Meet Our Supporters – Ryan & The Great Outdoors Challenge
Meet Our Supporters – Ryan & The Great Outdoors Challenge
Earlier in the summer, Ryan Dunn completed The Great Outdoors Challenge to raise money for Scottish Mountain Rescue (SMR) and Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team.
Ryan had an amazing experience on The Great Outdoors Challenge, and described it as “a fantastic way to explore the country.” He traversed Scotland, from Mallaig in the West to St Cyrus in the East over just 13 days, and was very lucky with the weather; only needing his waterproofs a handful of times! We are incredibly grateful to Ryan, and delighted to hear that fundraising for SMR and Glencoe MRT provided the motivation for him to keep going through the tougher days.
With generous donations from his friends and family, Ryan has raised over £1300 in support of Mountain Rescue volunteers, for which we are all hugely grateful.
We got in touch with Ryan before his walk began back at the start of the summer to hear all about him and why he chose to fundraise for Mountain Rescue.
Ryan writes:
My name’s Ryan Dunn, I’m a 22 year old social care worker from Dundee. I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors, often doing for walks with my Grandparents and long drives in the Highlands when I was a child.
As a teenager I never got out to the Highlands as much as I liked, but during the Covid 19 pandemic myself and my brother started getting out there more.
We enjoyed wild camping and started climbing munros and soon caught the “Munro bagging bug”. Glencoe was somewhere we enjoyed driving through as children, but somewhere we had never camped or done any real walking, so me, my brother Kian and my friend Kenny planned a wild camp in The Lost Valley (Coire Gabhail).
Image: Ryan and his brother Kian
Ryan has himself been supported by mountain rescue volunteers in the past, when Glencoe Mountain Rescue came to his aid.
(a brief note here: Scottish Mountain Rescue represents 25 of the 28 Mountain Rescue teams in Scotland. All the 28 teams are also independent charities in their own right, but we provide support and distribute funds to the 25 teams that are members of Scottish Mountain Rescue.
Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team are one of the three teams who are not members of Scottish Mountain Rescue. Glencoe Mountain Rescue are currently fundraising for a new base. You can donate to the team’s Crowdfunder here).
Ryan chose to support both Glencoe Mountain Rescue and Scottish Mountain Rescue with his fundraising, for which all parties are very grateful.
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We asked Ryan about his experience with Mountain Rescue…
Ryan’s Rescue Story
It was 26th of April 2021. It was a bluebird day and must have been the hottest day of the year so far. We couldn’t have gotten a better day for our planned trip to the Lost Valley.
Me, my twin brother Kian and my friend Kenny arrived at the Three Sisters car park and soon headed up the trail to the Lost Valley. After an hour or so we arrived at the flat corrie floor and pitched our tents, cracked open a couple of cans of cider and relaxed after the hike in the hot sun.
After relaxing, we went on a walk to explore the Valley. We ascended up the hill path a little to get a view from above but soon descended back down to explore more of the valley, given that we had planned to do the 2 Munros the next day. We started walking around a small wooded area just behind where we had pitched our tents.
“I soon explained to my brother and friend that I felt funny and I had to sit down. No sooner had I said this than I fell to the ground and began having a prolonged seizure.”
I have had no seizures previous to this, which just goes to show that literally anything can happen, and the need to be prepared.
Once my brother and friend realised what was happening, Kenny stayed with me while my brother went to seek help. Luckily the only other person camping nearby happened to be a doctor. The doctor came to my aid while my brother tried to call for rescue.
Unfortunately, my brother was unable to call for rescue from the Lost Valley as there was no signal, so he ran down towards the road in the hope that he could find signal there. On reaching the car park, Kian called for help, relaying our position to the call handler on the phone.
After around 30 minutes the Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team arrived at the car park. They spoke to Kian and made their way up to the Lost Valley.
Soon after I was reached by Glencoe Mountain Rescue, the Rescue Helicopter arrived. I was supported into the stretcher and flown to Belford Hospital in Fort William.
The Mountain Rescue volunteers spoke to my brother and friend, and guided them with what to do next. They helped pack up our camping equipment and make their way off the hill.
I have no recollection of the rescue or even the day leading up to what happened, so when I woke up in a hospital bed it was a fair shock. For my brother and my friend, this was a scary experience as it was their first time calling for Mountain Rescue and they were unsure at first what to do.
After the rescue
I was later transferred to Glasgow Queen Elizabeth Hospital. I recovered there for a couple days before I was released in good health.
This may have been a different story if it wasn’t for the quick thinking of my brother and friend, and for the quick response from the Mountain Rescue Team. As I couldn’t remember what happened, I struggled to come to terms with the incident. I had to piece together the events based on what my brother and friend had seen.
Image: Ryan and Kian continue to enjoy the outdoors, exploring the many open-access bothies
Well done to Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team for successfully rescuing Ryan, and thank you to Ryan for sharing the story of his rescue. As Ryan says;
“[it] just goes to show that literally anything can happen, and the need to be prepared.”
If you’re ever in need of assistance in the hills or outdoor spaces, CALL 999, Ask for the POLICE, then Mountain Rescue.
We’re very grateful to Ryan for his incredible fundraising efforts on The Great Outdoor Challenge. The huge amount he raised will support Mountain Rescue volunteers throughout Scotland with the training, equipment and operational assistance they need to save lives outdoors. Thank you, Ryan! We hope you’re really proud.