Page 67 - RADC Bulletin 2018

bunkhouse... well nearly everyone!! (Lt Col Thomas had the whole site to himself!).
We all met the night before the challenge for some ‘bulking’ and
beer. Not the best
preparation, but the
pub was fantastic, and the barman was good craic. LCpl Rai and I got up super early to cook bacon butties
for everyone (you’re
welcome) and we
got underway about
06:40. Lt Col Thomas
was very serious,
especially talking
about the strength of the wind. What does he know?! Turns out... quite a lot!! Following the ascent of Ingleborough, the gusts were
enough to lift us off our feet! Even Maj Armer’s ridiculous Army flag was defeated. It was evident that half the group considered
the 12-hour time limit there to be used,
and another half just wanted to go home. We split into two, and pushed on. I didn’t even get us lost this year - who would have thought it!
The first group completed the challenge in about
9 (and a bit!) hours, and the more relaxed just over 11 hours,
that he is, he pushed on - truly inspirational! Once again, we hit the pub - for about an hour, before we all passed out!
I would like to thank Lt Col Thomas and Maj Armer for being MLT’s, LCpl White
for her help organising the exercise, and everyone that attended - having undertaken a few of these challenges, you learn a lot about people. Compared to the level of whinging seen on Hadrian’s wall last year (just kidding!), everyone was an absolute joy to be around! We all discovered something about ourselves. That slog from Whernside to Pen-y-ghent was horrific, but everyone’s morale remained high - well done! Also congratulations to Maj Brown’s dog - assuming it’s still alive after that!
Looking ahead, I have discovered the ‘24 peak challenge’ in the Lake District - be warned and get training!
Once again, Maj Armer’s feet fell to bits, but the true hero that he is, he pushed on – truly inspirational!
group completed it in
well within the time limit. Once again, Maj Armer’s feet fell to bits, but the true hero
RADC BULLETIN 2018 65