Page 33 - 2006/07 AMA Winter

the Rockies organised by 7 SCOTS, 51st Highland TA. Our base for the expedition was the Fortress Ski Centre that is in Kananaskis country, about two hours west of Calgary in the foothills of the Rockies. There were fourteen exercise participants, four instructors and an admin team of three.
The aim was for all partici­ pants to rotate around various activities: alpine mountaineer­ ing, walking expeditions, sin­ gle pitch and m ulti-pitch clim b­ ing. Before the exercise began all participants were required to do a Winter Mountaineering Proficiency course and also a Rock Proficiency Course so that there was a basic skill level when we arrived in country. The first challenge the expedi­ tion had to deal with was when we lost the expedition
leader on the first evening: he became ill and had to be admitted to Perth Hospital and so was unable to participate. Despite this due to the hard work of the expedition 2IC the rest of the expedition was a big success.
The alpine m ountaineering phase involved a day of train­ ing on the Athabasca Glacier
followed by an expedition to the Ten Peaks area near Lake Louise. Teams walked up to the Neil Colgan Hut (elevation 2840m) and stayed there for 3 nights climbing the local mountains: Mt Bowlen (3072m), Mt Perren (3351m) and Mt Little (3140m). This involved crossing a wet glacier and grade 1 winter ter­ rain to each of the peaks. On two occasions we had to utilise recently learned crevasse rescue skills when the nominated ‘crevasse-find- er' suddenly disappeared from
view! Just staying in the alpine hut was a new experi­ ence for the troops including meeting a few of the other eccentric climbing personali­ ties also staying in the hut.
of rock, which is about nine km of vertical ascent!
We completed two mountain walking expeditions: The Ribbon Lake Trail (2 days, 30km) and the Sunshine Trail (3 days, 65km). The troops carried all their own kit and bivvied out in back country campsites along the route. There were several chal­ lenges not found in the British
Mountains from avoiding the local grizzly bears to clim bing chains with expedition packs. In addition we did several day walks from the Fortress Base: Mount Allen (2819 m), Elbow lake and the ascent to the Rae Glacier and a circuit of the Kananaskis Lake.
in their own civilian careers. Six soldiers from this expedi­ tion are due to serve in Iraq and start in theatre at the beginning of September, and I am confident that these expe­ riences in Canada will stand them in good stead for any challenges in the future.
The expedition was a huge success mainly due to all the hard work Captain W oodhouse put into planning and applying for the many grant applications. W ithout the generous help of so many regimental organi­ sations so many young soldiers would have
not benefited for this fantastic opportunity.
Rock climbing
Canadian
The team high in the Rockies.
Super Size Me! -
Go large in the Rockies
By James Woodhouse
The R&R was an important The expedition utilised the part of the exercise allowing
many sport climbing crags that the Rockies have to offer. These proved to be excellent training grounds for the harder and more committing multi pitch climbs that were tackled. One party climbed on the impressive mountain crags of Yamnuska. They climbed Grillmair Chimneys (5.6 290m) that involved popping out of a hole in the ground at the top of the climb much to the amusement of the hikers at the top. In total the expedi­ tion climbed over 300 pitches
troops to recover from the rel­ atively lengthy and demanding schedule. The last 2 days of the exercise
the troops did a variety of activities from drinking tea and eating pasta to playing on the renowned Kananaskis Golf Course.
The expedition 2ic commented: Adventure training
in Canada enables troops of
all abilities to achieve their per­ sonal best. The pro­ gramme of events was designed to be both progressive and chal­ lenging. Not only did the troops develop their own personal fit­ ness but also skills such as team work, personal adm inis­ tration and confi­ dence in their
own abilities. These skills are not only essen­ tial on active duty but also