Page 57 - Wish Stream Year of 2018

After months of booking flights, transfers, vehicles, kit and equipment, eight mem- bers of Borneo Company departed Sand- hurst on a dark Saturday morning for a week of Skiing Adventurous Training. The overarching goal of the Exercise was to get everyone quali- fied to Ski Foundation level 1 by learning basic skiing and mountain safety lessons. Under the tuition of OCdt Whiteley, all the skiers were able to achieve this and had a fantastic, if sometimes very demanding, week in the Alps.
OCdt Corne
The last two days of the trip really upped the stakes with some steep off-piste runs. The large snow dumps earlier in the week meant that the snow was unseasonably deep and enabled us to attempt some aspects of the mountain that would normally be too dangerous. The off-piste skiing cer- tainly put us all into our ‘stretch zone’ as we tried to put all of our lessons into
practice, carving down the mountain with huge rocky outcrops littered throughout the slope. The added threat of crashing into a rock really sharpened the senses and certainly provided controlled exposure to risk that we all hope to get out of an Adventurous Training package.
Sadly, the end of the week came around all too quickly and, before we knew it, the time had come to return our gear and leave the Alps. Throughout the trip it is safe to say that all of the OCdts gained a much deeper understanding of the fundamentals of skiing and mountain safety as well having a fantastic time in the process. The challenge and thrill of helping each other down an icy Black Run at the end of the day perfectly encapsulated the purpose of Adventurous Train- ing which is to develop individual courage and leadership skills through controlled exposure to risk in a challenging outdoor environment.
Exercise NEIGE CADET
We touched down in Geneva air-
port and picked up the cars to
make our way to Meribel in eastern
France. As we made the long wind-
ing journey up the final mountain, a
heavy snowstorm set in, stranding
the lead vehicle. A precarious and
slow advance to a 24hr petrol sta-
tion to get snow chains was under-
taken by the second car and in the
small hours of the morning the team
arrived at the accommodation. The
upside of this heavy snow at the start of the week was the fantastic snow conditions enjoyed for the majority of the trip thereafter. After a short night’s sleep, the group made their way to the ski shop to pick up the final bits of equipment and we made our way onto the slopes.
As some of the group had never even worn skis before, the first lesson was aimed at informing us about what each piece of equipment is for and how it works. Once everybody was kitted up, we began with the fundamentals of skiing. We were taught the basic snow plough technique to ena- ble us to safely get down the mountain before slowly building up our skills over the next two days into something resembling proper skiing. The tempo was kept high throughout the train- ing, meaning that we rapidly advanced through the beginner slopes onto the more challenging and technical descents.
The last two days of the trip really upped the stakes with some steep off-piste runs.
SANDHURST 55