What made the Team Leader of Edale Mountain Rescue Team (EMRT) smitten with Kinder Scout? Find out by listening to this interview with Dave Torr who describes his first encounter. You’ll also hear about how he got involved with EMRT, what types of incidents they usually deal with on Kinder, and why he chooses to dedicate his time to this volunteer service. At the end he describes what makes him wild about Kinder Scout. While listening, you can experience atmospheric background sounds recorded from the area - headphones will be best for this.

Dave Torr became a trainee member of Edale Mountain Rescue Team in 2010, and was appointed team leader in March 2020. Prior to this, he worked for BT as a Senior Technician. In addition to his outdoor interests - which have included caving, climbing, walking, fell running and mountain biking - Dave taught Jiu Jitsu for 20 years as a 4th dan. In recent years, he has become a keen student of the history and archaeology of the Peak District’s Eastern Moors. He writes a blog on the history and archaeology of this area and runs a private Facebook group, "Big Moor Society'' which covers mainly the area of Big Moor on the eastern edges of the Peak District.

Timestamps

[0:00] - [0:58] Intro

[0:59] - [2:49] Why did you choose this as our location?

[2:50] - [7:06] What was it that first brought you to Kinder Scout and how was that first experience?

[7:07] - [9:24] What was it that made you feel smitten with Kinder Scout?

[9:25] - [12:00] What role has this place played in your life?

[12:01] - [15:21] Why did you initially get involved with Edale Mountain Rescue?

[15:22] - [17:36] What was the training and assessment like?

[17:37] - [18:24] Was there a very long gap between the idea of volunteering and actually doing it?

[18:25] - [20:30] Now that you’re a few years in, has it been as you expected it to be?

[20:31] - [26:24] What are your responsibilities now as team leader?

[26:25] - [29:23] What is it that makes you want to spend part of your retirement doing this?

[29:24] - [30:40] How do you deal with the sadder side of things?

[30:41] - [35:00] What sorts of challenges do people encounter on Kinder Scout?

[35:01] - [39:28] Do you quite like that it’s a volunteer service?

[39:29] - [41:27]Is it a good strong relationship between the teams?

[41:28] - [42:14] Is funding pretty good at the moment? 

[42:15] - [45:58] When do you decide to call in a helicopter?

[45:59] - [47:25] Are you in communication with the helicopters?

[47:26] - [52:20] Have you had formal training for navigation?

[52:21] - [53:35] Can you please share what it is that makes you wild about Kinder Scout?

Recording date

This interview was recorded on Kinder Scout on 20th December 2021.

Host & Production

Host - Sarah Lister, About The Adventure

Lead editor - Gabby Wolstenholme, The Northern Project

Coediter and art designer - Alec Boyd, The Northern Project

Supported by Peak District National Park

This project is supported by the Peak District National Park Communities Small Grants Scheme.

Links

Edale Mountain Rescue Team website

Mountain Rescue Website

Peak District National Park 70 People 70 Years interview

Eastern Moors History and Archaeology - blog by Dave Torr

References

Edale Moorland Centre

Edale Society

James Thacker

Nine Edges challenge

Kinder Scout trespass

Air ambulance

Contact the host

You can email [email protected] to send in your comments and suggestions.

Get involved with the conversation

Share your thoughts by tagging @about.the.adventure and @peakdistrictnationalpark on Instagram @ABTheAdventure and @peakdistrict on Twitter, with the hashtag #WildAboutKinder.