Page 22 - Eagleye Spring 2020

Ex NORDIC SAPPER 19
By LCpl K Shepard, 14 Geo Sqn
Exercise NORDIC SAPPER 19 (NS19) was conducted over 13 Nov – 15 Dec 19 and is the Corps annual Nordic skiing training camp and Corps Championships which is held in the resort town of Idre Fjäll, Sweden. The exercise got off to a bright start with the team’s first challenge being to replace a headlight bulb on one of the combi-vans less than 5 minutes out of camp. Luckily this did not set the tone for the rest of the trip...
As we journeyed north through Europe and eventually the picturesque Scandinavian countries, the amount of freshly fallen snow increased - so did the team’s enthusiasm to get out and get started on our skis. The first exposure to Nordic skiing saw the team separated due to varying levels of ability; this was a great way to meet fellow Engineers and chuckle at the bloke that is always on his face, usually myself. However, as the overall ability increased with time, groups were merged, and most of the team were reunited for the remainder of the training.
The biathlon rifle shooting element of the exercise was done using highly tuneable .22 Anschutz biathlon rifles. In theory these should have made shooting easy, however, when combining a target diameter of either 5cm (prone) or 10cm (standing), a 50-meter range, a heart rate close to maximum and breath control a hollow dream, hitting those pesky targets quickly became a significant challenge!
Nordic skiing is an excellent way to gain athlete level endurance fitness very quickly due to the intensity of the exercise and the altitude it is performed at. Throughout the training the team lost a total of 12kg combined body weight, gained 0.5% muscle mass and lost 0.3% body fat. This simple data was collected from the team using smart scales and became a weekly tradition/competition throughout NS19, and clearly showed the changes our bodies were going through as a result of the intense training.
After a steep learning curve for the majority
of the team, the final week brought the Corps Championships. Over some highly technical courses, which tested us to our newly learnt limits, the novice 42 Engineer Regiment (Geographic) team achieved the staggering race results of:
Classic Relay: 3rd
Biathlon Relay: 4th
Overall: 3rd out of 16 teams.
With these brilliant results came the end
of Ex NORDIC SAPPER 2019 and seemingly the passing of a Combi-van, luckily however, it had only gone into limp mode resulting in two members of the team staying behind for a couple of extra days to fix and recover it. Though divided, everyone left Idre Fjäll in high spirits having attained the skills and confidence to enter a competitive and enthusiastic team to Ex SPARTAN HIKE in France for the upcoming Divisional ‘Qualifying’ Championships.
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EASTER BUNNIES: 15