Page 38 - Wish Stream Year of 2017

of Montemonaco the following day. However, the earthquake once again foiled the Exped Leader’s plans (due to the shockwaves, a large portion of the rock wall overlooking the gully had collapsed inwards, blocking off all access to the pass, and
mountain to the Refuge, where they overnighted in tents, weary from a challenging but excellent climb.
The final day was initially planned as a continu- ation of the previous day, exploring other tracks around Monte Sibilla; however, due to a fur- ther increase in heat and the time of day it was deemed that even at altitude the weather would pose a severe risk to strenuous activity. In order to mitigate this the Cadets moved to the Gorge of the Fiastrone River, where they conducted an upstream hike through the river itself to a famous series of natural canyons cut in the rock by the water’s flow. Being immersed – sometimes up to their waists! – in cool mountain water reduced any chance of overheating, and proved an excit- ing variation from the previous days’ activities. The final night of the Exped was celebrated with a feast of fine Italian food and a barbecue, and the following morning the team drove back to Rome’s Ciampino Airport and so back to RMAS to begin their hard-earned leave.
However, the earthquake once again foiled the Exped Leader’s plans...
the local authorities had closed it off to hikers). A conplan was quickly established – instead of passing through the Gully, the team would ascend the nearby Mount Sibilla, from which the mountain range takes its name, and overnight
in the vicinity of the Alpine Refuge nearby.
A stunning climb to over 2000m took the Cadets up along the ridgeline of the Sibilla amid some truly breathtaking scenery, past the cave where the Sibilla – an old crone believed to prophesise the future in ancient times – is said to have lived, and down in a long loop along the face of the
Exercise ARDECHE CADET
Jumping out of our blues and into our track- suits, eight members of Borneo Company set off immediately after the Sovereign’s Parade to catch a ferry across the channel and begin EX ARDECHE CADET.
Taking shifts throughout the night, we drove down through the centre of France until we reached the Ardèche gorge 24 hours later. We spent the first night setting up camp, and picked up our instruc- tors, George and Dusty, the following morning.
Our first day on the water began with a brief from our instructors, highlighting the basics and out- lining the key points to be covered in order for us to earn our K2F qualification. A ten-kilome- tre paddle meant that we had plenty of time to get to grips with basic manoeuvring skills, and learn about communicating with and managing a team on the river. Needless to say, the patrol- ling skills we’d learnt back at RMAS soon had us passing messages up and down our line of kayaks.
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