Page 22 - RADC Bulletin 2019

ADVENTUROUS TRAINING
Summer Mountaineering Foundation Course 4 – 8 March 2019
Maj Colin Mcgrath RADC
After Lt Col Alun Thomas kindly liaised with the Joint Service Mountain Training Centre to organise some places for RADC Personnel, we managed to get three regular RADC volunteers onto the one course! Plan being to build mountain experience within the Dental Corps prior to any mountaineering opportunities
that arise for Dental Corps centenary celebrations.
We started on March 4th, 2019 in Claro Barracks, Ripon. Although 15 were on the SMF course, we were split into 3 teams of 5, our team being entirely DPHC, including an Operating Department Practitioner and a Nurse. The first morning was an introduction to the course, kit collection and meeting
our respective trainers. This being my first JSMTC course it was an interesting eye opener to see the courses and reasoning behind the adventure training aspect of the military. The team had a great positive vibe
and there was no military kit or rank on the AT, which made for a friendly and positive team environment.
Once we had all been taught why most of our civvy kit we had brought along was woefully inadequate we headed out on our first afternoon of navigation, on Ilkley moor. Then after a solid afternoon of rain, taking it in turns to do individual navigation, we got to see first-hand how poor our kit was, and resigned ourselves to going “cap in hand” back to stores to borrow their “proper” outdoor gear the next day.
The Tuesday and Wednesday days were similar, with a short lecture on an aspect
of mountaineering in the morning, followed by a minibus ride to somewhere in the North Yorkshire moors with our trainer (Baz) discussing the finer points of summer mountaineering.
The Thursday involved a bus-ride from Ripon over to the Lake District near the town
of Coniston. Carrying our kit for an over night stay we trekked up to Levers water,
a small lake at the foot of the “Old man of Coniston”. After a 4 hour round trip, up the mountain and back, we slept in tents by the water’s edge. Friday morning involved the
2 hour drive back from the Lake District to Ripon, kit submission and de-brief.
I found the course a well organised, constructive and positive experience, led by a great team of instructors and a great break from the office. I would thoroughly recommend this, and from meeting the team, JSMTC courses in general.
LCpl Laura Smith – “I would recommend the SMF course for anyone that enjoys
hill walking and is looking to improve their navigational and map reading skills.”
LCpl Naulls - “I really enjoyed the course and it’s great to use MATT 5 with more in- depth knowledge of civilian navigation.”
20 RADC BULLETIN 2019