Page 28 - 2011 AMA Winter

Cadet Centre For Adventurous Training (CCAT)
Scottish Expedition Week
Twenty stars in a week’s rock climbing and glorious Scottish weather!
Delivering a busy annual programme of AT courses for the Cadets organisation is more than simply training and assessing Adult Instructors and Senior cadets for quali- fications. It is of equal importance to provide opportunities to acquire the essential logbook experience that further develops and enriches a potential Leader or Instructor’s depth of skills and knowledge in preparation to being assessed for an AT qualification. This is par- ticularly true for the Adult Instructor who does not live within easy reach of the main moun- tains and rivers in UK.
An expedition is about the journey, a voyage of discovery and a once in a life time experi- ence. The Scottish Expeditions courses run by CCAT offers these opportunities. Open to both Adult Instructors and Senior Cadets is a mixed menu of courses that includes:
Sea kayaking around the the NW coast- line (Summer Isles), hopping from island to island, paddling alongside dolphins and pilot whales while sea eagles play on the thermals above, returning to mainland only for fresh water supplies and perhaps an ice cream.
A mountaineering expedition climbing and exploring the remote and rugged Torridon mountains and further still to the NW High-
lands onto Stac Polladaih where the only company is a small herd of deer.
An open canoeing and kayaking expedi- tion touring the best wild water rivers on the West coast, the Awe and Garry.
To illustrate these adventures, we return to the rock climbers who journeyed from the NW Highlands across to the Cairngorms and the West Highlands, climbing the very best classic rock climbs and bagging a clutch of stars. These were remote routes with a big mountain atmosphere requiring commitment and long walk ins, but bathed in sunshine, provided a climbing experience bar none
Sat 23 Jul – Ardverikie Wall, Hard Severe 6 Pitches ****
Mon 25 Jul – Cioch Nose, Applecross, Severe, 5 Pitches ****
Tue 26 Jul – Savage Slit, Cairngorms, Very Difficult, 3 Pitches ****
Wed 27 Jul – Spartan Slab, Etive Slabs, Very Severe, 7 Pitches ****
Thu 28 Jul – Reiff, NW Coast, 2 x Severe *, 2 x Very Severe *
Fri 29 Jul – Stac Polladaih, 2 x Very Difficult classic routes
Generous Scottish guidebooks gave us a haul of 20 stars and all things considered, the team suffered relatively few midge bites. Why go abroad when you can have the adventure of a lifetime in Scotland!
26 ARMY MOUNTAINEER