Page 3 - 2010 AMA Autumn

Keep it short he said, so let’s not begin at the beginning, wherever or whenever that may be. We’ll start at the Zwischenjoch, not a Swiss curtain-rail innovation, but the col above the Almagelleralp that links the Portjenhorn with the SE Ridge of the Weissmies.
The pre-dawn, torchlight procession was over and the iconography changed as we looked across to a burgeoning dawn. A thin, orange luminescence lay squeezed between a blanket inversion and a blue-black, brightening sky.
Kitted-up we moved onto the slope. The snow was crisp underfoot and we trudged up the towards the rock ridge rising on our left. A short pause to remove crampons and stow axes and we set off behind a French guide and his five charges. ‘Le Grand Fromage’ encouraged, cajoled and pulled his sometimes, reluctant ‘etudiants’ upwards. Ali and I followed, Ali often choosing the better line as ‘Les Rosbifs et Le Grande Fromage’ vied for hill position. Arriving togeth- er at the top of the ridge, we re-applied ‘tin toes and tools’ and moved along the narrow crest towards the summit.
With spectacular 360-degree views, the Weissmies offers some of the best panoramas in the Vallais.
Photo opportunity over, the snow descent began and passed without incident. Sinister seracs, with icicles, hang- ing like fairy tubular bells, provided welcome distraction from the almost routine nature of the descent. Other parties were pulling their weary torsos upwards as we continued our downward trend towards the welcoming, calf-easing glacier. Not a time to relax but already we were reflecting on a great day and an excellent traverse of an impressive alpine peak.
Ultimately great memories consist of people and places, but when the best nature of both and the philosophy they engender coincide, we welcome them back and seek to repeat them. At JSAM, the mountains and the people met once again, not in competition but in community.
Lt Col Duncan Strutt PWRR and Cpl Ali Allsop RAMC
Appointments 2
Foreword 3
News 4
Diary 5
Valedictory letter from Brigadier Jon Watson, Outgoing President 6
AMA Spring Meet 2010 7
£100
ARTICLE
Training with Usain 8 Army Sport Climbing Championships 10 Country Roads 11
ARTICLE
£50
Fauna in the UK – Part 2 12 “It’s s##t, Boss, I’m getting out 14 Photo competition 16
£150
ARTICLE
Ski Touring in the Alps 18 The mad ramblings of a Devonian Ramber 19 Battle Back – Spanish Summitt 24
The Arctic Circle Trail – Western Greenland 27 Alpine Mountaineering Proficiency 28 Stove Review 29 Bivvy Basics 30 Mammonth Emu 32 That’s Me
33
On the cover: Capt Pete Hodgkinson with Lt Tang Hi Bo at 6150m on the top of Tilicho Peak – the highlight of the 6 week Nepal Army High Altitude Mountain Warfare Course
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