Page 58 - The KRH Year of 2023 (CREST Sharing)

58 The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars
SPORTS TAlpine Skiing
ever season on skis. Lt Palmer also put on a strong showing for the KRH, placing in the top 10 throughout race week and finishing 5th overall in the RAC.
Exercise WHITE KNIGHT 40 was a resounding success for the team. The novices finished having become hardened rac- ers and Tpr Hill and Lt Palmer performed well in the RAC Championships and were able to continue to the Divisional championships in Les Contamines, Exercise PIPEDOWN, were they made a strong showing. The KRH flag was flown once again at the Army Championships as Lt Palmer qualified for the final stage of Army Alpine Racing. Alpine Ski Racing is a brilliant way to test our soldiers’ psychological limits and determination and the team put on an impressive demonstra- tion of physical courage under controlled stress, pressure and fatigue, willing to throw themselves down race pistes no mat- ter ability and conditions.
EH/DP
Tpr McLean enjoys his trip to Sion hospital.
his year the Alpine Ski team took part in Exercise WHITE
KNIGHT 40, the 40th RAC and AAC ski race camp to take place in Verbier. A team of eight Hussars, with a large novice contingent, had an immensely enjoyable five weeks in Switzerland putting in strong performances on and off the slopes. The exercise was split into three phases, training before Christmas, a brief period of leave for the holiday period and then the RAC Championships in the New Year.
The exercise began with a slightly more eventful start than the team would have liked, the first two weeks saw two injured Hussars. Tpr McLean went man down on an arduous trip back from the bar which unfortunately ended his exercise and Captain Hill took a tumble on the hill whilst demonstrating his short turns. However in true KRH style he was swiftly back out in the Alps on leave, after being patched up in the UK, and led the charge off the slope, undoubtedly winning the highly com- petitive apres-ski element of the exercise. The early departures were unfortunate but a BCR in the form of Tpr Hill brought the group back up to strength, the team rallied and were soon once again rapidly advancing in ability and enjoying the slopes.
The holiday period in Verbier was thoroughly enjoyed by all, with the team getting stuck into all the activities on offer. Christmas Day saw the exercise descend on the snow park en mass for a liquid courage fuelled jumps competition, before returning down the hill for a hearty lunch of the local delicacy croute and then continuing to a packed and rowdy Farinet – the favoured haunt of the Army in Verbier. The Household Cavalry generously hosted a New Year’s Eve party, at which the KRH Regimental Shot Ski was the star attraction, and the New Year was brought in by a crowd tens of thousands strong in Verbier’s place-central. Whilst the holiday period was a blast, race week came quickly around the corner and the team returned to the serious business of downhill speed and tech- nique as was the main purpose of the exercise.
The novice element of the team made impressive progress from zero to hero, putting on race skis after only 10 days on snow, their enthusiasm and willingness to fall and get back up again doing them credit. Although Tpr Lea found out the downside of learning speed before how to stop when he acquainted him- self with a ski rack at some pace, in front of a packed restau- rant. By the end of the exercise, they had all caught ‘the bug’ and will undoubtedly be returning to the mountains for many years to come. During the RAC Championship race week the novices continued to impress and demonstrated the fruits of their hard work over the previous weeks, LCpl Dangerfield in particular finished 55th in the individual competition in his first
Lt Palmer takes a moment at the start of the divisional Championship GS Race
KRH take over the ESS
The team celebrate Christmas on the slopes
LCpl Dangerfield at the start gate under the watchful eye of Major Williamson