Mountain Rescue Hero Squad

These wannabe heroes are working together to perform daring rescues.

Over the toughest terrain...

..experiencing the highs...

..and the lows.

There's a new emergency crew in town.

I'm Rav Wilding and this is Hero Squad.

Six ordinary schoolkids.

Their mission? To learn how to save lives.

But do they have what it takes to become real-life heroes?

Last time out, the sky was the limit for the cadets

when they teamed up with London's air ambulance.

All six proved they were real high flyers

when they ably assisted a badly injured builder.

He's fallen from the top there.

And when it came to choosing a Hero of the Day,

it was just too close to call.

All of you.

ALL CHEER

This time, the cadets are heading for the hills.

And after just 24 hours of intensive training,

they'll be facing a rescue

on a scale they've never experienced before.

Two climbers are enjoying a day out on a Welsh mountainside.

They're working their way up a 1,000-metre rock face

when disaster strikes.

One of the climbers loses her footing

and falls onto a ledge below.

She's not only injured, but she's stuck on the side

of one of the tallest mountains in North Wales

and it's down to the cadets to rescue her.

To bring the Hero Squad casualty to safety,

it's going to take a lot of physical and mental effort

and they're going to need a lot of this.

Snowdonia in North Wales.

Home to some of the biggest mountains in Britain.

Millions of visitors come to the area each year

and for many of them, scaling one of these

is at the top of their activity list.

And making sure everyone stays safe is the job

of the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue organisation.

Its team of 45 volunteers is on standby

24 hours a day, seven days a week.

And when an emergency call comes, they drop everything

and put their own lives on the line to save others.

-Good morning, cadets!

-ALL: Morning!

Welcome to North Wales and the next stage of your Hero Squad adventure.

Can anyone guess what you might be doing today?

-Mountain rescue?

-Well, are you ready to meet your mentor and find out?

-ALL: Yes!

-Good morning, cadets!

I am Jim and I am your mentor.

Didn't expect that, did you?

I was really surprised when Jim came down the cliff.

And it was really exciting,

because he came really fast and none of us expected it.

It was really cool when we saw Jim appear,

because he came down like Spiderman.

Jim has been rock-climbing for over 15 years

and in his role as a mountain rescuer,

he's brought countless stranded walkers and climbers to safety.

Being a mountain rescue volunteer is a fantastic opportunity

to join a wonderful team of people who are dedicated to

helping people who are in distress or discomfort.

And we go out and we help save people's lives.

At the mountain rescue headquarters,

it's an Aladdin's cave of equipment.

They've got pretty much everything you can think of

when it comes to mountain rescue work,

from tents...

to torches

and helmets to horns.

Steady on there, Myles!

They also have around three kilometres

of specialist climbing rope in a range of different lengths.

And one cadet who already knows her helmets from her harnesses

is Maria.

I love rock-climbing. I'm not scared of heights,

so I like to sometimes look down and see how high up I am.

It's not necessarily a life skill that you need, but it's great fun.

Maria may be raring to go when it comes to rock-climbing,

but when it comes to rescuing an injured climber

off the side of a mountain,

this is one piece of kit she won't want to be without.

This is a bell stretcher.

They've been in operation with mountain rescue across the country

for well over 30 years.

Pass that down. Just feel the weight of it.

And I'll pass this

down your side...

It looks light, but it's not!

To make it easier to carry,

the stretcher comes in two pieces,

which means a bit of DIY is in order.

Off you go, cadets.

Can you hold the top bit up here?

That's it. That goes there.

Through there...

Well, it's taking all six cadets at the moment

to put this stretcher together, but in reality,

Jim and his team would have to do this with just two or three of them

up the side of a mountain.

And with so much kit to carry,

the team need some seriously reliable all-terrain transport.

And they don't come much more rugged than this.

The Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue team

has two of these bad boys at its disposal.

And the cadets are about to try them out for size.

Hold on tight, guys - this is going to be a bumpy ride!

Your head's bouncing everywhere in different directions.

Sometimes you couldn't see straight.

Definitely the bumpiest ride of my life.

It was turning and jerking and all sorts of things.

That was great! We went through fields and then we ended up

going through a stream. It was so cool.

I think this vehicle

is so important to the mountain rescue service,

because it can get over that terrain really quickly.

It was really, really fun!

The Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue organisation

respond to over 100 call-outs a year.

Every member of the team needs to be a competent mountaineer.

And that includes the new recruits.

Just over here, we've got a fantastic abseil for you.

-You excited?

-ALL: Yeah!

We're going to see who's got a head for heights.

And this is the rock face that the cadets will be training on.

At 15 metres tall,

it's about the same height as three double-decker buses.

