Based from Matt, uh has there been any word from that coast guard helicopter over? >> Uh no. I think it's kind of all a bit um manic there at the moment. >> Okay. face from Matt. Uh, it might be worth giving them a shout. See if they can uh task it to us. >> As Matt and Elco get closer to Maria, a second team is gathering back at base, including volunteers from the nearby Penri Mountain Rescue team. >> Not too bad. Not too bad. >> When I'm in the shower, >> when we get to the sides, all you see is a storm shelter really. You don't really see people. They done the right thing. and they've gone right into their storm shelter to keep warm. >> Oh, here they are. >> The emergency tent along with some hot tea has been donated by kind passes by. >> Hello campers. It's the mountain rescue here. >> Thank you. >> You were waiting for that, weren't you? >> Hello, I'm Elco. This is Matt. What are your names? >> I'm Margaret. >> Margaret Maria. >> Maria. When you arrive at scene, once you've caught your breath, first start to chat to the casualty, and that's when you get that first impression of that person's mental and physical state, what their injuries likely are to be, and also how difficult the next couple of hours are going to be. >> Maria, you want to tell me what happened? >> Okay, I slipped somehow. My foot went underneath me. I had to turn my body over to get out of it. And I could feel it right after place. >> Um, and when you've gone over, you You've not knocked anything else. You've not knocked your head, not been unconscious or anything like that. >> No. >> Okay. >> She seemed to be in pretty good spirits, although a little bit sad that um you thought she'd probably broken her ankle. >> So, I was working on my anterior to be Alice muscle right in here. >> Maria, who retired after 30 years in nursing to become a massage therapist, is a keen walker. It's her first trip to the UK, and she and Pal Margaret are just 5 days into their twoe walking holiday. >> And very cold. >> Cold. I tell you what, >> very, very cold. >> Right. Okay. Let's see. Pop that one over the top of all the others. >> We're quite lucky in Patadale now in that we have a few doctors. So, although you've got a pretty good idea of what it is, it's always a little bit reassuring to know that there's a doctor just 10 minutes behind you coming up the fell. >> Dr. Dan from your location. Over. >> Just in the brow of the crag. I've gone past roof your big climb. >> Perfect. We'll see you in five. Matt out. Do you guys want to get back in the tent for just two minutes until we wait for our next chap to arrive? >> You sure? >> Look at him running now. You see, he's only running cuz he knows we can see him now. >> I'm not impressed by you just running that 20 m there. >> I only did that for sure. >> Yeah, we just said that. >> Can we have the big tent out first of all? >> As Dr. Dan Jones prepares to assess Maria's leg. The team here from base that rescue 199, a Coast Guard helicopter based in Preswick on the west coast of Scotland may be free. >> Coast Guard 5 minutes 5 minutes to here. >> Coast Guard helicopter 15 minutes out. >> We just lift this little tent off and they'll bring a bigger one in. Hearing that we've been allocated a helicopter is always a relief because you know that you've just saved yourself 3 hours of sweating down a big hillside carrying a casualty on a stretcher. >> Hi Maria. I'm Dan. I'm a doctor. >> Um we have a look. >> Okay. If >> this is uncomfortable we can just take a pair of scissors to them if you >> Yeah. You got to do what you got to do. >> Yeah. So, there is a lot of bruising over there, but it's not a definite step, is it? Can you move? >> Yeah, I can do this. >> Good. Yeah. Fractured ankles are sort of our bread and butter. It's what the vast majority of our calls are. >> Just splint it. >> You just splint it. Yeah. I don't think we need to do art with it. Do you? >> Oh my god. You got so Yorkshire just then. >> Oh, we don't need to do art with it. >> Sometimes if you're in a lot of pain or it's very deformed, we sort of pull it straight. But I think you're fine just as you are. >> Yeah. Yes, I am. It's beautiful. >> We package the ankle, but we basically wrap it in a soft bandage first and then put this splint on that you wrap around the leg and ankle and then suck all the air out and it goes really hard. But then you worry, is that temporary splint? Is that affecting the blood supply? So, you always want to be checking the foot. >> Perfect. >> You can do the hard work. >> I'm to measure. You want me to step in for a second? >> As the team set to work spinting Maria's leg, HM Coast Guard Rescue 199 begins its approach. But then it suddenly veers off. >> Apologies. We have been retasked to a higher priority task. >> Yeah, copy that 199. Many thanks. Anyway, >> Coast