Page 82 - Wish Stream 2023 CREST

Exercise
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OCdt Goldsack
On the 15th April 2023 seven OCdts departed RMAS for the Lake District where a sunny week of amazing climbing awaited. They were
supported by a Rock Climbing Instructor, Major Chris Wright (Royal Irish), and two of the OCdts who also held instructor qualifications; with a mountain leader training and rock climbing super- visor, the OCdts participated in rigorous training activities such as hill-walking, scrambling, and sin- gle and multi-pitch climbing.
This expedition was designed to challenge eve- ryone mentally and physically, with a focus on improving their rock climbing skills. The pro- gramme for the week was aimed at OCdts with previous outdoor climbing experience, so that they could quickly progress onto multi-pitch climbing.
The first two days were more mountain based due to the weather, seeing routes walked around Cats Bells and a classic scramble up the ridge of Blencathra. All the following days were packed with climbing at locations including Scout Crags (in Langdale), Raven Crag, Church Crag and Shep- herds Crag (in Borrowdale). Besides the pictur- esque views, the climbing was brilliant.
One of two routes to highlight, which were the most popular amongst the OCdts on the trip, were ‘Little Chamonix’ at Shepherds Crag, which is part of the UK classic rock climbs list and really lived up to it. Graded at V Diff or very difficult, the OCdts got to climb the route which consisted of 4 pitches and around 60 metres of climbing. There are a few points along the route known as the ‘crux’ which
some of the OCdts found challenging which was great as they saw their comfort zones pushed and came away from the climb with a grand sense of achievement.
The other route to highlight, which was my per- sonal favourite, was located at Raven Crag near Borrowdale and named ‘Corvus.’ It is arguably one of the best ‘Difficult’ climbs in the UK and it really made for an awesome day out. This route con- sisted of all the components that I wanted out of a multi-pitch climb when I initially sat down to plan this exercise. It was long, at 151m of climbing; it was remote, requiring around an hour of walking from the nearest road before you could even start climb- ing it, and it topped out with an amazing view just below a mountain ridge. It was exposed at points and made for some great photos with amazing views, but the climbing itself was quite tame, not that this detracted from the experience.
The hands-on experiences of multi-pitch climb- ing during this week exposed the OCdts to the thrill of adventure and developed their climbing skills significantly. The expedition concluded suc- cessfully, leaving many OCdts inspired to pursue climbing further in their personal time. Some even made personal purchases of climbing equipment. This exercise was an invaluable opportunity for the OCdts to push their limits and gain a deeper understanding of adventure training.
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