Page 48 - 2021 AMA Summer

SKIMOUNTAINEERING
and were disqualified through my faffing
bre-composite skinny skis (“allumettes” with skins and general poor performance.
- matchsticks), running over exposed Tom gently offered me some coaching
ridges and summits, and high-speed tips: “you need to do more hill running,
descending on one’s allumettes down a lose two stone in weight and show me
variety of steep icy couloirs and technical evidence of some meaningful training on
off piste terrain. Teams consist of 2 - men, Strava...”
women or mixed. Simples! In 2019 the total height climbed was10,048m over La Pierra Menta comprises 4 étapes
the emblematic peaks of the Beaufortain of climbing on lightweight carbon-fi-
range (Grand Mont, Mont Mirantin etc) and
every thousand metres gained was lost as fast as your tired jelly legs and allumettes would carry you over a total distance of 113km. All in the shadow of the proud, monolithic peak of Pierra Menta (2714m) from which the race takes its name.
Race week finally arrived (13-16 March) and we attended the sign-on and compulsory kit-check on the eve of the first race. I felt self-conscious queuing up alongside the great Laëtitia Roux - 7 times female winner of Pierra Menta, former World Champion and a soldier in the French Army. Tom checked in first. “Where eez your team mate? Theez eez your farther...” politely asked the marshal. I rose to my entire 1.73m height and in my most indignant French stated that I was Tom’s teammate and not his dad. Vertically and now chronologically challenged. Previously fat-shamed too. We shared accommodation in the charming village of Arêches with many teams, developing a strong sense of camaraderie and forging strong bonds. During the competition some of these folk were disqualified for failing to make the time cut at the end of each day, or for suffering a piece of broken equipment, and it was sad to see them forced to retire.
Étape 1 - 28.4km, 2558m and 4hr 33min. Exhilarating and exhausting in equal measures. 14 transitions during the race. We completed the day relatively comfortably. Once the day’s winners have crossed the line, racers must finish within no more than a further 90% of the day’s winning time in order to not be eliminated. This allows committed amateurs to race alongside professionals, but ensures that the competition is credible and importantly that the volunteer race marshals are not left on the hill waiting for stragglers long after the lead teams have gone through the checkpoints. I slept very poorly that night. I had eaten as much as I could
The Official Magazine of RAF Wyton
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THE KING’S ROYAL HUSSARS
THE LIGHT DRAGOON
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REGIMENTAL JOURNAL 2020
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The Regimental Journal of
Run for 2331
Families Day
COs Cup
INSIDE...
20me
Walk, Bike or Run for 2331
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Catterick Garrison
The Light Dragoons
Volume 7
Number 4
April 2021
This is what we do...
3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
2019–20
CADET REVIEW
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CVQO DUKE OF WESTMINSTER’S AWARD
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The Magazine of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps
SPRING 2021
RFCA
Reserve Forces and Cadets Association
For Yorkshire and the Humber
I so enjoyed my first flight! 07
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