Recent News
Charlie Macleod - Distinguished Service Award
Scottish Mountain Rescue presented a Distinguished Service Award to Charlie MacLeod of Assynt Mountain Rescue Team and SARDA for his tireless dedication to the teams over the years.
Charlie joined Assynt Mountain Rescue team in October 2009, having met the team while he raised funds for Alzheimers and AMRT at a sponsored Ben More Assynt walk in June that year.
He saw the chance to combine not only his love of the outdoors and adventure, his medical and mountaineering skills, but also the ability to work in a team to help people. He quickly realised this was for him, and joined SARDA, with his first dog Molly being fully trained in 2011 and then qualifying with his young dog Freya.
Charlie has been Training Officer for the team since 2013, and also took on a short role as Deputy Team Leader for 1 year. His time as training officer spans three Team Leaderships.
Charlie’s contribution to the team and mountain rescue over the last 14 years has been tireless. As training officer he has passed on his skills, and particular interests in avalanche risks, to the many team members over the years, keeping training both relevant, practical and interesting. This has built the team both in technical skills but also as a team. He has also been a SARDA trainer, and in his spare time supported the local community by taking many people out climbing, or setting new routes on his local sea cliffs in Caithness.
His skills and dedication have seen him respond to many call outs, as a team member or dog handler, undertaking numerous multi-day searches going above and beyond to bring loved ones home, across all of Scotland. So many times he and Molly have been the ‘last ones off’ the hill, determined to find a missing person. Or he has suggested new search areas, or possible scenarios for missing people.
More widely he has shared his experience within the Mountain Rescue community, providing expertise and support at the Lake District SARDA and Mountain Rescue England and Wales winter/avalanche training. This respect for his skills is recognised internationally as he has developed relationships with the Norwegian counterparts, and more recently his involvement in ICAR in 2022, returning with new ideas and learning to share with Scottish colleagues. Charlie is well known and respected across the mountaineering and search and rescue communities. He is a distinguished man who has selflessly put his time to helping others, and serving the mountaineering community of Scotland.
November 2023
HH Sponsorship deal
Working together with Mountain Rescue England and Wales, and Scottish Mountain Rescue, Helly Hansen has signed partnerships with four new teams from across the UK: Assynt and Arrochar in Scotland, North of Tyne in England, and Western Beacons in Wales.
Helly Hansen and the new teams have one common goal: to save lives in the mountains. In support of this goal, Helly Hansen has developed a bespoke best-in-class Mountain Rescue Responder Uniform with the aim of protecting the Mountain Rescue volunteers against the UK’s unique temperate weather conditions and varied landscapes. In addition, Helly Hansen will be working with each team and their volunteers to educate outdoor enthusiasts on mountain safety.
Sept 2021
SARAA Drone
We now have SARAA (Search & Rescue Aerial Association) capability within the team, and we're strengthening this capability with 6 other team members undergoing training.
SARAA drones allow us to search areas that are difficult to see or reach easily by traditional search methods, which can increase searches speeds tremendously. The drones are equipped with night vision and infra red among many other assets.
June 2021
Assynt Team Leader
Tim Hamlet stepped up from deputy leader, to replace Sue Agnew, as Assynt's new team leader in early 2021. It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it!
