Page 12 - 2015 AMA Autumn

and Italy by a Mountain Guide provided by the respective host nation military.
In Austria I worked alongside Military and IFMGA qualified Guides who all proved to be both highly professional and excellent company. My deep gratitude and lasting friendship goes to Stefan Redtenbacher(1&2), Gregor Haas(2&4), Daniel Ploner(3), Andy Eicholz(4), Sepp DelMarco(5), Harry(5), and Klaus Zweiker(5). The AUT Forces also kindly provided accommodation for the Support Team in local barracks following the route.
Switzerland provided IFMGA Mountain Guides Thomas Villars(6), Stephan Ruoss(7) and Johann Filliez(8) to join us; proving invaluable with their detailed local knowledge of the terrain, conditions and local history. They assisted our safe passage through the Swiss mountains despite very difficult conditions, particularly during stage 8 which resulted in many changes to the planned itinerary. The Support team were also kindly accommodated in barracks in Chur, Andermatt and Sion during the expedition’s passage through Switzerland.
All this support from the Swiss Armed Forces was graciously provided as a special sign of support for construc- tive bilateral military relations between GBR and CHE. Without this the expedition would not have been so successful or as rewarding to the British service personnel who took part. Therefore we owe a special thank you to the Commander of the Swiss Army, Lt Gen Dominique Andrey and to Special Officer Jean-Louis Hug for
arranging this.
In Italy from the Grand St Bernard Monastery to the border with France Valsavarenche/Vanoise the team enjoyed the good company of energetic Italian Military IFMGA guide Loris Buzi. Keeping up with his fast transitions and enthusiasm for red wine proved a challenege. For the last days in Italy Ettore Taufer joined us, allowing us to benefit from his detailed local knowledge during
10 ARMY MOUNTAINEER