Regent House of Flowers owner Laura Evison has sent us this amazing story about how a Snowdonia Mountain Rescue Team helped her and her walking group through a nasty situation. Last August, a group of ladies from the Wrexham-based walking group Walkabout Women were out on a Sunday walk up Cnicht in Snowdonia when disaster struck.
Julie, one of the walkers, slipped as she was descending into “The Gully”. Although she was in great pain, the group, luckily had all the necessary things to keep her comfortable.
999 were called, and they patched the team through to the Local Mountain Rescue team at Aberglaslyn. The ladies were asked to wait while the volunteer members met up and came to their rescue.
It felt like forever. Three of Julie’s friends, Ceri, Sadie and Janey, went back to their cars to wait to take Julie to hospital. They did this very reluctantly as it was very hard to see them leave their friend there!
The remaining ladies, Diane, Christina, Amy, Laura and Hetty the dog, waited behind with Julie, keeping spirits high with laughter and stories. After a while, they noticed some red dots approaching in the distance.
The rescue team finally made it to the waiting group but made the decision not to move Julie as they suspected she had broken her ankle and the terrain was too rocky to descend. They decided to contact the Coastguard to airlift Julie to hospital.
They ended up sitting there for a total of three hours. Had the weather been different, things could have been so much worse.
“The Gully” Painting
The team is so grateful to the members of the MRT and Coastguard for helping them that day. This is how “The Gully” painting, which features the moment the MRT arrived, came about. Laura wanted to do something to thank them and remind everyone of the day they came together as a team.
Incidentally, Julie was taken to the hospital and had an operation to repair her ankle and set the bones she broke in two places in her leg. She is back walking, but only on small walks at the moment!
On February 5th, the group went to the MRT HQ in Porthmadog to see the team to thank them and also to present them and Julie with a limited print of The Gully.
They also started a fundraising campaign and have raised an impressive £615 so far, with hopes of raising more.
Everyone will have the chance to win the original painting when it goes into a draw in the late spring. Tickets are £5 each, with all proceeds going to the MRT. Prints are also available on the payment of just £5, which will also go to the MRT.
The campaign’s Just Giving page address is justgiving.com/page/laura-evison-1697717801373
The ladies will make the draw for the painting in late spring when Julie feels confident enough to re-walk the route with a few members of the MRT team.
Laura has pages on Facebook and Twitter called “Laura Evison Artwork”.
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