STATISTICS

REPORT Volunteering

2023
to save lives

Jessica Steinemann
& Andy Morgan
April 2024
Image © Kintail MRT
 PREFACE
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Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023

This Annual Statistical Report is a supplement

to the Scottish Mountain Rescue Review 2023.
For more information on Scottish Mountain

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MR
Rescue and our member teams visit:
www.scottishmountainrescue.org

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This report includes data gathered from the 25

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civilian member teams as well as three Police
Scotland MRTs.

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Scottish Mountain Rescue are proud to
represent our member teams.
Compiled by Jessica Steinemann
(Arrochar MRT;
[email protected])
and Andy Morgan (Scottish Cave Rescue
Organisation;
[email protected]).
Scottish Mountain Rescue is a registered
Scottish Charity, No. SC045003.

Image ©Braemar MRT

INTRODUCTION

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Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023
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Mountain Rescue in Scotland is • Aberdeen MRT

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coordinated by Police Scotland. • Arran MRT
Police Scotland receive the initial
callout through the 999 system and, if • Arrochar MRT
appropriate, contact the local Mountain • Assynt MRT
Rescue Team (MRT). Each MRT is an
• Borders SAR Unit
independent organisation who submit
their reports to the Statistician of • Braemar MRT
Scottish Mountain Rescue (SMR), the • Dundonnell MRT
representative body for the majority of
MRTs in Scotland. • Galloway MRT
There are 28 voluntary civilian Mountain • Glenelg MRT
Rescue Teams in Scotland, of which • Glenmore Lodge MRT
25 are members of Scottish Mountain
• Hebrides MRT
Rescue. This report for 2023 is compiled
from information received from the 25 • Killin MRT
civilian and 3 Police Scotland teams that • Kintail MRT
were members of Scottish Mountain
Rescue in 2023. These teams are listed • Lomond MRT
to the right. • Moffat MRT
This annual report covers the calendar • Oban MRT
year from 1st of January to 31st • Ochils MRT
December 2023.
• Skye MRT
Important Note: This report does not • Tayside MRT
include incidents from non-member
teams, except where SMR teams have • Torridon MRT
assisted these teams. • Tweed Valley MRT
This complicates direct comparison of • Scottish Cave Rescue Organisation
numbers with those from previous years. • Search and Rescue Dog Association
(Membership has been consistent since (SARDA) (Scotland)
2016 with one team rejoining in 2021)
• Search and Rescue Dog Association
Comparison of key figures with those (SARDA) (Southern Scotland)
from previous years are provided where • Search and Rescue Aerial Association
this is considered helpful. (SARAA-Scotland)
• Police Scotland (Grampian) MRT
• Police Scotland (Strathclyde) MRT
• Police Scotland (Tayside) MRT
 MAP OF 2023
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INCIDENTS
Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023

Overview map of incidents.

All incidents undertaken
by SMR teams.

Count
Incident location

Multi incident hotspot

 |
OVERVIEW:

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Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023
INCIDENTS, CALL-OUTS AND HOURS
Number of incidents
The total number of independent
incidents in 2023 was 572.
Of these, 319 (56%) were related to
572
Total number of independent incidents.
mountaineering (this includes hillwalking,

319(56%)
scrambling, rock climbing and winter
climbing).
The total number of separate team
activations or “call-outs” was 870, or 976 Incidents related to mountaineering.
including “continuations” (linked call-outs
on different days).
This is an average of 2.7 per day,
including continuations. There were
callouts on 278 days of 2023, and on the
busiest day (Friday 8th September 2023)
870
Total number of team call-outs.

there were 12 activations of teams.

Hours
Mountain rescue team members gave
278
Days where at least one
up 32,762 hours of their time during team was called out.
call-outs. In addition to this, each of the

32,762
more than 850 individual team members
will spend dozens of hours each year
on training activities, and most are also
regularly involved in the day-to-day
running of their teams, each of which is Hours of time given by volunteers.
a charity in its own right.

People helped
During 2023, 677 people were assisted.
677
People were assisted.
2 incidents involved the rescue of dogs,
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and 7 incidents the rescue of sheep.

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There were 41 fatalities, 7 of which

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occurred in mountaineering incidents.

