Page 36 - RAFMA Winter 2003

Jsf*
The JSAT Scheme isthe most accessible way to gain practice and qualifi­ cations in many outdoor adventurous activities, including the wide range of mountaineering skills. Adventurous Training Policy is made by the Armed Forces Adventurous Training Committee who have defined adventurous training as:
"Challenging outdoor training for Service personnel in specified adventurous activities, involving controlled exposure to risk, to develop leadership, teamwork, physical fitness, moral and physical courage, among other personal attributes and skills vital to operational capability"
All land adventurous activities are sponsored by the Army. Mountaineering courses are administered through JS HQ JSMTC Indefatigable on Anglesey and are undertaken at JSMTCs Indefatigable and Ballachulish in Scotland. In Germany, ATC Sonthofen, located in Bavaria, runs courses suited to the alpine mountain environment and the H Q in Sennelager sponsors these courses and which is the booking centre for all courses. Between these centres in the UK and Germany, all aspects of mountaineering and skiing are covered.
All JS course activities follow a progression of ability from the beginner to leader and for experienced personnel to instructor level:
P ro fic ie n c y courses cover the essential technical skills and safety aspects. It enables the individual to participate in the activity and it shows that the required level of competence has been achieved and that it tells any leader that the individual has the knowledge and practical ability to participate in the activity.
Intet-nxicBate/Pi-cagi’ession courses consolidate on experience gained by the individual and it builds on technical skills and gives the participant a wider range of knowledge and experiences. At this stage a logbook should be kept and maintained, especially ifa leader/instructor qualification is the aim.
Leader/Trartng courses provide the individual with skills in howto teach the activity and importantly, leadership skills in howto lead a group of novices in the mountain environment. Technical knowledge is assessed and you will have fellow mountaineers to loo,k after. A fair amount of experience is required to gain this level of award and the successful student will be able to introduce people to the sport at unit level. Maintain a detailed logbook.
Instructor level courses are designed to test overall technical and leadership skills and knowledge in the activity. Safety skills are covered and a comprehensive logbook detailing a wide.range of experience in various mountain ranges is required.
Now, about the courses at the Centres and how they differ:
Scheme
The UK Centres -JSMTC Indefatigable S.JSMTC Ballachufish
Mountaineering Courses.
At JSMTCs Indefatigable and Ballachulish, all levels of rock climbing courses from proficiency through to instructor are run. The civilian introduction to rock climbing the Single Pitch Supervisor (SPA) is offered and you can apply for this. Registration to the scheme is advisable prior to attending. The mountain walking courses continue to be popular starting with the SMR The Mountain Leader Training (MLT), is a summer mountain award you can use on completion of the course to lead groups into the mountains you are familiar with - so straight away you are on the awards ladder, hence its popularity. The summer mountain expedition leader course is the next progression (JSMEL(S)) and this award allows you to lead summer mountain walking worldwide below the permanent snowline.
The Advanced JSMEL(S) is an award which allows the leader to take groups of 4 on scrambling routes. It is a useful course and more personnel are attending it, however you need to hold the JSMEL(S) as a pre-requisite as considerable mountain experience is required.
The winter mountain walking awards are WMF) W M T, JSMEL(W) and these are run exclusively at Ballachulish. Again, these courses are popular and they are frequently booked up.
The winter climbing courses, WCR JSWCL and JSWCI are also popular and these are courses and awards that are not readily held by many RAF personnel. The WCP isa useful course to attend as itgives a good grounding in winter climbing techniques and prepares you for alpine mountaineering. All winter climbing courses are dependent on sufficient winter conditions and completing the syllabus is sometimes a hit and miss affair and with poor conditions it can be rather frustrating, so go prepared for this. However these winter courses, especially the W CR are great courses to gain useful climbing experience and technical progressions, particularly prior to attending your first JSAM meet or your first visit to the Alps.
Sking Courses
Two disciplines in skiing are run at Sjusjoen in Norway, alpine and nordic. Again these courses are popular and both alpine and nordic disciplines cover a progression from proficiency to instructor. Beyond this, you can take to the mountains by progressing to ski tour leader and ski mountain leader.
Either disciplines can be progressed through to ski mountain leader. If you're skiing experience is free-heel based then you can follow this through in Norway. Here, the mountain terrain is similar to that of Scotland but more remote and glaciated. Tracks are cut in popular mountain areas but then you can venture off into the mountains and ski to many mountain summits. Descents are long and with the snow conditions being more stable and colder, powder snow descents are often experienced.
If, however you are keen on ski mountaineering, then I would advise you take your ski touring to ATC in Bavaria.
RAFMA Journal 2003