Page 12 - The Light Blue Volunteer Journal 2022

well as being fun and challenging, there were some beautiful views, even if we were very high and exposed. I thought this was especially useful for us climbers as it felt like the clipping and unclipping was a bit of practice for the mechanics of lead climbing. We visited Les Chavants with some of the Officer Cadets not doing the foundation course, which allowed us to demonstrate our leadership and a bit of teaching with those who hadn’t completed the course. And a new set of climbs to conquer, of course.
Mountain Biking
Following a day refreshing our skills, we then planned our routes as a group and followed a combination of blue, green, and red graded trails which led us along the L’Arveyron river, and along the Petit Balcon Nord into Argentière. We then biked back along the Petit Balcon Sud and through Chamonix back to the campsite. We explored in and around Chamonix, choosing to explore the unmarked routes allowing us to practice our decision-making as we would walk the tracks before we decided if it was suitable for us to go down. It also allowed
us to practice different skills such as going down drop in’s allowing us to develop our confidence. Culminating
in the route Petit Balcon Nord. It was a rewarding and variable route which had unavoidable obstacles putting our mental resilience and skills to the test.
The goal of this trip was to complete an
overseas adventure training package that provided opportunities for officer cadets to acquire their foundation awards in mountain biking and climbing as well as developing their leadership, teamwork, mental resilience and personal growth.
OCdt Ellison
12 THE LIGHT BLUE VOLUNTEER