Page 38 - Bugle Spring 2025

6 RIFLES
Ex WYVERN ATLAS
Trekking in the High Atlas Mountains
The Riflemen begin their assent
The Army sanctions eight expeditions to the
High Atlas region of Morocco each year and
in 2023, 6 RIFLES were successful with their
bid. All was well with planning until less
than a week from deploying, tragedy struck,
and Morocco was hit with a devastating
earthquake. Army Adventure Training group
were kind enough to “roll over,” the Exped
into 2024.
So, in late September 2024, 14 members of
6 RIFLES arrived at Gatwick Airport ready to
(in some cases for the first time), deploy on
an international AT Exped. The mission was
to conduct 11 days high altitude, high risk
and remote trekking in the High Atlas region,
culminating with an attempt to summit the
highest peak in North Africa, Mount Toubkal
which stands at over 4,100 meters.
Upon landing in Marrakech, we were met
by the local Royal Police, who subsequently
escorted us to our hotel for the night (with
full blue lights and sirens), this was to set the
tone for the Exped in terms of great interaction
with the Moroccan Armed Forces (MAF), and
The Gendarmerie Royal (GR). As the Exped
leader I was told when planning the trip that
the “MAF would be invited, but never turn up,”
however on arrival there were twelve very
keen MAF soldiers ready to deploy with us for
the duration of our Exped.
The first two days were taken up with
administration and rehearsals, as well as
some lower altitude walks to get used to the
environment and trekking with our now much
larger group! Soon enough we found ourselves
commencing the acclimatisation part of the
Exped that lasted the first 5 days, moving early
each morning to escape the hottest part of
the day we would walk for six plus hours, only
breaking for lunch until we reached our next
campsite or Riad (a Moroccan version of a bed
and breakfast). The scenery was stunning,
even for those more seasoned travellers.
Post acclimatisation we moved into the
summit phase which involved trekking up
to the Toubkal Massif, and all could feel the
difference in altitude but fortunately none
of the team suffered from Acute Mountain
Sickness. Finally at 0300 on the 1st of October
we left the Toubkal refuge to begin our trek
to the summit, we started in the dark and
were a good way up as the terrain of this
huge mountain began to reveal itself. All at
this stage were hoping for a view at the top
(not a given on most days), we were not
disappointed, for the 40 minutes we were
at the summit we had good conditions and
clear views. At the top we took a lot of pictures
but also the time to promote one of the team
members Cpl (now Sgt), Jo Page.
After returning to lower ground, we spent
the next few days moving back to our original
point at a small mountain town called Imlil,
the night we arrived we had a celebratory
meal with all the team and the excellent
support staff from our trekking agency ATLAS
VERTICAL. On the 5th of October 14 (now much
lighter), soldiers arrived back in the UK, all in
good health and grateful for the opportunity
to experience high altitude mountaineering in
this amazing country.
Capt MA Saunders, Exped Leader
All was well with planning until less
than a week from deploying, tragedy
struck, and Morocco was hit with a
devastating earthquake
38 RIFLES The Bugle
D Company on Lord Famouth’s tender
D COMPANY
POWERBOATING
July brought fair weather, with cool mornings that burnt off
into warmer afternoons. Amidst this temperament, with the
option of extending their weekend by choosing to travel on
Thursday or Friday, Riflemen from D Coy travelled to Mylor
harbour from across Devon and Cornwall.
The Riflemen spent the first two days gaining their
Powerboat Level 2 License. Once
this had been achieved, they had the
opportunity to consolidate their newly
learnt skills on a rented powerboat,
reaching speeds up to 30 knots.
Simultaneously, Riflemen could choose
to lend their hand to dingy sailing, with
the option of swapping between the two
as they saw fit.
Furthermore, the Riflemen had the
privilege of utilising Lord Falmouth’s
tender, (a beautifully crafted wooden
boat) to travel to the well-known
‘Pandora’ for a pub lunch.
Seldom heard without irony, this
weekend was one Civvies would pay
Seldom
heard
without
irony, this
weekend
was one
Civvies
would pay
thousands
for
thousands for.
Rfn Coombs, D Coy
Members of D Company enjoying the water