One of Scotland’s best-known mountain rescue teams has launched a crowdfunder to help it build a desperately-needed new base.
Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team’s proposal to extend its current home was recently approved by Highland Council planners.
A significant chunk of the cost for this is being met from cash the team already has.
But it needs another £100,000 to finish the job.
When its current rescue centre was opened in 1999 by King Charles, the rescue team was dealing with around 35 callouts a year.
In 2023, there were more than 90.
‘We have been busier than ever’
“We need your help,” said deputy team leader Brian Bathurst.
“Over the last couple of years we have invested in technology such as drones and specialist vehicles allowing us to reach casualties quicker.
“We have been busier than ever and are often conducting long and involved searches.
“The result is we have outgrown our base and we need your help to extend it to meet our current and predicted future needs.”
The team was formed in 1961 and for decades its equipment and vehicles were stored around the village in volunteers’ houses.
That meant that the rescue centre’s opening was a huge step forward for them.
But nowadays, its vehicles and trailers are packed so tightly in its garages that they need to be shuffled around before they are deployed.
What are the expansion plans?
The proposed expansion will include a new garage, allowing the team easy access to the vehicles in an emergency.
The main garage will also be extended and its doors widened to make more room for larger, more modern vans.
Its drying room will be made bigger to accommodate equipment from multiple rescues.
Crews are regularly called out three or four times in a single weekend when the weather is bad.
The main training and meeting space will be moved into a newly-formed first floor space.
That means its entire team of 35 will be able to attend training at the same time. And it will be able to host the 50 or more rescuers regularly involved in multi-agency searches.
There will also be a dedicated quiet space for the friends and family of people that are the focus of the team’s rescue missions.
Finally, a storage area for battery-operated equipment is also included.
There has been a huge rise in the use of technology like drones during searches in recent years.
How to help Glencoe mountain rescue team
Within three hours of going live, the crowdfunder had already raised more than £2,000 from around 50 different supporters.
There is still a long way to go.
But the huge amount of goodwill from the selfless work the team has done over a period of decades means it’s likely there will be a lot of people willing to dig deep for them.
Mr Bathurst added: “We believe this extension will improve the service that we can provide and best serve all who enjoy our hills for the next 25 years or more.
“The layout and build process has also been designed specifically to allow us to remain fully operational throughout construction.”
The Glencoe team was set up by famous mountaineer and adventurer Hamish MacInnes.
He led the team for 30 years, becoming internationally renowned as a rescue expert along the way.
Conversation