Page 20 - Wish Stream Year of 2018

Intermediate Term, clutching our proverbial lemons, determined to bring lemonade to North Wales, despite the fact that many of our colleagues were drinking actual lemonade in various locations around the Mediterranean.
On our first day of walking, we finished our 20km route with so much enthusiasm and time to spare that we decided to finish the afternoon with an ascent of Tryfan, itself a demanding challenge for any day. Our descent from Glyder Fach was memorably steep, with OCdt ‘Mountain-goat’ Baxter blazing a trail at the front of the group while others resorted to the rear. At least a few members of the group left the mountains that day with a stretched sense of physical courage, and we all looked forward to the next opportu- nity for controlled exposure to risk.
Irrespective of the dark grey clouds the next morning, we decided to head to the indoor climb- ing gym for an introduction to ropes, belaying, and safe practices while climbing. We were in the fortunate position of having two suitably quali- fied supervisors within the group already, which meant that even those with prior skills could get valuable coaching and instructing experience.
After another couple of days walk- ing in the hills, including a climb of Mt Snowdon via the unpopular and exposed Rhyd Ddu path, we ended on the final day with single-pitch climbing outside in the otherwise deserted Dolwyddelan valley. Our crag (selected at the last minute)
turned out to be a hidden jewel, with picturesque views to match the weather, which ensured that all those who had never climbed outdoors before drove back to Sandhurst that evening with a hunger to do more.
Despite the more domestic location for our trip, we felt no resentment towards our more sun- tanned colleagues on our return back to Sand- hurst. We had all experienced some form of fear and adventure, whether that was on the moun- tain ridge, the rock wall, or in Tesco while trying to corral six other future leaders of the British Army.
We are very grateful to the Sandhurst Trust for providing funds to support our expedition, and also to OCdt Jefferson for having to organise three different trips last term.
We had all experienced some form of fear and adventure...
18 SANDHURST