This could prove to be a particularly difficult challenge

for one of the cadets.

London girl Kyra may be a whizz on her roller skates...

Sometimes it's really quite nerve-wracking.

You have to have really good balance.

..but when it comes to heights, it's a totally different matter.

Kyra's first experience of being lowered on a rope

was during the urban search and rescue training

and it's fair to say it didn't go too well.

And it doesn't look like she's too confident

about today's challenge either.

First to go over the rock is Josh.

It's a long way up!

Look up. We want a smile.

It's a confident start.

-Well done, Josh!

-Well done, Josh.

Josh hasn't put a foot wrong so far.

Oops! Looks like I spoke a bit too soon!

That's it.

But it's a quick recovery.

And in no time at all, Josh has reached the ground.

Safe!

A little scary moment in the middle there. I saw you slipped,

-but you recovered. What happened?

-My foot just slipped

and hit the flush face, but I didn't take much of an impact,

so I picked it back up and carried on.

And you remembered what you were told by your instructors.

You kept it together and made it safely to the bottom.

-Well done, Josh!

-Thank you.

-Off you go.

Sam's up next.

Let's see how well he does.

Come on, Sam!

Sam, that's fantastic. Well done.

Lean right back into it.

Nice and comfy. Look up.

That's the position, isn't it?

This is really good. He's making it look easy!

You did great, Sam. You made it all the way down. Look how high it is!

-Yeah!

-You did good. Off you go and join Josh.

-Well done, Sam!

-Well done.

Maria's next. Now, she's a keen rock climber. She should find this easy.

Perfect.

-Yeah!

-You've done it before, haven't you?

-Yeah.

Brilliant, Maria! Well done.

-You're down. What do you say?

-Thank you!

-No! Safe?

-Safe, Maria?

-Safe!

-"Thank you"?!

Well done, Maria!

And now it's the moment of truth for Kyra.

For a person who's afraid of heights,

she's done incredibly well even to get this far.

Kyra's at the top.

And I think she's just seen how high this is,

and she seems to be getting quite upset.

Nothing wrong with that.

That is a LONG way up.

So let's see how she gets on.

Jim does his best to reassure Kyra.

What you need to do - just think about it in little steps.

Put a little bit of weight onto the rope.

Focus with what you're doing with your feet.

But she just can't bring herself to go over the edge.

So she heads back to safety,

where Lily is quick to comfort her.

With the Hero Squad rescue less than 24 hours away,

this is a major setback for Kyra.

Tomorrow she's going to be an important part of the team

when they head into the hills to assist an injured climber.

CLIMBER YELLS IN PAIN

The casualty has fallen

and is stranded over 100 metres up.

So it's crucial that Kyra conquers her fear of heights.

Hopefully, the final two cadets will fare a little better

when it comes to their abseil training.

But Lily is no fan of heights either.

How does that feel, Lily?

For someone who doesn't like heights,

she is doing amazingly well.

Fast as you want to. You're doing really well.

And then last but by no means least, it's Myles.

Well done, Myles. Looking good!

I got off to a good start.

I think I did really well.

Congratulations, everyone. How did you find that, cadets?

Great!

Jim, I thought they did extremely well. What about yourself?

Fantastic. No fuss. Got up there, did what you were told

-and you enjoyed it.

-But of course, sometimes there will be situations

where you have to abseil down with a casualty.

And you will have to lower that person down,

possibly with a stretcher.

So we're going to test that.

But we won't be using a human.

We've got something EGGS-tra special.

So let's get cracking!

To really test the cadets, we're putting a handful of eggs

into a clear plastic tube that's been strapped to a rescue stretcher.

The aim is to carefully abseil down the rock face,

keeping as many eggs as intact as possible.

Two cadets are ready to go

and Kyra's one of them. It's great to see.

She's willing to have a go. She's right on the edge now.

We don't want an omelette!

It's an EGGS-tremely tough challenge,

but in a real rescue, the way a casualty is handled

could affect their ability to walk again

or even save their life.

Brilliant team work, you two!

This is perfect, Myles!

This is perfect.

It's a cracking performance from the cadets.

Actually, there was no cracking at all.

All of the eggs have been safely transported over the cliff.

In fact, the only thing that's come out of its shell is Kyra.

She's beaten her earlier fears

and scrambled over the rock face with ease.

I'm really proud. I'm really pleased with myself

at overcoming my fear of coming down the side.

I thought that I'd give it a go and in the end, I really enjoyed it.

It made a big difference having the eggs in the tube,

because it was something to concentrate on

and we had to focus all our attention

on making sure the eggs were safe.

We worked really well as a team.

Yeah, we were an EGGS-traordinary team!

The cadets' training is over.

