Page 5 - 2017 AMA Winter

Chairman’s Foreword
Lt Col Pete Skinsley RLC
Here’s to the next 60 years
It is an honour to take over as Chairman of the Army Mountaineer- ing Association. Having spent over 35 years on the crags and hills and over 12 years on the committee it is a privilege to be able to guide the AMA into the future. I intend to get out and meet you, the membership, at our various activities throughout the years ahead.
My mountaineering experience started aged 7 when my father took me for an overnight wild camping expedition to Little Sprinkling Tarn in the Lakes against my mother’s advice. One long walk over Great Gable, a wet soggy night later and a walk down the hill in a bin bag with holes cut in it to stop me getting hyperthermia did not deter me! I was hooked. More walking holidays in the Lakes followed, then Outward Bound at Towyn, rock climbing in Avon Gorge as a school boy and at the newly opened wall in Bristol (UCR in the early 90s), Loughborough Students Mountaineering Club trips, getting struck by lightning at the old Gouter Hut on Mont Blanc, competing in the first bouldering comp at the Foundry in Sheffield when it opened, teaching soldiers to climb in the US and Spain, plenty of skiing and ski touring and encouraging our best climbers to compete against the best from across Europe - all these experiences have convinced me that mountaineering, climbing and walking are all activities that challenge us, keep us fit and put a smile on our face. Long may the opportunities continue.
The AMA 60 celebrations this year have been a success. We have had members deployed high altitude mountaineering in Nepal, bolt clipping on the island of Kalymnos in Greece and chasing the dry rock across North Wales on the Festival of Climbing celebrating the anniversary. We have also hosted our supporters and sponsors at
the annual President’s Dinner in London and the Army Climbing Team swept the board at this year’s Inter-Services Championships. The final AMA 60 event, the Army Climbing Team bouldering training camp to Fontainebleau in France, will take place next Easter.
Throughout the 60 years of the history of the AMA, soldiers have taken the opportunity to explore the world and indulge their passions for climbing and mountaineering. This 60th anniversary edition of the journal looks at just a small portion of what has happened over our history and over the past year hopefully to inspire you to do more. The first AMA journal was published in Winter 1988. The membership then stood at 1200, annual subs were £4 per year and the memorial fund, at the time in its infancy, awarded £1160 to expeditions. In 2017 the Association is in good health - 2500 members, £25,000 a year to invest in expeditions, a re-invigorated UK meets programme, numerous indoor climbing competitions annually, GB and Irish national junior climbing team members in uniform and competing for us, competitive Ice Climbing and Ski Mountaineering now supported, very attractive equipment manufacturer discounts through our sponsors and the ability to link up with like-minded climbers and come up with the plan for next year’s big trip; which for the AMA is to Tajikistan in 2018. There will always be a serious side and climbing carries inherent risk. Learning to identify it, embrace it and deal with it produces stronger more capable soldiers. Keep it up and don’t be afraid to give it a go – when you are older you will reflect on and regret the things you never did but always wanted to.
Editor Foreword
60 years of the Army Mountaineering Association... having only been alive for just over half this milestone I find it difficult to comprehend the mammoth efforts achieved within this timeframe: expeditions all over the world, thousands of soldiers inspired, developed and motivated by the pursuit of adventure.
I was fortunate enough to attend a talk by Sir Chris Bonnington on his tour of the UK in late 2016. Sir Chris, if you don’t know, is an Honoury Colonel and founding member of the AMA from his days in the Army in the late 50s to early 60s. His early adult years feature tales of how he regularly battled with his employers’ wishes and was forever going against the grain in pursuit of adventure. Ultimately, this desire to be outdoors has paid off for him having left the army and then the banking world in to go on an expedition. Whilst it would be wrong to advocate you
all to protest to your chains of command that you’re not going anywhere other than on an expedition abroad, I would suggest you turn to page 21 where the new AMA Chairman, Lt Col Pete Skinsley looks to inspire the next generations of Bonningtons.
In this special edition I’ve done my best to cram in as much as I can – there’s an introduction to the Lattice Training System, expedition reports from our own
AMA 60 trekking and summit teams in Nepal as well as all the usual favourites.
If you’ve got an idea for an article, have been somewhere or have done something unusual, even if you want to contribute but don’t know how, regardless of rank, send me an email at Journal@Army- Mountaineer.org.uk.
Membership Secretary Foreword
Currently we have over 2500 members. It is very important that I am informed of any changes to members details such as address, e-mail, bank details etc; all you need to do is drop me an e-mail to the address below.
If you have any questions, concerns or anything at all please contact me on 01248 718364 or Mil 95581 7964 or by e-mail to secretary@armymountaineer. org.uk. The office hours are Monday to Thursday 9.00am to 15.45pm.
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