I was also up GG this year, a first for me due to the centenary - decided if I didn't make an effort this year it was unlikely I'd do it any time later. Woke up at 4am and made my way there, an absolute procession of traffic even by 6am on a Sunday morning made it a strange start to the day. Driving past Blencathra in low-light set the tone and by the time I was driving towards Borrowdale at 7am it had that lovely quiet Lakeland feel when you're getting set for an early walk. This subsided as soon as I joined the line of traffic heading for the slate mine. There were about a dozen on their way up and as many again behind me. Threw some cash in the buckets on the way in and was amazed to see how many were already there. I intended to chill, listen to the morning news and have a nap before leaving a little later (around 9), but by 7:30am I had my boots on and started to head over Grey Knots. It was pleasant enough and with the forecast uncertain I figured I'd make the most of what views I could get. Was quite pleasant, just started in lightweight trousers - no long johns, base layer and driclime vest only. Looking back (at about 7:45) there was a line of traffic all the way up from the valley, it was quite a sight - and people were being made to queue due to the lack of space in the mine itself.
By the top of Grey Knots it was starting to blow a little which wasn't a surprise, but the rain changed from an occasional light dusting I shrugged off to more of a constant drizzle. Usually I fly up mountains but I ended up ambling, joining a group and chatting with people. By the time we got to Brandreth it was pretty poor visibility and my original plan to fly off to Base Brown before getting to the top of GG was feeling a little pointless. Ended up putting on waterproof trousers on the pull up to Green Gable as it was really starting to come in now, passed some lads at the summit wanting to get a pic and offered to get them both in the shot. It was amusing as the vis was shocking, but they looked cheerful enough. Finally put gloves on and carried on past a party of young walkers taking a rest and it was blowing a hoolie across the gap itself - there were a few sheltering and presumably biding their time. The route up seemed pretty benign despite there being a fair few people, I was behind a fast walker with sure footing which I always like - and ended up at the summit at 9:30am, rather surprised there were around 30 people there already. Gave the cairn a kick then found somewhere out of the wind to rest in the constant rain.
At this point I was reconsidering my choice to leave early, but with 90 minutes to wait in conditions of around 2C and wind-blown rain I put some extra layers on, had a warm drink and got talking to people. Some (like me) had started very early, yet the majority seemed to be somewhat local or stayed nearby last night. Met some nice FRCC people and it was pleasant to talk about the 'culture' around the event which emphasized it is seemingly not just a memorial, but acts as a beacon for like-minded people to show their respect and support the surrounding areas, not to forget the chance to reconnect with some old friends every year too. By around 10:15 there were some people looking very cold indeed, despite the seemingly never-ending line of people wearing waterproofs who were joining the throng, mostly from Windy Gap. One woman popped an orange emergency bivvy and needed a hand to get in, others borrowed gloves from those next to them, and a woman next to me was struggling to have any dexterity in her fingers - so ended up doing up her jacket and pit zips for her. As a SAR member we see a lot of hypothermic casualties, and early hypothermia symptoms were present in a good number that day - from simple shaking to slurring speech and lack of concentration. I made a mental note if I go back to bring a couple of bothy bags, and in truth whilst comfortable I certainly wasn't toasty either after 90 minutes in the rain.
The speech was given and the two-minutes silence observed. There was something quite powerful about all those people, wet through in the elements - each spending those moments thinking about those soldiers who were in far, far worse conditions with a very mortal threat to themselves and no option to just turn around and go home at the end of the day. It was humbling, and at the point of a round of applause I was glad I went. I think ordinarily on a better day some people who might otherwise have lingered, however most were by and large breaking up and leaving the way they came - recognizing the need to create some warmth through exertion. As I was one of the earliest people up I was also furthest away from the route back down again - unfortunately despite having the fortune of getting up from Windy Gap with a competent group of walkers, the way down was a stand-still as some were taking it very carefully indeed - no doubt in part due to them being bloody cold. I decided to skirt around an alternate route (the slightly more slippery but unused steeper section) as I'm comfortable scrambling, and fortunately managed to skip a few hundred this way. Windy Gap itself was even windier on the way back, with me needing to 'shoulder' towards the wind to stay on my feet - the visibility was still poor so Base Brown was official ditched for the day.
I ended up going at my normal pace and passed a lot of people, yet despite the rain and now damp layers I was warm. Before Brandreth I cut to the west on the easier path, chatted with a few people and did some map reading for confused people - but as the weather was now clearing a little I decided to head up Fleetwith Pike by the 'ridge' route, which isn't particularly recommended when the normal path is so easy. It was deserted all the way up, which was a surprise, and I spend a few minutes at the top - enjoyed the views of Buttermere, finished the food I brought and gave everyone else some time to clear the car-park. On the way down I passed a couple, and took the mine access road back to the car park. During the last hundred meters passing the mine centre I saw a Mountain Rescue land-rover with blues on hurtling up from Buttermere - considered giving them a wave to jump in and assist, but the driver was already turning to head up the track I had just walked down, presumably sort out someone who had got into trouble on the slippery and crowded descent from GG.
As others have said, those sort of conditions are hard not to end up wet through when inactive - I ended up in a compression baselayer, driclime vest, windproof, synthetic vest and waterproof lightweight smock. Basically same sort of gear I'd carry on a 3-season day out - for the Sunday conditions I'd have preferred a beefier shell, maybe swap the vest for a jacket - or something like the Buffalo/Montane which work well, but usually only come out for colder conditions for me.
Edit: Seems the MR callout info was made public,
http://www.wmrt.org.uk/incidents/great-gable-sun-11th-nov-2018/