Page 26 - 2010 AMA Spring

plugs are as necessary as mountain boots and crampons are on the mountain.
The following morning at 0400 we had a quick breakfast and then made tracks for the summit of the Aiguille du Tour. A rela- tively easy climb was rewarded by a spec- tacular view as the skies cleared, showing us Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe complete with snowdrift ‘quiff’, and what could have been. Taking in the views from the summit at 7am, one could only stand amazed at the incredible 360 views into France, Italy and Switzerland.
Our final day in Chamonix was spent climb- ing ‘the Index’ above La Flegere. A 400m rock climb, and without the limited visibility of previous days, a fair amount of exposure was on offer. If we thought the last day was going to be relaxed, we were definitely wrong. Our final climb was to be five pitch- es of steep granite followed by an abseil and, towards the end of the day, a reminder of the power of the weather - dropping temperatures and rising winds. This was a great opportunity for those who only days ago had been novices, to demonstrate their new found skills, taking their own safety and that of those around them into their own hands at every step.
We came to France with the aim of con- ducting training and acclimatisation in order to summit the highest peak in Europe; it
would be expected for one to feel disap- pointment or frustration when the weather put a halt to this ambition. The reality how- ever was that the heavy snowfall on the mountain prevented us from reaching the roof of Europe but instead delivered us the opportunities to push ourselves physically and mentally in some alternative but no less demanding Alpine terrain. The excellent judgement and depth of experience of both Lt Col Cath Davies and Maj Kev Edwards meant that every day was exploited to the maximum, and with huge success. Every novice on the trip at one point or another found themselves very far removed from their comfort zones; clinging on to rocks, on a ledge above the void and found it in them to carry on and up. Perhaps if those on the trip had known what they were going to undertake as a result of not being able to climb Mt Blanc, they might have thought better of it. Standing at the bottom of mountain after a long and demanding day though, the looks on people’s faces always made it obvious that although com- fort zones were truly smashed and limit sur- passed, total enjoyment and a huge sense of achievement was experienced by all.
24 ARMY MOUNTAINEER