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 TRENDS OVER TIME
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Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023

Total number of hours spent by

Trends over time SMR civilian rescue teams.
Although the number of unique mountain
rescue incidents decreased by 10% Year Callouts Hours
from 636 in 2022 to 572 in 2023, 2023 2005 372 15,399
was a record year in terms of the total
number of callouts across both Police 2006 396 15,263
Scotland and civilian teams, including 2007 463 17,487
continuations (up 7.7% from 2022). As
the analysis of multi-day and multi-team 2008 455 14,150
incidents in the report shows, some of 2009 548 22,483
these unique incidents triggered complex 2010 501 17,663
missing person searches, explaining
the upwards trend in callouts despite a 2011 504 14,272
reduction in unique incidents. Civilian 2012 532 21,242
teams also spent nearly the same
number of hours on callouts in 2023 as in 2013 540 19,361
the record year for hours of 2021. 2014 472 15,141
These figures sit within an overall trend 2015 575 23,396
of increasing callout numbers and total
2016 562 19,115
number of hours spent over recent years.
2017 466 16,439
2018 563 23,209
2019 534 22,191
2020 480 19,457
2021 698 25,653
2022 709 24,545
2023 716 25,453
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 Image © Assynt MRT

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Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023
Call-outs (civilian teams)
800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023

Hours (civilian teams)

30K

25K

20K

15K

10K

5K

2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023

Image ©G. Penny. Tayside MRT

 DATA
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TYPES OF INCIDENT
Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023

Mountain Rescue Teams are asked to

respond to a variety of incident types.
The breakdown by primary type is
shown below.

572
Count
Rescue 183
Search and Rescue 155
Total number of independent incidents
Search 81
Medical Emergency 59
Police Investigation 23
Body Recovery 22
False Alarm 12
Animal Rescue 9
Other 7
Technical Rescue 5
Civil resilience 5
Search (water) 3
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Water Rescue 2
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Not Recorded 6
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Total 572
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 | 9 | Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023
Image © Aberdeen MRT
 MOUNTAINEERING
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INCIDENTS
Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023

All incidents involving Scottish Mountain Cause and conditions

Rescue Teams are reported in two broad The factors leading to mountaineering
categories, Mountaineering and Non- incidents (as described by the casualty
Mountaineering. or witnesses, or determined by the
Since 2010, this classification is based rescue team) are listed in the table
on the activity being undertaken. below. Incidents may have more than
“Mountaineering” includes Climbing or one contributing factor.
Hillwalking in both Summer and Winter,
as well as scrambling.
Count
In 2023 there were 319
“mountaineering” incidents, in which Slip/Trip 116
387 people were assisted. Lost 45
Navigation Error 39
Count %
Fall 39
Hillwalking (Summer) 222 70
Overdue 28
Hillwalking (Winter) 85 27
Missing Kit 26
Rock Climbing 11 3 Medical 22
Scrambling 1 <1 Crag-fast 18

Snow/Ice Climbing 0 0 Technology Reliance 12

Total 319 100 Reported Missing 12

Food 9
Benighted 7
Weather-bound 7
Separated 6
Tiredness 6
Experience 5
Rockfall 4
False Alarm 4
Kit Failure 4
Hillwalking (Summer) 70% River Crossing 2
Hillwalking (Winter) 27%
Fitness 2
Rock Climbing 3%
Mental Health 1
 Image © Dundonnell MRT

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Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023
Where available, the weather conditions
recorded at the time of the incident are Count
detailed below. Most incidents occurred
Fine 140
during fine weather (note that each
incident may have more than one type Cloudy 55
of weather recorded).
Dark 41
Rain 38

319
Freezing 33
Windy 26
Hot 17

Total number of mountaineering Snowing 13

incidents Blizzard 5
Storm 4
Lightning 2
140 Thawing 2

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
Fine

Cloudy

Dark

Rain

Freezing

Windy

Hot

Snowing

Blizzard

Storm

Lightning

Thawing
 MOUNTAINEERING
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INCIDENTS
Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023

Where available, the terrain in the locality

of the incident is detailed below. It can be
seen that most incidents occurred near a
path of some sort, often involving steep
ground (note that each incident may have
more than one terrain classification).

