Page 58 - Wish Stream Year of 2019

mountaineering experience and a fantastic place to walk. The towns are far enough apart to allow the plotting of remote routes; you’re never short of pit-stops, despite that; the roads are conveni- ently dotted with eau potable taps; and there are very few tourists. We found our feet on the first two days of walking with a couple of brisk hikes in and around Arbois and Poligny. We spent the third and fourth days covering a good deal of distance in the almost comical beauty of the Jurassien valleys and the hills around Chateau Chalon and Baume-les-Messieurs.
The fifth day held our longest
planned walk and promised the
highest climb and best views of
the trip. We reached the first view-
point ahead of schedule. It was a
shame a cloud had got there first,
and we became drenched the
second we left our Combi-van.
After a thunderstorm the previ-
ous night, the clouds had come
in around Mouthier-Haute-Pierre
that morning, soaking the path we were scram- bling up and completely obscuring any views we might have had. Nevertheless, like the previous days of brilliant sunshine, it was a good day and, at the end of it, there was a very welcome lit-
tle café waiting in a village halfway up the valley. The owners seemed to appreciate our broken French. We appreciated their coffee and éclairs.
In all, it was an enjoyable and quite useful trip. We are all a few Quality Mountain Days closer to our next mountaineering qualification and it
was a great chance to spend some proper time with friends from other companies. I would rec- ommend the Jura to anyone organising moun- taineering Adventurous Training.
Exercise JULIAN CADET
OCdt Penman
After departing RMAS, the group arrived at Gatwick Airport to catch a flight to Vien- na’s International Airport, where we would collect two hire vehicles and embark on the 441km drive south through Austria, past Graz and across the border into the north of Slovenia. We reached the town of Ukanc past Lake Boh- injsko, situated 560m above sea level, where we parked the vehicles for the next four days and begin our mountaineering hike.
Following a trail path that zig-zagged and climbed along the rocky yet green mountains, we ascended 940m, taking in the breathtaking views as the greenery and trees of the valley started to disappear as we climbed higher. The climb itself was fast and steep, with the pressing
time of arriving at first cabin hut in time for din- ner. However, we arrived in time for our first (with many more to come) ‘mountain goulash’ dinner at Hut 20, Koca Pod Bogatinom, 1513m. That evening we learnt the monopoly card game and enjoyed a well-earned sleep to prepare for the day ahead.
Our trip began at around 0700hrs. After a quick breakfast of the scanty sort available in our moun- tain hut, we set off from a height of 1513m into an immediate and steady climb that would prove to last much of the day. We passed through the dewy mountain meadows of the early morning, shrouded in a thick mist for the few hours that it took for the sun to burn through into clear day,
The owners seemed to appreciate our broken French. We appreciated their coffee and éclairs.
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