Page 27 - AMA Winter 2023/24

and mountaineering qualifications in the ‘Alpine’ environment and the cost-benefit of exercise administration and travel arrange- ments. I will put in the disclaimer now, that the following are just my ‘thoughts’ that may be of use to others and I will leave you to draw your own conclusions.
JSAT QUALIFICATIONS IN THE ALPINE ENVIRONMENT
Given the recent conditions found in the Alps over the last few seasons, I thought it was a great idea to save sketching about on dodgy snow routes. I also thought I would save some hassle avoiding the High Risk and Remote presentation process, by staying below 3500m; even making it worth not having the CILOR altitude supplement! I also thought that there was a great opportunity to provide a meet that could incorporate more people – no glaciers, no snow, surely no alpine quals?
Rock climbing in the Alps is a pretty grey area. There is a fair bit of discrepancy between guidebooks and the description of ‘alpine terrain’ is inconsistent. Some of the guidebooks for the Alps consider ‘alpine terrain’ to be anything that isn’t fully bolted, given that ‘trad’ doesn’t really feature as a term in Europe and the routes are usually lower in the grades where bolting may be less appropriate, given that some people may solo or move together. Alpine grades are also sometimes apportioned in a similar fashion to our adjectival grading system, so where we might call something ‘Severe 4a,’ European guidebooks might describe it as ‘Difficile 5a.’ There is also no such term as ‘scrambling’ in the Alps, as we would understand it in the UK. Coupled with the difficulty in defining terrain, comes the difficulty of defining JSAT qual- ification remits, with terminology such as ‘summer conditions’ and ‘worldwide.’ I found it difficult to see how an ASL/RCI can operate on the Cuillin Ridge, but not on similar routes in the Alps.
My UATO sensibly referred my proposed route choices to the Chief Instructor at JSMTC for arbitration. This gave a good indication of routes which could be climbed as ‘equals’ by those with alpine qualifica- tions and adequate logbook experience and routes which were more appropriate for those with rock climbing only qualifi- cations. As a consequence, I chose areas that had both alpine and rock routes and this ensured that there was a good range
5 nights camping (£20 per head – occupied rate)
5 nights campsite charge (£10 per head – unoccupied rate)
300 5 nights in valley hotels (£50 per head) 750
150 5 nights in huts (£20 – accommodation only) 300
SPENDING ITEM
£
SPENDING ITEM
£
5 nights in huts (£20 – accommodation only) 300
2 nights in hotels (£50 per head) 300 – additional requirement for travel days
Table 1. Indicative cost comparison of accommodation options.
Total
1050
Total
1050
of options, which would cater for a mix of ability (and weather). Once deployed, we meticulously assessed route options, considering whether they carried any objective dangers, how long they were and whether they were escapable. This allowed us to ensure that challenging routes could be selected that were appropriate for those participating. We also chose a progressive approach to routes, ensuring that everyone was comfortable on easier and less-com- mitting routes before stepping things up. A unanimous observation from the AMLs on this exercise was the difference in safety margins between low grade alpine snow routes, short-roping on consequential terrain and pitched climbing on more solid rock: Something which the JSAT alpine scheme never seems to address fully in my opinion.
COST-BENEFIT OF TRAVEL AND ADMINISTRATION OPTIONS
Driving out to the Alps and pitching camp always seems to have been ‘de rigeur.’ Ten days of poor sleep and a few missed opportunities later, I’ve often wondered if this approach was actually conducive to success or saved that much money.
For the AMA Swiss Rock & Ridges meet, I wanted to be flexible so that I could move around if the weather required. I already knew that I wanted to spend most of the exercise in huts, so did it really make any sense to establish a valley base camp somewhere? Even at Swiss prices, there were lots of valley accommodation options
both in and out of ski resorts, competi- tively priced in a summer market where there is clearly more supply than demand. What a difference it makes to have a good night’s sleep after a couple of days in huts, being able to sort out your admin whilst standing-up and ‘heaven-forbid,’ your washing might be dry in the morning rather than soaked in dew. These things make a huge difference when you are wanting to push yourselves on demanding routes. Whilst having a valley base camp does mean that you might not have to pack-up and check-out every time you head out to the huts, I was surprised that this didn’t feel like too much of an issue. It was also nice not to be charged for leaving empty tents on the campsite, which has become a routine expectation and seemingly a ‘legal requirement’ in some areas. My only
Descending from the Undertalstock
3 x return flights from UK to Geneva 900
Hire vehicle costs 500
Ex fuel costs (400 miles @ 20p per mile) 80
SPENDING ITEM
£
SPENDING ITEM
£
Fuel costs for driving from UK
+ ex use (2000 miles return @ 20p per mile)
Channel crossing
Hire vehicle costs
400
200
500
Vignette 30
Table 2. Indicative cost comparison of travel options.
Total
1130
Total
1480
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