Page 25 - 2015 AMA Autumn

Spider Pig
Rock climbing with limited use of an arm? Or with one leg? Or no legs? What’s the point in that? Surely it’s
hard enough already without an additional hurdle to overcome. If that is what you think, then you’re missing the point. As AMA members will surely appreciate, there is much more to this great pastime than simply the achievement of getting to the top of some previously unconquered peak: the pure physical exertion, the environment and landscapes, the camaraderie, the kit (admit it!) – and I’m sure that there are many other more esoteric and individual reasons for getting out on the rock and giving it a go. Everyone has a personal set of motivations which blend to get them out there.
Adaptive sports have grown in popularity across many genres in recent years. In the military context, the Battle Back initiative, supported by H4H, has been at the forefront of this growth. Sure, many climbs are (literally) out of reach for the adaptive climber, but in reality this is the case for the vast majority of us: those (me included!) who linger over the unreachable whilst browsing a Rockfax from the cosy comfort of the sofa, but flick rapidly past the E6 (or even the E1) whilst route spotting at the foot of that distant crag.
Battle Back was launched in 2008, and initially focused on downhill skiing as the medium through which to achieve its objectives. It has since grown to encompass most sports and adventurous activities including – but not limited to – the 9 officially recognised adventurous training (AT) disciplines. It is not a charity, but an MOD initiative. Battle Back HQ is located at Lilleshall, near Telford, with adaptive input and students coming from the Battle Back team based at DMRC Headley Court near Epsom. It exists to ensure the seriously injured have access to the same oppor- tunities in sport and AT that are currently available to the able bodied.
Through Battle Back, which is a tri-service organisation, seriously injured service personnel are encouraged to participate in sport and AT as part of their rehabilita- tion process and beyond. Just like conven- tional AT, Battle Back has been shown to make a huge difference in lives – physically,
mentally and emotionally. The AMA and its members have been great advocates and supporters of Battle Back from the outset. One example of this support has been to provide sponsorship to an annual adaptive Level 3 climbing expedition to Spain – now in its 5th year. Based in the popular Calpe region, the expedition, latterly known as Exercise SPIDER PIG, has taken a wide range of serving military personnel with a variety of injuries, and given them an enhanced experience of sport and trad climbing, often introduced in a muggy English climbing wall, and then developed on warm Spanish rock in the well-trodden Calpe region. The latest of these expeditions, in November 2014, saw 10 students and 6 instructors tackle an impressive array of single and multi-pitch climbs, comprising a mix of old favourites in Echo Valley and Sierra de Toix, and well as some new to the Spider Pig in Sella.
Planning and conducting an adaptive expedition is really no different than any other. All the usual issues of location and accom- modation, participants, funding, instructors and qualifications, equipment and transport, paperwork etc. However, some of the factors to be considered within the following headings are different, for example:
Loan pool climbing equipment is almost universally adaptable and thus suitable for adaptive use: it is by its very design flexible, and lends itself to novel and adaptive appli- cations. There are a couple of exceptions: providing grip to prostheses has followed a number of avenues and could form a lengthy article all of its own. Early attempts with rubber from old climbing shoes grafted to nylon pucks were moderately successful. Rubber floor tiles less so. A recent experiment with a section taken from a high-quality MTB tyre produced promising results, which will be followed up on a future expedition. Climbing techniques too take some adaption, and the emphasis – depending on disability – is often on balance rather than strength. This is something that many able-bodied military novices could usefully learn! Disabled access both for accommodation and to the foot of crags is a significant issue. The first is easily solved by using the excellent Finca Asmoladora in Parcent, as advertised in the Costa Blanca
Rockfax, and on line at http://www.finca- la-asmoladora.com/ This has flexible, adaptable accommodation, with good wheelchair access and walk-in showers. It is also well placed for most of the climbing venues. The resident owners Pam and Derek Cornthwaite have proved to be generous, understanding hosts over successive visits – and offer a good military discount. It has to be said that an added advantage of the quiet rural location is that it is well removed from the fleshpots of Benidorm. This puts temptation an expensive taxi ride away, and focuses attention on the main purpose of the trip: climbing and team building. Crag selection, and in particular crag access is a more challenging issue: how far would you be prepared to crawl on your knees or be carried (the latter rarely occurs), in order to get to the foot of a climb? Fortunately there are some first rate novice-friendly crags with bolted routes in the lower grades – eg at Echo Valley and Sella with just the level of drive-in access required. By way of example, evergreen favourite routes, all of which can be accessed almost directly from the concrete access road at Echo 1.5 include Bicton ITC (4) and Flake Drum (4+). The popular group comprising Shield (3+), Fat Boy (3) Live Wire (3) and Pro Wire (3) have perennially provided an excellent learning environment for students progressing to lead climbing. Rick Mayfield at the Orange House is to be thanked for establishing and bolting this great facility. Sierra de Toix has proved a little more challenging in terms of access. However, it is well worth the effort for the quality and length of climbs (for more mobile students) and the spectacularly evocative sea views. Firm favourites include the single pitch array on Toix Far Oeste (centred on the appropriately-named Help for Heroes!) and various multi-pitch climbs on Toix Placa including Ruwa (5), Lofi (4+), Lara (4+) and the impressively long (5 pitch) Gliber (5+).
Both accommodation and climbing venues are equally suited to and recommended for a more conventional AT expedition, with further details available in the several Spider Pig PXRs or from the author. The flexibility and adaptability of climbing, in particular in the natural environment, lends itself very well to the Battle Back ethos, and adaptive climbing, like all adaptive endeavour, focuses on what can be achieved, not that which cannot. See you on the rock!
ARMY MOUNTAINEER 23