Page 33 - AMA Winter 2023/24

highest heat, but the conditions were still challenging. Although the route was well marked, meaning navigation was not a problem, the route required hours of scrambling and long periods of steep descent and ascent. On the other hand, the terrain was spectacular, offering amazing vistas all the way out to the sea and breathtaking views of varied water and rock features. Over the 10 days, the cadets covered over 110km and gained 7200m of ascent, reaching at one point an altitude of 2270m. To counter the high temperatures, good use was made of the various plunge pools encountered on the way, a welcome feature of the spectacular terrain.
Camping beside the refuges on route meant the teams had access to sanitation (some more basic than others!) and also provided cooking facilities, use of stoves outside being banned due to the wildfire risk. This was an understandable restriction, given half the rest of Europe seemed to be ablaze! The support team made long drives, once in the mountains on very twisting roads, to deliver fresh rations to provide variety and to replenish freeze dried packs. This occurred at three points, ensuring the teams carried at most 4 days rations.
On completion of the trek, the team caught the train at Vizzavona and were treated to a fantastic journey wending around
the mountainsides, crossing amazing bridges and travelling through cuttings in the rock faces. Whoever built the railway achieved a fantastic feat of engineering and the team were able to enjoy it all from the air-conditioned comfort of the train. Finally reassembled at the firm base, the team enjoyed some well-deserved down time and as well as eating some good food cooked by someone else(!), carried out an in-depth review session, ensuring lessons were learnt from reflecting on the experiences the cadets had shared. The power of AT can be seen in this email from one of the cadets who participated:
‘I will never forget the natural awe that I felt rush through my body from the spectacular views or the immensely strong connection that my team built in such a short time, but most of all I will never forget the lessons I learnt from the brilliant Mountain Leaders who always gave me the confidence to tackle new obstacles.
Corsica has left me with incredible memories for life and it’s played a big part in shaping me as a person by opening my eyes to a different scope of oppor- tunities and fuelling my passion for new adventures. I will also forever be grateful for the friendships that I made with people from all walks of life and I have to admit... I will miss the subtle, comical rivalry between the Northerners and the Southerners.’
In addition, several cadets have continued to meet up and walk independently in the mountains and two of the staff cadets (cadets over the age of 18) have visited the Lakes and Mourne Mountains, enhancing their logbook experience. Expeditions like this do inspire, but introduction to AT is the starting point from which these enterprises grow. If you have AT qualifications and would like to help cadets undertake their 1 Star level mandatory AT, which is a simple two-hour session introducing them to an activity, the equipment used and the environment in which it takes place, type your postcode into the search function on ‘www.armycadets.com’ and find your nearest ACF detachment. Something as simple as an evening at a climbing wall could be the entry to the world of adventure that AT can offer for a cadet!
ARMY MOUNTAINEER / 33