Page 84 - Wish Stream Year of 2019

Exercise ILHA CADET
OCdt Clark Bryan
After an exciting Intermediate Term, eight British and one Afghan OCdt set off to Madeira. Madeira is a small island situ- ated in the Atlantic Ocean some 400 miles off the coast of Morocco. Despite its small size, Madeira boasts some impressive features, with the tallest peaks rising over 1,800m above the sea level. With these extreme features Madeira offered a promising and exciting arena for the Officer Cadets to stretch their mountain legs on terrain and climate not found anywhere in Europe, let alone the MOD estates.
After landing at one of the worlds spiciest air- ports and a good night’s rest, we set about the first day of our expedition. We were to follow the Levada do Furado upstream as it cut its way along the Riberio Frio valley, before taking a sel- dom used track up to a peak, fighting our way through the forest. This gave the expedition its first taste of the Levadas, the intricate network of aqueducts unique to the islands, the wind along the cliff edges challenging even for those with a good head for heights.
The second day saw the expedition tackle the longest hike of the trip along the Levada de Janela on the far side of the island. Starting high in the mountains with snow still on the group the night before, the team quickly descended into the steep valley with its warm wet forest which felt like something out of Jurassic Park. Much of the trail was flooded with the Levada bursting its banks onto the track in many places, creat- ing small waterfalls and flooding the tight tunnels that cut through the mountain side. The longest
of the tunnels was 2km in near total darkness which required the team to walk through flooded paths by torch light which certainly added some surprise adventure to the trip.
After two days in the Levada, we headed into the central mountains for the third and fourth days of the trip. The third day saw us tackle Pico do Arieiro, the third highest on the mountain. However, due to high winds and snow above 1600m, we had to take a less adventurous route than the one planned.
This was more than made up for on the fourth day when we sought to take the highest peak on the island, Pico Ruivo, standing at 1,861m. It is one of the world’s ultra-prominent peaks. We started the day following a Levada at around 900m before taking a sharp turn up hill tackling the mountain straight on. After a gruelling 900+m ascent through bush and rock, we reached the peak and were treated to a solid blanket of cloud. So, while the views of the entire Madeiran coast- line were not present, the sense of achievement and standing on the highest point for hundreds of miles was reward enough.
Our final day of the expedition was spent on a more relaxed coastal hike along the far eastern peninsular of the island. This again presented us with an entirely different landscape to the previ- ous four days, reinforcing the variety of terrain on this small island. We finished the trip with clear skies (and gale force winds) and were even treated to a dip in the sea among the crashing waves on a volcanic sands beach.
Overall, Ex ILHA CADET was a great success. The Officer Cadets were able to explore stark mountain terrain in a wide variety of weather and bioclimates, an opportunity uniquely found in such a small place as Madeira. Over the course of the expedition, the team covered more than 65km on foot, over 5,000m of elevation change, achieved two of the three highest peaks on the island and tackled the complex terrain and Lev- ada system with its steep cliffs, narrow walkways and tunnels. It is with great thanks to the Sand- hurst Trust, who helped us reach to that little bit further afield to embark on such a unique and rewarding adventure training expedition.
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