Page 88 - Mercian Eagle 2012

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Alpine Mountaineering – ‘Italian Alps’ – Courmayeur – Italy
Ex Dragon Aquila Ascent – 4 MERCIAN – 03 Sept 2012 – ID 1295
By 2Lt Skelding, 4 MERCIAN.
When the first team to conquer Mount Everest were looking for somewhere to train for the endeavour that awaited them you would imagine somewhere exotic with challenging and alien terrain much like they would encounter in the Himalayas. Instead they chose the slightly less glamorous option of Snowdonia National Park. Although our accommodation in the drill
hall of a 3 ROYAL WELSH TA Centre built in the mid-1980s was not quite steeped
in as much history as the hotel at Pen-Y- Gwryd, which was used by Hillary and his team, the mountains were much the same for us as they had been for them. So with all the excitement that comes naturally with the opportunity to spend a few days in the Welsh Mountains, the preparatory training
for 4 MERCIAN expedition to the Alps began with the most quintessential of British mountain routes, The Ranger’s Track to
the summit of Snowdon. As we settled into the fog-shrouded cafe at the summit for a half-deserved, but nevertheless necessary ‘Welsh’ pasty, no one expected the 4,000- plus metre peaks the Alps had to offer would go any differently.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE