Page 25 - 2000 AMA Summer

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coat-hanger heads that we found instead of bolt hangers. The level of climbing difficulty meant that the students were signifi­ cantly challenged from day one and that the pace of the course was unrelenting. Their learning curve was necessarily steep and for the most part all the students coped very well. I cannot deny that the Costa Blanca is an area that forms a deep impres­ sion on inexperienced and experienced climber alike. (All of the instructors plan to return.)
Some of the longer routes subjected the soldiers to a level of exposure akin to nothing they had experience before. Some found this a humbling experience and others found it liberating. The students were thoroughly challenged and in, hindsight all participants enjoyed their course without exception. To add a further insight into the rewards of such a challenging introduction to the sport here is Signaller Clare Davies, aged 19, who joined 7 Signal Regiment in the Summer of 1999 in her own words.
“As a Novice climber I found this 5 day course in the Costa Blanca extremely inspiring. I learnt a lot in the five days, more than I imagined I would, from basic rope techniques, to ethics in the mountains. The multi-pitch climbs were amazing, even though the weather was not perfect on the first couple of days the views were spectacular. I didn't realise there was so much opportunity for novices like myself. A few of the pitches were very challenging and some of us coped better than others, but all of our climbing skills had improved by the end of the week and all of us had thorough­ ly enjoyed ourselves. I would be extremely pleased if I was to see more Adventure Training Exercises like this in future. I gained a lot from the five days training and would like to see others given this experience also."
It was particularly encouraging that the feedback at the end of the course was so very positive. Of seventeen students who attained the award sixteen said that they would continue the sport in one form or another, with at least ten who were keen to do more multi-pitch climbing and learn to instruct others in the sport. For each course an instructor was allocated two students for the duration of the week, and some of these RCP partnerships have endured to continue rock-climbing in their own time. This is after all what we all hope will happen after attending an RCP course!
I am with 7 Signal Regiment at least until the summer months of 2000 and plan to use the time to foster the continuation training of these budding rock-climbers. Some of them are ready to take their rock-leader training already and will be visiting one of the Joint Services Centres for the first time later this year. Although I am planning further Expeditions for the Regiment later this year I hope to run additional RCP courses for the soldiers who missed out on this opportunity over several weekends at my current local crag- Freyer!
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was the fact that all four instructors are currently active rock climbers at a level above British HVS/E1 and all had a true commitment to their sport. This allowed the students the chance to draw on over forty years worth of climbing experi­ ence, and gave the instructors an opportunity to introduce newcomers to the sport on a very personalised basis.
Although the number of easy climbs in the area is low, those that exist are of high quality and require placed protection throughout thus allowing the students to learn traditional climbing skills. The quality of the bolted protection on most climbs 6a or above was found to be excellent, however on routes of a lower grade a climbing rack was taken and invari­ ably used. Unless you get a perverse thrill out of some of the
Sig McClaren at Foix Este.
Hanging about in Spain. By Tim Noakes.