They now know how to tie the perfect knot.

They've had a hair-raising ride in a 4x4...

..and they've been shown the ropes when it comes to the abseiling.

Nice and comfy. Look up.

Their transformation from cadets to mountain rescuers

is almost complete.

And let's hope they've been paying attention,

because tomorrow they'll need to put all of their training

into practice when they're called on to rescue an injured climber.

You don't have to be in extreme locations

to be part of the Hero Squad.

Head to the CBBC games page now

to find out more.

Jim, you've seen all six cadets today

and we've now got to pick a Squad Leader

for a very, very tough challenge you've set them tomorrow.

What are your thoughts? Any cadets you think have particularly shone?

I think there were three exceptional cadets today.

The first person to catch Jim's eye today was Josh.

Not only has he thrown himself into every challenge,

but he's been quick to offer encouragement

to his fellow cadets too.

This is perfect, Myles!

Myles, on the other hand, has been the strong, silent type.

He's remained focused, kept his concentration

and confidently worked his way through

every element of the training.

And finally, Maria.

With her previous experience of climbing,

she's been a strong candidate from the start.

Safe!

Well done, cadets. How was that?

ALL: Great!

-Good training?

-Yeah.

-Tough, though, right?

-Yeah!

What we're looking for for tomorrow's challenge

is someone that can lead the others.

We think the cadet that should be Squad Leader

for tomorrow's challenge

is...

Myles.

This is your Hero Squad armband.

There you go. That's yours, Myles.

We thought that you need the chance to shine,

to show the others what you can do. All right?

The cadets today have done exceptionally well.

As good as we can expect.

Tomorrow we've got a big day ahead of us,

a big challenge, and it will really test them.

Early the next morning,

and the Hero Squad cadets are busy in the kit room.

When an emergency call comes in,

the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue unit

aim to have a team ready on the road in under 30 minutes,

so it's vital everything is in its place

and good to go.

And the cadet's response time is about to be tested.

A few miles away in a remote part of Snowdonia,

two experienced mountaineers

are enjoying a day out in the hills.

They've reached an altitude of around 100 metres,

which is about the same height as London's Big Ben.

Everything's going well,

when suddenly one of the climbers loses her footing.

SHE YELLS

In just a few seconds,

an enjoyable day's climbing

has turned into a major incident.

-It's my leg - I'm really hurt.

-I'm going to call 999.

I'll get the rescue services here.

The Hero Squad casualty is injured

and is stranded on one of Wales's highest mountains.

The call has come in

and the cadets are quick to react.

And with their blue lights flashing and their sirens wailing,

it won't take Myles and his team of mountain rescuers long

to reach their destination.

Here they come.

But despite these vehicles' awesome off-road abilities,

they can only take the cadets so far.

They've still got a long walk ahead of them.

After a tiring trek,

there's still no sign of the stranded climber

until eagle-eyed Kyra spots something

on the side of a 1,000-metre high mountain.

I see someone's set off a smoke...

Something to do with smoke, so we can see.

We need to go quickly, before it runs out.

The kit is heavy, and the weather appears to be turning.

But spurred on by the sight of the casualty,

the cadets heroically march on.

In no time at all, they're at the bottom of the mountain,

and it's time for Squad Leader Myles to reveal his master plan.

Four people are going to go up there

and two people are going to stay down here.

-On comms, I would like Josh.

-Yeah.

I would like Maria and Sam

to go down with the person on the stretcher

and Lily, I want you to stay down here with me.

You can help down here with the rope system.

OK, Myles, let's get it done.

The first four have headed up the mountain, and Lily and Myles

have stayed behind to set up one long rope all the way up to the top,

and without it, the rescue can't take place.

While Myles and Lily get busy at the base of the mountain,

the ascent team are bravely making their way up the rock face.

It's tough terrain,

so the cadets are tied together for safety.

And after a tricky 20-minute climb,

they finally reach the casualty.

-This is Sam. I'm Maria. And you're the witness, right?

-Yeah.

-Sir, what's your name?

-Ivan.

-Hello, Ivan.

-This is Rachel.

Hero Squad Lily to Hero Squad Josh. What is the state of the casualty?

'Hero Squad Josh to Hero Squad Myles.'

The state of the casualty... Her leg is out straight.

I think it's a lower limb injury.

Does it feel like your leg's broken?

We'll put a splint on that leg.

Put a splint on that leg.

-Would you lie anything to keep you warm?

-I'm OK at the moment.

-And you, Ivan?

-I'm all right.

This is amazing.

Despite having had less than 24 hours of training,

our 12- and 13-year-old cadets are showing

all the qualities of experienced mountain rescuers.

