Page 23 - RADC 2017

Capt Watson – Fancy Dress Night
never set foot on a snowy mountain he progressed incredibly well and showed great determination. With the amount he fell over he should have snapped, but he still got up every time, committing to each run. There was a twinkle in his eye at the end, not to just survive but to compete. The Ski instructors, be it the local ski school or Army veterans were all incredibly helpful. It had
a great atmosphere for all ages, ranks and abilities with help in the form of pro tips on and off the slope.
We raced with everyone completing a timed super slalom, essentially weaving between red and blue flags with a crowd at the bottom cheering you to the finish. The fastest half were selected for the A-League and the rest the B-League. The days after allowed the two leagues to complete the Grand Slalom and another faster Special Slalom to give the overall seeding scores. Some racing god was looking after me the whole trip as I managed to rank 77th from the overall standings. But in all seriousness for the three of us I believe the very act of getting down in one piece, not disqualified and with a respectable time, meant we were getting the hang of this sport!
The turn of Nordic racing was all about speed and Lycra. Honestly it was great and a really rewarding skill to learn, but the actual art of Nordic skiing is like trying to wear clown shoes but only attached at the toes, with no grip, on ice...and then try and propel yourself as fast as possible to the finish line!
If you are worried about how you look because of the Lycra, you rapidly forget this and realise you look awesome when you can master this sport in anything, and you look like a plum when you fall every three meters. A couple of days in and you also realise how much this works every muscle you have, regardless of fitness levels, you simply get into the track, put in your maximum effort and always come away exhausted.
Racing consisted of doing a 5Km, 10Km, Relay and Patrol Race. The single races were tough; the relay was more fun seeing as everyone clatters into each other at
the hand over point, but again still very demanding. The most noteworthy was the patrol race, set to replicate a small
Patrol race start
Super Slalom RADC Lycra
team gaining reconnaissance across the winter terrain; it tests mental and physical endurance. The rules were clear; to compete you had to be in team of 4, preferably a JNCO, SNCO, JO and SO. With everyone
in matching gear and carrying 10Kg of kit, you were to be inspected and set questions about the AMS before setting off. With very strong winds and continuous heavy snow for the whole day, we managed the 25km (as the crow flies) trek across the mountain range with obstacles set along the way in an impressive 3hrs 21min 48s.
With all this going on and big efforts put in by everyone, there is another part of the AMS Ski Champs that can never be forgotten, it is the the social side. Meeting people from all ranks, AMS cap badges,
Capt Watson Suffering – 10Km Nordic Race
regular and reserves; it’s brilliant to talk and get to know those further afield. We had some great experiences of skiing down the mountain at night time by torch light, a fancy dress games night, an RADC dinner night and finished with a presentation evening at the end of the two weeks.
I would thoroughly recommend if you
can ever get the chance to go on this exercise, you will learn so much so fast. Even if it’s your first or twelfth time, you
will always develop and push yourself. You are supported and surrounded by a great atmosphere! If you ever are interested please do get in contact or check out the Army Winter Ski Association (AWSA) website which has loads of contacts and information available.
Night Time Ski
RADC BULLETIN 2017 21