Page 74 - Wish Stream Year of 2017

destination to destination but also across the snow, unsure of when we were about to fall up to our waists in snow, the weather closed in dra- matically. All layers of warm kit were put on, mul- tiple pairs of gloves were needed and we started to question what exactly we had let ourselves in for. As one group was doing this, OCdt Shields and Lt Col Duncan Francis were remarking to each other how much of a bad time we must be having as they were attached to ropes on a rock face.
Luckily, the weather eased up over the coming days; the icy track up to the lodge began to thaw and we were lucky to see some spectacular views
hurst early in the morning and began their drive up to Aviemore in the Cairngorms National Park to do some winter mountaineering and ice climbing.
On the first day, the weather
was not kind or gentle.
from the tops of various peaks. OCdts Barrigan and Birkett climbed The Run- nel in their first experience of ice climb- ing, OCdt Rollason got to explore his distaste for heights and OCdt Holtom, a native of Bournemouth, was able to experience proper snow for the first time. The week tested our navigation and really pushed members of the
Approximately twelve hours later
we arrived at the Rothiemurchus
Lodge, a group of lodges a couple of miles into the forest. We were lucky to have two instructors with us, allowing us to split the group into two, one for climbing and for walking. On the first day, the weather was not kind or gentle. As we were getting used to navigating our way not only from
group out of their comfort zones. We summited Ben Macdui and Cairngorm, learnt new skills for administering ourselves in a winter mountain environment, practiced scrambling and abseiling skills and had a break from Sandhurst leaving us ready for the challenges of the Senior Term.
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