Satphone cash gift offers Wester Ross voluneers a lifeline in the mountains

A WESTER Ross mountain rescue team of volunteers whose massive patch takes in 6700 square kilometres has been handed a potential lifeline to assist its tough task.

Thanks to a grant from the Scottish Mountaineering Trust (SMT), Dundonnell Mountain Rescue Team (DMRT) is going to be able to buy satellite phones to assist its work.

The team, which comprises some 35 volunteers, covers the equivalent of nine per cent of Scotland.

This includes some very remote areas where mobile telephone reception is either non-existent or of very poor quality.

Locations affected, where the team has recently undertaken rescues include the popular hill-going areas around Shenavall bothy and Loch Monar. Until now, the team has had no way of establishing communications in these areas without dispatching members to nearby mountain ridges or tops to either attempt to gain mobile phone coverage or to act as relays using the team's VHF handset system.

Often this is either impractical or undesirable due to weather conditions.

Team leader, Donald MacRae, said: "This £4000 grant from SMT to buy satphones will provide reliable communications in comms ‘blackspot’ areas. Amongst other benefits, this will improve the safety of team members, save time, improve on-scene information gathering and planning and increase the likelihood of a successful outcome."

James Hotchkis, secretary of the SMT, said: “Our trust provides grants to projects that encourage and improve the public's enjoyment of the mountainous regions of Scotland, so we were delighted to be able to assist DMRT with the purchase of this equipment."

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