Page 14 - 2006/07 AMA Winter

up with people waist deep in snow. However, everyone made the ascent to be rewarded by a beautiful view across the Alps including the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa. The next two days unfortu­ nately were decidedly Scottish in nature. Poor visi­ bility and cold wet weather meant that any summit bids were off. So we spent our tim­ ing honing our avalanche / probing searches, learning to prussik up and down ropes with special hip thrusting action from Ollie Noakes. dig­ ging snow holes (some defi­ nitely more comfortable than others) and continuing with crevasse rescues. We were rewarded for our efforts by our jolly hut warden awaiting our return with Schnapps to warm us up. The evening was spent recalling our own few moun­ tain tales, a couple of games of cards and everyone gener­ ally being Bloomered' by Glen’s, “can you name the ‘x’ hundred movies with actor ‘y’ in?" No I can't! We ended up with little bit more Schnapps as a night cap.
Phil Maddox guiding expedition members through crevasse rescue.
Sunday was spent sampling the delights of the Slovenian Ski Team as they zipped past us on the ski slopes and then we made our way up to the Hohsaas Hut for our next summit. The hut which would have been more at home in a film set in 2050 had every convenience and we even managed to find a room espe­ cially for the snorers. The next day was to turn into epics on nearly every account. Two sets of groups headed out to climb the Lagginhorn and the Weissmies. Whilst Sven and Colin did manage to ‘leg it’ up the latter in the recommended 6 hours, everyone else was closer to double that and two groups ended up descending down a steep couloir without summiting. On the Lagginhorn things were no better when we summited after 18 hours and then made it down in a further three and a half! The next day was hence turned into a much needed rest day. The groups were then once again split into two. One group headed round to the Rothorn hut to climb the Zinal Rothorn, whilst the AMP group headed up the steep snow face back up the Allalinhorn. This was pro­ ceeding with few problems until I decided to make the day more taxing by sending some of the summit hurtling down the slope at the following groups which earned me the name of Harold Shipman. Our final day was spent com­ pleting a glacier skills assess­ ment, and then it was time for us to head back to reality and home.
By all accounts the exercise had been a success and enjoyed by all The team had some laughs, achieved some worthwhile training and identi­ fied the direction we need to move in, to make the dream of climbing and possibly skiing from Mount Shisha Pangma a reality. There is lots to do before our final training expe­ dition in the Canadian Rockies at Easter, by which time the team for Tibet will have been selected. Look out for the launch evening at the Royal Geographical Society mid 2007, and keep your eyes on http://sp07.expeds.com/ for further expedition details. As Geordie would say, “Bring it on!”
12 ARMY MOUNTAINEER
A week had already passed, and Saturday was meant to be our expedition admin day. It was then spent splitting up
into groups, trying to dissect down what groundwork would be needed for the summit bid of Mt Shisha Pangma. From finance and sponsorship onto medical, nutrition and training; future plans were thrashed out along with a cold beer at the pub across the road. A BBQ later in the evening saw all the team members dis­ cussing what needed to be done, like what night club we should go to...