Page 11 - RADC Bulletin 2022

Ex NORTHERN COLD SOLDIER
LCpl MFA Cacho
23rd – 30th Jan 2022
I was lucky to be allocated a place in this year’s Ex NORTHERN COLD SOLDIER held in Bourg Saint Maurice, France. Due to being a novice and having only skied once in the AMS Skiing Championships, I joined the Ski Foundation level 1 group. This was intended to help me gain more confidence, learn new techniques, and develop overall as an avid skier.
After a long day of travelling from Preston to London to Geneva Airport to Bourg Saint Maurice, we finally arrived to our destination; the Hotel Base Camp Lodge where we were accommodated. We were then allocated
our rooms for the duration of our stay. We had a dinner as a collective followed by an introduction brief and our kit issue before the night ended. My room was shared between
three people and funny enough our first names were Rachel, Monica and Phoebe just like the famous tv show ‘Friends.’
Just like any AT, we always start from the foundation level and work our way up the ladder. I had a little bit of experience, so I was ahead of my group. It was from day two on when we started skiing on the slopes using the techniques and safety rules, we learned from day one.
The best time of the day was the sit- down breaks in a café/bar, discussing what we should look for in terms of safety on
the slopes and reading the weather while we sipped on a deliciously expensive hot chocolate drink. It was all worth it! The hot chocolate was my reward for achieving and overcoming something new every day. We had a good time meeting the other SF1-SF3 groups and even had a chance to ski back
with them into the funicular to return to the lodge.
This course was very extensive especially for those with little to zero experience in Alpine Skiing. I had a great time getting to know other people with the same interest and drinking all those hot chocolates but most of all for slowly overcoming my fear of heights and falling.
At the end of the day, the Joint Service Ski Scheme is available for service personnel not only to gain new skills but to enhance skills that are beneficial to operational effectiveness and leadership, and to be able to form an open mind whether it is beyond our expectations or not. You’ll be surprised at how much you can achieve when you give something a try.
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