Guard search and rescue helicopter call outs are rated in order of priority and rescue 199 is being sent to another higher priority incident. >> You always have to have a plan B. Helicopters can always be called away to incident more serious. >> Are they going to? >> Yeah, I've got another job somewhere else. Oh, right. Bugger. In Cornwall, Coast Guard rescue volunteers have been called to a man who's become trapped in thick gor bushes on the edge of a cliff. >> Unable to reach him by land, the team have requested the assistance of helicopter rescue 924. I'm thinking about everything from the second that we launch to the time that we drop off the casualty. But as with many jobs, it's a plan A and you have to roll to whatever you meet when you get there. That's our way. I'll give you shortly 94 2 minutes. >> Yeah, about 2 minutes. >> All we knew there was a gentleman that was stuck in some ghost bush on the side of a cliff on a ledge. >> Rescue 924. Rescue 924. We can hear you coming along the coast now. We do have lights on within the undergrowth and the casualty is sat in the dense undergrowth in front of us. Over Charlie 194 the lights were coming along. >> We located him. We located the cliff team. Right here he is. Height of the aircraft is crucial. If you get down really low, then everybody on the edge of the cliff gets absolutely battered by the rotor wash. We've elected to recover him back to the aircraft rather than try and carry him across to that little cliff path cuz I was being affected quite a lot by the rotor wash. To put me on a very small area on a on a tight little cliff path between trees is more dangerous than just recovering straight back to the aircraft. Rescue 94 Sierra 111 Charlie uh the CRT does have an area cleared for you. What are your intentions? Winch or land over land. >> Yeah, roger. >> With the man safely on board rescue 924 and assessed to be well, the crew choose to return him to a safe landing site nearby. The Coast Guard rescue team secure the area. >> So, good job, guys. I uh The guy that was rescued ultimately he was in his hour of need and we stepped in and helped him at Graleale Tarn in the Lake District. The Patadale Mountain Rescue team are with 72year-old Maria who's fallen and broken her ankle. was hiking and my foot went out as we were trying to cover this stream. >> A Coast Guard helicopter tasked to transfer Maria to hospital has been called away on a higher priority rescue. >> All right, Maria, don't know if you've gathered it. Unfortunately, the helicopter's gone somewhere else. >> Oh. >> So, we're going to you're going to go on a stretcher. >> Okay. >> And uh you're going to go the uncomfortable way down. With the helicopter no longer available, the team prepare to carry Maria 5 miles down the valley where she'll be transferred to a land ambulance to be taken to hospital. >> It's going to be a long stretcher down, probably the best part of 3 hours, if not more. But the sooner that we start moving with Maria, the sooner that we can meet up with personnel who are making their way up the hill. >> We're just going to think about making a rope just to get down this first straight, this steeper bit. >> Um cuz you're sort of on a sledge as well. Yeah. So, sometimes it's better to sledge you. So, we'll just get going. >> Let's find another route. >> Yeah. >> Glenn, very experienced team member. He walked ahead and tells us which route to take. >> I'm sort of trying to pick out the best way that we can take the stretcher down. Um, sledging most of the way. >> You want to go faster? No. >> She wasn't going to tell us that she was in a lot of pain, even though she probably was. Go ahead. >> Yeah. I have our friend at the moment. They provide another aircraft, but ETA will be 50 minutes. >> Yeah. Receives out. Thank you. >> Rather than stop and get cold, the team will keep moving to rendevous further with rescue 936, a search and rescue helicopter based in Canavvin in Wales. >> Helicopter will always prefer to land rather than win casualty. So we knew that further down Grall Valley, there's better landing places. And Matt, just look here. There's two choices. I think this is the best one. See a line through there? >> We'll sledge a casualty whenever the ground surface allows. Carrying someone, taking the weight of the stretcher on that casualty is pretty tiring, but also there's the risk of slips and trips. If that stretch is already on the ground, it's not going to fall any lower. As the helicopter approaches, a smoke flare pinpoints the ground team's location and gives the pilots vital information on wind speed and direction. >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> Having lost one helicopter to another incident to then load Maria up and wave her goodbye. There is a sigh of relief. >> It's a nice feeling to