Page 13 - 2020 AMA Summer

but these two seniors were really good. Every spare minute between courses and exercises we went climbing. They said ’I am going to teach you to climb at night having never been here before’ that was the aim. Bloody hell! Its hard, much harder than selection. A month later I was accepted into the troop. They had their own selection and they tried to get the natural climbers.
Did that make it easier to get on expeditions?
It did because we trained hard and you brought something to the party. We were so into it we did it in our spare time too. Single blokes you know- North Wales wow! I actually went to Chamonix for three weeks and that was a big boost- really eye opening!
Was that in the 60’s and 70’s?
1967 or 1968 I think?
Because that was a long way to go and not many people used to leave the country back then.
We did it in proper kit too. We did Mont Blanc, Matterhorn and the Grand Jorasse. I never kept a logbook of climbs (I never have in my life) and even now my brains befuddled I can’t remember with any certainty what we did. I’ve tried to write my biography, but I can’t remember any of the detail. So, all my books are non-tech- nical and stories basically.
You did your first season in Chamonix. What trips did that allow you to go on? I really wanted to go on a big one. My first was to Canada and then the Indian Himalaya in 1972. It was a total success for me personally and I was teamed up with a chap called Noel Dilly (who a civilian medical chap working in the Navy).
We also did a FA on Nupste and I did Everest three times- Two of which were AMA trips and one that I led. So, when I
led one it was a 22 SAS expedition from Hereford.
Expedition leadership is stressful. What are your thoughts on this? Any top tips?
Get to know your fellas and use them as much as possible like any leadership situation. Not use them in a negative sense but task them. Ration man, medic, communicator.
Selecting a team is not easy. Self-selec- tive is probably the easiest and as good a way as any. It was always by invitation in
my day and we only took good climbers that you know. I never had to balance a team with ranks, genders or anything. I wouldn’t ask them if I didn’t want them to come!
A lot of the pressure we feel now is to select a team that is a cross section of the army.
The word used to go out and people would come and find you. In my time it was never formal, there was a headshed in the AMA, but there were so few of us, so we all knew each other. A small group there was only forty active members.
ARMY MOUNTAINEER / 13