Count

Path 115

Grass 90

Steep Ground 80

Heather 64

Rock 61

Loose 36

Snow 32

Forest 18

Vehicle Track 18

Scree 15

Bog 13

Ice 13

River 4

Other Water 4

Coast 3

Image © Braemar MRT

 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Path

Grass

Steep Ground

Heather

Rock

Loose

Snow

Forest

Vehicle Track

Scree

Bog

Ice

River

Other water
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Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023 | 13 |

 INJURY INJURY
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TYPES SITE
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Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023

100 of the people assisted in Casualties generally have a single (or no)
mountaineering incidents (26%) had at least injury site recorded.
one injury recorded.
Casualties may have more than a single
Count %
injury type recorded (though this may be
“multiple”). The breakdown of injury types is Ankle 49 39
given below.
Lower Leg 23 18

Count Head 15 12

Fracture 69 Knee 11 9

Sprains 17 Chest 5 4

Bruising 8 Thigh 4 3

Other 8 Wrist 4 3

Laceration 7 Pelvis 3 2

Hypothermia 6 Shoulder 3 2

Multiple 6 Abdomen 2 2

Heart 5 Foot 2 2

Hypothermia 5 Lower Arm 2 2

Illness 3 Back 1 <1

Minor Cuts 2 Spinal 1 <1

Asthma 1 Hand 1 <1

Drowning 1 Total 126 100%

Total 138
Due to rounding, percentage values in the
table may not add up to 100%.
26 %

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Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023
Head 12%
Of people assisted had
an injury recorded.

Shoulder 2%

Chest 4%

Back <1%

Spinal <1%

Abdomen 2%
Lower Arm 2%

Wrist 3%
Pelvis 2%

Hand <1%

Thigh 3%

Knee 9%

Lower Leg 18%

Ankle 39%

Foot 2%
 DEMOGRAPHICS
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Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023

Gender Age
Gender of people assisted. Age was recorded for 242 mountaineers.
The most frequently rescued age category
Gender Count was 26-35 years, although this may simply
reflect that certain age groups go out into
Male 140 the hills more frequently than others.
Female 160
Unspecified 87 Age Range Count %
0-16 7 3
Nationality
17-25 34 14
Nationality was recorded for 193 of the
assisted mountaineers. Mountaineers 26-35 59 24
rescued had 13 different nationalities.
36-45 41 17
Country Count
46-55 32 13
United Kingdom 167
56-65 36 15
United States of America 9
Germany 7 66-75 25 10
France 4 76+ 8 3
Ireland 1
India 1 Due to rounding, percentage values in the
table may not add up to 100%.
Norway 1
Poland 1
Portugal 1
Thailand 1
60
Austria 1
Belgium 1 50
Italy 1
40
British Nationality
The breakdown for British mountaineers 30
(where the specific country they were from
was recorded) is shown below. 20

Nation Count 10
Scotland 120
0
England 13
0-16
17-25
26-35
36-45
46-55
56-65
66-75
76+

Northern Ireland 1
Wales 1 Age (years)
TIMING OF INCIDENTS

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Image © Kintail MRT

Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023

The busiest period for teams is
generally during the summer months.
Both mountaineering and non-
mountaineering incidents (see later
section) increase during the summer.
The busiest day of the week for teams
from mountaineering incidents tends to
be a Saturday or Sunday.

Month Count %
January 25 8
February 17 5 60
March 19 6
50
April 33 10
May 44 14
40
June 34 11
July 24 8 30
August 42 13
September 39 12 20

October 16 5
10
November 16 5
December 10 3
May

Aug

Nov
Dec
Sep
Mar
Feb

Jun
Jan

Total 319 100%

Oct
Apr

Jul

70
Weekday Count %
60
Monday 35 11
Tuesday 37 12 50
Wednesday 28 8 40
Thursday 43 13
30
Friday 45 14
Saturday 69 22 20

Sunday 62 19 10
Total 319 100%
Fri
Wed
Tues

Sat
Mon

Thurs

Sun

Due to rounding, percentage values in

tables may not add up to 100%.
 NON-MOUNTAINEERING
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INCIDENTS
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Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023

Mountain Rescue Teams grew locally as a Causes

result of a need in their community. Over Factors leading to incidents are recorded
time, the needs of the community change, by teams. Each incident may have several
and with it the capabilities of the MRTs to contributing factors. The most frequent
respond to these needs. Throughout the specific cause of a non-mountaineering
period, teams continued to respond to call-out was reported missing.
a wide variety of calls for help and their
activity is recorded in this section.
Count
Teams were engaged in 253 incidents
supporting the community. More than Reported Missing 62
one activity can be recorded against an
Mental Health 49
incident.
Slip/Trip 30
Activity
Fall 22
The activity or activities leading to these
incidents was recorded in 215 cases. Medical 18
Lost 16
Count Weather-Bound 8
Missing Person 55 Navigation Error 7
Rural Walking 49 River Crossing 6
Mountain Biking 28 Crag-fast 5
Mental Health 28 False Alarm 4
Running 10
Experience 3
Motor Vehicle 7
Separated 2
Police Investigation 7
Tiredness 2
Swimming 5
Overdue 2
Canoeing/Kayaking/Rafting 4
Working 4 Benighted 1
Canyoning 3 Food 1
Civil Resilience 3
Skiing 3
Air Sport 2
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Fishing 1
 TIMING

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Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023

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In 2023, the busiest day of the week for
teams for non-mountaineering incidents

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was Saturday, whereas the busiest month
was October.
40

35

30

25
Incident count

20

15

10

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

50

45

40

35

30
Incident count

25

20

15

10

0
Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun

Due to rounding, percentage values in the

table may not add up to 100%.
 ALL INCIDENT TYPES
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Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023

Joint working Helicopter usage

(all incident types) MRTs work closely with helicopter
Mountain Rescue Teams are called services across the country.
out by and work closely with Police
Scotland to resolve every incident. In Helicopters were recorded as attending
6% of incidents, teams worked closely 159 incidents. The number of activations
with a number of other partner agencies of specific aircraft is detailed below (176
(in addition to helicopters, which are in total; some incidents were attended
covered in the next table). Please note by more than one aircraft).
that some incidents had more than one
partner agency recorded.
Count

Count Rescue 199 55

Scottish Ambulance Rescue 151 48

Service Special Operations 13 Helimed 31
Response Team
Rescue 948 31
RAF MRT 5
Police 9
Loch Lomond Rescue Boat 3
Rescue 152 1
Police Search Teams
3
(NOT Police MR) Rescue 900 1
Northumberland Mountain Rescue 2 Helicopters performed a number of
roles in assisting teams. In many cases
Police Dive/Marine Unit 2
aircraft performed more than one role
Royal Lifeboat Institution/ (while in some instances the helicopter
2 was unable - or not required - to
Kyle Lifeboat
perform any of these roles).
Borders Water Rescue Team 1
Count
Cockermouth Mountain Rescue 1
Evacuation 91
Medic One 1
Search 79
Nith Inshore Rescue 1
Rescue 62
SARDA Lakes 1
Transport 52
Scottish Charity Air Ambulance 1
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Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023

Multi-day incidents Police areas
26 incidents lasted more than one day.
These are summarised below. Name Count

25 Highlands & Islands 156

20
Forth Valley 86
15
Tayside 83
Count

10
Argyll & West Dunbartonshire 67
5
Lothians & Borders 51
0
2 3 4 5 15 Aberdeenshire and Moray 48
No. of days
Ayrshire 31
Days Count Dumfries & Galloway 25
2 26 Edinburgh 6
3 10 None 6
4 5 Fife 5
5 4 Glasgow 5
15 1 Lanarkshire 2

Multiple teams working Aberdeen 1

together

Number of Count
Teams
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3 38
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6 1
8 1
 Image © Tayside MRT and Police Sco

NO OF
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CALL-OUTS AND
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Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023

HOURS BY TEAM
Incidents Hours
Aberdeen 12 568
Arran 26 810
Arrochar 36 1,484
Assynt 17 437
Borders 16 844
Braemar 36 978
Dundonnell 23 1,038
Galloway 15 815
Glenelg 2 140
HebSAR 11 316
Killin 39 1,482
Kintail 20 710
Lomond 42 1,648
Moffat 22 1,230
Oban 36 1,354
Ochils 24 1,086
Skye 70 2,249
Tayside 95 4,219
Torridon 17 330
Tweed Valley 52 2,282
Police Scotland (Grampian) 45 684
Police Scotland (Strathclyde) 99 3,220
Police Scotland (Tayside) 116 3,405
SARDA (Scotland) 44 920
SARDA (Southern) 40 353
SARAA-Scotland 21 165

Total 976 32,762

Total does not match values in table due

to rounding.
 | 23 | Scottish Mountain Rescue - Statistics Review 2023
otland (Tayside) MRT
 Image © Kintail MRT
Volunteering
to save lives

Footnote
The Scottish Mountain Rescue (SMR)
Incident Statistics and the information
therein, excluding logo(s), may be
reproduced free of charge in any
format or medium for research, private
study or for internal circulation within
an organisation. This is subject to the
information being reproduced accurately
and not used in a misleading context.
The material must be acknowledged
as SMR copyright, and the title of the
publication specified.
All enquires about the content of this
report or any other matter associated
with Incident Reporting should be
directed to Police Scotland on whose
behalf the MR statistical data is held.
Any other enquiry relating to Scottish
Mountain Rescue should be directed to
[email protected]