know that she's safe and well and on the way to hospital and be looked after. Whilst Maria is transferred to hospital, the mountain rescue volunteers go back to their day jobs. >> If I do go for my job, I don't hurry back normally, but don't for tell. In the heart of the Scottish Highlands lies the UK's largest national park, the Kangorms. With five of our six highest mountains within its 4 and a half thousand square kilometers, it also has extensive forests and is a haven for wildlife as well as humans. >> These are the mountains which first sort of caught my imagination as a child. It was a decision my wife and I made just a few years ago to move and base ourselves here so that we could take full advantage of the mountains. >> I love being in the caring gorms. I come from Fort William, so I I grew up with mountains all around me. I like the Kang Gorms because they're a bit drier. >> But although spectacular, the area can be dangerous. And the Ken Gore mountain rescue team attends on average 45 call outs a year. Husband and wife Ian and Gemma are both local GPS who volunteer on the team. >> If you just slide up your your right sleeve. I provide medical support for the Korean rescue team. But first and foremost, I like to think of myself as just being a general team member who's just as comfortable carrying a heavy rucks sack and and setting up sort of technical rigging equipment. >> That's good. And it better than mine. >> The Korms is a vast area and can be very dangerous. I think the biggest mistake that visitors make these days is looking at social media and thinking, "Oh, that looks quite easy. I'll be able to do that." When a call comes in at 8:00 p.m., Ian and Gemma are both on the response team. >> Ironic, I'd actually just thought to myself, we've not had a call out for quite a while, which is always a big mistake to make. Tony, on holiday in the area with his wife, had borrowed her electric bike and set off mid-after afternoon on his own on what he thought would be a straightforward 3-hour ride, but he's now completely lost. >> The driving conditions were really quite challenging. I was immediately quite concerned for the safety. I remember looking out the window and thinking, "Really? We're going out in that weather? It was absolutely miserable." >> Yeah. >> And both of your teams got warm for the water. >> Yeah, we both got to set waterproof. >> Tony was following a route he'd downloaded from the internet onto a satnav, but the satnav stopped working. >> Tony was still had phone signal where he was, so we were able to use Sylock, which allows us to get an accurate grid reference through a text being sent from his phone. That gives you a location within a few hundred meters of where the the person actually sent the message. >> Two teams are now dispatched in different directions to Tony's last known location at Bick Moore, 14 mi from base. Volunteer Al Gilmore is helping to coordinate the rescue. >> Probably easier to to describe it on a map to be honest. He began just at the side of of Lock Morik and the route was to come up over the top of Bik Moore to then drop down to the side of Lock Allen. Pretty huge climb and then up over the plateau and come around the sort of western side of of the northern quories and then turn to the start. As a biker myself, I think the route's the wrong way round. But I think what's more important is that the description this chap has said that this route was doable in 3 to 3 and 1/2 hours, which given the scent itself is unlikely. I think certainly one hell of a challenge and not one to have set off at 2:00 in the afternoon. >> Tony's out in the hills on an electric bike or ebike that uses rechargeable batteries to aid cyclists across different terrains. Electric bikes are great and they definitely have their place. However, when you trying to go a long way in the mountains, you can incur all sorts of problems. They're very heavy bikes to push uphill. The battery might die. So, you could find yourself a long way from home and actually suddenly in a very bad situation. >> The team have arrived at the northeastern end of the Ken Gorms and having left the vehicles are continuing their search on foot. I'm soaked to the skin and we've only just left the Land Rover and Tony's only wearing a pair of shorts and a thin jacket. He must be absolutely freezing. >> It looks like there's a bit across down here on the rocks. >> He'd been out in the hill since about 2:00 in the afternoon. Knowing that he didn't have waterproof jackets and he didn't have any warm layers. There was quite a concern that he was going to be hypothermic by the time we got to him. >> It's proper rain now. As the night progresses and the weather's showing no signs of easing off, it's it's clear that Tony's situation's becoming really serious. >> The members of