Page 71 - MERCIAN Eagle 2015

Sport and Adventure Training
2 MERCIAN Ex Frosted Blade Lt J Russell
Soldiers from 2 MERCIAN travelled to Val D’Isere to undertake an intense ski training camp for EXERCISE FROSTED BLADE. The ultimate aim was to compete in challenging race events against 35 infantry battalion teams.
Lt Russell. “The premise of FROSTED BLADE was to expose soldiers to an unfamiliar and testing activity, train them to compete at an infantry level, and then to fight for the top places on the leaderboard during race week. At the same time, it was an excellent opportunity to broaden everyone’s experiences and give the soldiers an opportunity to sample the culture and customs of another European country.”
Upon arriving in Val D’Isere the novice
2 MERCIAN team had to learn the basics of a completely new sport.
Cpl Griffiths CGC. “There are four main events, slalom, giant slalom, super G and downhill. Each event increases in speed and is a huge strain on your lower body. On the downhill, blokes were reaching up to 90mph. A crash at that speed would be fatal.
“Some lads from other teams got injured before I had to go down the run; when you are stood at the top, waiting for your start beep, having just heard that people have been injured it really does test your grit and determination!”
The team had to quickly get to grips with not only the complex and technical art of alpine racing, but also with the even more technical aspect of maintaining equipment. Through several workshops and a great deal of trial and error, each man became highly skilled in maintaining his equipment. The skis needed to be waxed and edged each day. When preparing skis for a race event, the process can take several hours. EXERCISE FROSTED BLADE was also
a chance for both the 1 and 2 MERCIAN teams to meet and work together. Pte Humberstone. “Even though being in Val D’Isere over Christmas was fantastic, I still missed my family. Having the other lads from 1 MERCIAN over for Christmas day really made the regiment feel like a family.”
Sharing Christmas and New Year with men from the first battalion was a chance to meet new people and reunite with old faces after the regimental merge. The stunning scenery and picturesque village in
the French Alps meant that soldiers could enjoy French culture and experience a busy tourist resort during the peak of the season.
After six weeks of intense training, race week arrived and the men were pushed physically and mentally as they contended with an Olympic downhill run. This was the absolute pinnacle of amateur racing with huge amounts of speed and adrenaline.
LCpl Traynor won a gold medal for his performance in the novice downhill, with another soldier from 1 MERCIAN claiming second place. Despite being a completely novice team, 2 MERCIAN managed to come 10th out of 36 competing teams. This excellent achievement clearly demonstrated the dedication shown by members of the
2 MERCIAN Alpine Team, to training hard and putting in the hours to prepare their equipment.
FROSTED BLADE was a testing and enjoyable competition for 2 MERCIAN. The battalion intends to enter another team this year and will aim to build on the experience it has gained and increase its standing against other infantry battalions.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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