RAF Valley Mountain Rescue Team train in Scotland for their annual Winter training week 09022023 CREDIT MOD Crown Copyright.jpg — RAF Valley Mountain Rescue Team train in Scotland (Picture: MOD).

RAF Valley Mountain Rescue Team trainining in Scotland for their annual Winter training week 09022023 CREDIT MOD Crown Copyright.jpg — Troops carry out avalanche rescue techniques, probing then using snow anchors to lower the simulated casualty to safety (Picture: MOD).

Winter training week is conducted by all three RAF Mountain Rescue Teams 09022023 CREDIT MOD Crown Copyright.jpg — Winter training week is conducted by all three RAF Mountain Rescue Teams (Picture: MOD).

RAF Valley Mountain Rescue Teams train in Scotland for their annual Winter training week 09022023 CREDIT MOD Crown Copyright.jpg — Winter skills are introduced to new troops and advanced skills are consolidated for more experienced members (Picture: MOD).

RAF Valley Mountain Rescue Team conduct trainining in Scotland 09022023 CREDIT MOD Crown Copyright.jpg — RAF Valley Mountain Rescue Team train in Scotland for their annual winter training week (Picture: MOD).

RAF Valley Mountain Rescue Team take part in annual training in Scotland 09022023 CREDIT MOD Crown Copyright.jpg — The service was born out of a wartime necessity to save the lives of downed aircrew in the mountainous regions of the UK (Picture: MOD).

RAF Valley Mountain Rescue Teams conduct trainining in Scotland 09022023 CREDIT MOD Crown Copyright.jpg — The RAF MRS was formed in 1943, and since then has sustained a high readiness capability for search and rescue (Picture: MOD).

RAF Valley Mountain Rescue Teams conducted trainining in Scotland 09022023 CREDIT MOD Crown Copyright.jpg — Winter training week is conducted by all three RAF MRTs – RAF Leeming, RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Valley (Picture: MOD).

RAF Valley Mountain Rescue Teams took part in annual training in Scotland 09022023 CREDIT MOD Crown Copyright.jpg — Winter skills are introduced to new troops and advanced skills are consolidated for more experienced members (Picture: MOD).

RAF Valley Mountain Rescue Teams trained in Scotland for their annual Winter training week 09022023 CREDIT MOD Crown Copyright.jpg — RAF Valley Mountain Rescue Team train in Scotland for their annual winter training week (Picture: MOD).

RAF

In pictures: RAF Mountain Rescue teams conduct annual winter training in Scotland

RAF Valley MRT (Mountain Rescue Team) took to the icy Scottish mountains for their annual RAF MRS (Mountain Rescue Service) winter training week.

All three RAF MRTs (RAF Leeming MRT, RAF Lossiemouth MRT and RAF Valley MRT) take part in the winter training week which aims to introduce winter skills to new troops and consolidate advanced skills for the more experienced.

Troops carried out avalanche rescue techniques, such as probing, and then used snow anchors to lower the simulated casualty to safety in the Cairngorms National Park.

The RAF Mountain Rescue Service was formed in 1943, and since then has sustained a high readiness capability for search and rescue (SAR) and aircraft post-crash management operations.

During the training, a party of troops hiked up to Aonach air' Chrith on the Glen Shiel south ridge, near Fort William, to conduct a winter gully scramble that aimed to improve their skills to move safely and expertly on the technical ground to reach downed aircrew on operations.

The service was born out of a wartime necessity to save the lives of downed aircrew in the mountainous regions of the UK.

In January, Keswick Mountain Rescue thanked the RAF personnel for their support in saving two walkers during their first callout of 2023 – less than an hour into the new year.