the rescue team were feeling very cold and vulnerable that night. We were really concerned that when we got to Tony, he was going to be hypothermic and not in a very good way. >> The rain's driving in our faces. Visibility is very poor. It's dark. And I guess what keeps us going is just knowing that there's someone else up on the hillside who's colder than us and wetter than us. and in a more difficult situation than we are. As the evening passed, we started to become increasingly anxious at the thought that Tony might have moved from his location, which is completely understandable in those sorts of conditions. The last thing I would want to do is to be told to to sit still in and driving rain. A third team was dispatched to approach from Stratton, which would sort of provide a little bit of a safety net just in case Tony had descended the steep slopes down into Strath Nephi to try and get out the weather. After 3 hours in driving rain, the team are finally approaching Binic Moore, Tony's last known location. >> Once we got to within about 500 meters of Tony's location, we set off a flare to try and draw attention to the fact that we were in the area. Now, it's natural when you're sat on a hillside waiting that you might sort of be hunkered into the hood of your jacket and you might not be aware of lights approaching you. >> Hello. >> We start shouting, "Hello, hello." and in the hope that Tony hears us and starts responding to us. >> The conditions were really challenging. There was cloud blowing through. It was very deceptive, so difficult to perceive distances. We thought we heard a little bit of a noise, >> but then everything went quiet again. >> After we set off the first flare, we don't pinpoint Tony immediately. So, we had to keep going to his location. >> I think we need to go that way. >> Down that way. Yeah. >> So, we get to Tony's grid location and there was no evidence of him. So, we set off a second flare. We see a flicker of light and then we realize that that's Tony. >> Okay, he's down this way. Yeah. >> KEEP SHOUTING. >> WE spread out into a line and we continued to make as much noise and try to encourage him to shout back. Keep shouting. Hello. Seemed to take an age to actually get to him. >> Ken going on control. Ken go control. This is Ken going Brian. Over it. Go ahead. >> That's us on location with the casualty over it. >> You're with the casualty. >> Correct. Hello. >> Hi. >> You're welcome. Are you all right? >> Oh, very cold. >> Yeah, you've done well. >> Hi. >> Lots of masks. >> We're going to get you into a bag, try and get you some dry layers on, and then we're going to just march you. Get you a bit warmer. Ian said to him, "We're going to march you off the hill very quickly after we arrived." >> Tony and Ian, just jump inside here. >> There's a huge sense of relief where we find Tony knowing that we can now focus on getting him off the hill rather than searching for him. >> Just hunker down. You can sit in my bag. >> Everything Tony had on was soaked through and he was shivering uncontrollably. Shivering is a way of the body keeping itself warm. So his body was still trying to generate some heat for him and he was quite lucky that we found him when we did. >> Just going to get you in a jacket. >> What time did you set out today? >> About 2:00. >> Okay. Have you had something to eat recently? >> Uh about 4 hours ago. >> Okay. I've got a few bars. You allege it to anything? >> No. >> No. >> Tony was lucky that he called at the point he did. I think had he been much longer out in the hill, it could have been a very different situation. So that's the guys. >> Hi, radio control. >> I've radioed here. Can you just give them an update to say casualties? Cold, but he's got no injuries and he's just going to have a bite to eat and we'll try and get him moving soon. >> Branch bar. >> Yeah. >> Okay. What's your stage for? Is he in good shape or >> He's in good shape. Okay, that was a compliment. >> You go >> the rest of the gang. >> Hey, thanks. >> Thank you for coming, huh? >> That's okay. We were coming up the way, so half an hour from you. >> Come to the mountains to enjoy them, but just be prepared for any changing conditions that you might encounter. This was an example of somebody who'd underestimated the route that they had intended to take um and then suddenly finding themselves quite vulnerable and lost in the mountains. It's hard and it's horrible being sat in the dark not knowing not knowing And when you know it's it's real lucky to have people that will come and and put themselves on the line for you. And they were all fantastic and and and um and chatty and good spirits and yeah lovely guys and girls um and doing a fantastic job. Will I be riding again? Yes, I will. Will it put me off? No. Has it taught me a lesson? Yes. Heat. Heat.