Page 58 - 1RHA 2024

1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
Climbing Sergeant C Wharfe
Climbing has recently experienced a national surge in popu- larity and participation owing, in no small part, to its intro- duction to the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo. Likewise, its
appeal within the regiment and wider army has also been grow- ing steadily.
Army climbing is headed by the Army Mountaineering Associa- tion (AMA) existing since 1957, when it began organising ambi- tious mountaineering expeditions to the Karakoram range in Pakistan. It has expanded to include the more modern disciplines of sport climbing (leading pre-bolted, technical and competitive routes) and bouldering, whereby climbers attempt to work out the sequences of short powerful routes without the aid of a rope.
These events provide a much easier opportunity for members of the regiment to take their first steps onto a climbing wall or rock face, and the AMA hosts a series of sport and bouldering com- petitions throughout the year. Regimental climbers entered the Armed Forces Bouldering League (AFBL) in events across the south, including Swindon, Exeter and Milton Keynes. For many this was their first exposure to the sport as they chalked-up to pull and strain their way through increasingly difficult boulder problems – sometimes looking at the tiny holds and wondering how they’d even make it off the ground.
The Joint Service Adventure Training (JSAT) qualification scheme exists alongside sport climbing, and members of the regiment were able to complete both foundation and leader qualifications. Having JSAT qualified soldiers in 1 RHA is essential in enabling the regiment to generate its own climbing opportunities and ensure that climbing is continued in the future as routinely as possible.
This opportunity was recently taken up in July by members of Fox Tp, O/HQ Bty, who deployed to Eryri National Park (formally Snowdonia). The troop conducted roped climbing on Welsh rock, alongside epic summer mountaineering, and bouldering at the Indy Climbing Centre during the inevitable wet-weather day. Such training was made possible by the recent purchase of climbing ropes and hardware to update and replenish the regi- ment’s sports stores, ensuring that soldiers can continue to climb on.
Into the future, I hope that climbing continues to increase in pop- ularity and is keenly promoted by those who have represented 1 RHA over the last year in competition and taken part in adventur- ous training activities. The appeal of climbing in the military is clear, in building strong confident soldiers, who actively seek out challenges and inspire those around them.
56