They've assessed the casualty

and now Lily and Myles's rope is ready,

they need to get her off the dangerous rock face.

We are now getting the splint ready.

That's easier said than done, though.

Stretcher lowers are one of the trickiest manoeuvres

that Jim and his team have to perform.

I just hope the cadets have got what it takes to pull this off.

Stretcher's ready to go. We'll bring it down to you in a second.

Hero Squad Josh to Hero Squad Lily.

The training is really paying off.

Kyra only learned to put a rescue stretcher together

less than 24 hours ago

and now she's doing it on the side of a mountain!

It's an incredible achievement for someone

who doesn't like heights.

Well, it's cold and windy down here,

but imagine how bad it will be up there.

But the cadets are bravely battling through the cold.

The casualty is now in the stretcher

and ready to be lowered to the ground.

At the bottom of the mountain,

Squad Leader Myles is keeping an eye on his team

and Lily's putting the final touches to rope

that will be used to take the weight of the stretcher and Sam and Maria.

Technically, their life on my knot.

Wow! I hope you tied it right.

I hope so too.

It's the moment of truth.

Bottom station, please take in the guide line.

Sam and Maria performed brilliantly in yesterday's training.

But back then, they were practising with eggs.

Today their load is a lot more valuable,

the rope is a lot longer

and the mountain is much, much bigger.

Ready?

That was hairy!

One wrong move here

and the casualty could sustain further serious injuries.

And the cadets need to think about their own safety too.

You need to guide the line in more or I'll crash into...

At the moment, though, they're so focused on the rescue,

they seem to be completely oblivious to the fact

they're hanging off the side of one of the tallest mountains in Wales.

Guide line in!

Lower slow.

It's another incredible moment in the cadets' journey.

They're lifting an injured climber off a rock face

and are gently lowering her to the ground.

It won't be as bumpy...

If you've got any problems, please let us know.

We have touchdown!

Nice work, cadets.

Stretcher has arrived at destination.

Guide line up.

Lily rushes over to join her team-mates.

But the work isn't over yet.

You're only halfway through, guys! Halfway through.

You've still got to get the casualty

all the way through those mountains to the ambulance.

ALL: One, two, three...

Lift!

After such a physically challenging rescue,

it's taking every ounce of the cadets' strength

to carry the casualty back to the ambulance.

It's now been over four hours since they were called into action.

This is by far the longest rescue they've ever encountered.

But it's all in a day's work

for the dedicated men and women of the mountain rescue service.

SIREN WAILS

Well done!

In less than 48 hours, the Hero Squad cadets

have transformed themselves into master mountain rescuers.

Now all that's left to do is choose a Hero of the Day.

OK, cadets, well done today.

How did you find the challenge?

ALL: Really good.

I told you it was going to be hard, didn't I?

But we were seriously impressed with the teamwork

that you showed, and some really good work

-amongst all of you, actually.

-Absolutely.

Very, very challenging. Big mountains.

And the weather - it's really windy still.

So we do have to pick a Hero of the Day.

And it has been a tough decision.

The first person that we thought that did some very good work...

Lily.

You didn't have the most glamorous job down at the bottom,

but rigging up all those ropes and making sure you were responsible

for the safety of your team-mates coming down the abseil...

Yeah, good work today.

Sam.

You were someone

that did some extraordinary work over the last two days.

You listened, did what you had to. You weren't fazed by the situation.

So, fantastic.

And we couldn't praise you, Sam,

without praising your courageous team-mate, Maria.

Every single challenge you were given,

you just took it on, no questions,

safely and efficiently.

It has been a very difficult decision,

because you've all done some really good work.

But the person we both think should be Hero of the Day is...

Maria.

Well done, Maria.

Brilliant over the two days.

The cadets today have really surprised me. They've really shone.

What they did today is very technical

and adults would struggle

to be able to do what they have coped with today.

I can't believe I've got Hero of the Day today.

At times, it was really cold, which made it really hard to concentrate

on what we were doing,

so I had to really focus all of my attention

on doing the rescue, and I'm really pleased with myself.

And Maria's reward for such a magnificent mountainside performance

is to sit back, relax

and enjoy a nice hot drink by the fire.

No such luck for the others, though.

They've been roped into packing away the rescue kit.

I thought it was a very challenging rescue,

especially pushing our teamwork skills,

but I think we all really upped our game today.

I'm really pleased with Maria for getting Hero of the Day,

because I think she did that little bit more than me.

I really think she deserved it.

I'm Hero of the Day. Yes!

Next time on Hero Squad...

In the cadets' next challenge, there's no room for seasickness,

as they are plunged into freezing cold water

as they take part in a daring and demanding rescue.

That's next time on Hero Squad.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

It's a good hot chocolate!