Page 33 - 2018 AMA Winter

The battle for this relatively modest technique with an ascent of a minor peak,
mountain reached its zenith over the
weekend 15-18 April 1916 when Austrian forces attempted to destroy Italian positions by tunnelling beneath them. After the attack failed, the Italians retaliated by detonating five tonnes of explosives in a tunnel under the Austrians, destroying the summit of the mountain but taking control of it until the end of the war. Luckily, over 100 years later when Ex PICCO CIMA TIGER visited the scene was much more peaceful.
Just before Easter 2018 Maj Phil Carrotte led a team of seven members of the Defence Academy on a six-day ski touring expedition to the Dolomites of Northern Italy. The aim of Exercise PICCO CIMA TIGER was to give partic- ipants the opportunity to develop their leadership, confidence, robustness and physical courage, whilst gaining either Ski Foundation 3 or valuable ski-touring experience required to progress through the Joint Service ski qualifications.
Participants were tested in a demanding Alpine environment with the exercise being conducted almost exclusively off-piste in remote mountainous terrain. The bulk of the trip was a four-day (three- night) high-altitude traverse, staying in mountain huts and carrying all necessary kit and equipment. Wherever possible the expedition skied along the First World War ‘Italian Front’, visiting battlefield sites and locations.
After a flight from the UK and moving into accommodation in San Cassiano, the team spent a day in the Alta Badia ski resort acclimatising, testing kit and refreshing their touring and off-piste
Störes (2181m). A day of glorious weather and great snow conditions followed, giving the team a perfect opportunity to practice skinning, kick turns, snow pack assessment and avalanche rescue drills, as the climbed Col Di Lana (2452m).
The remainder of the exercise was spent completing a hut-to-hut tour, beginning with an ascent of Col Dei Bos (2559m). Exercise participants saw evidence of the huge engineering efforts of the First World War and took time on the summit to conduct a Service of Remembrance laying a small wreath of poppies. Staying overnight at the Rifugio Lagazoui allowed for an early start, with the team enjoying making fresh tracks on their descent of the ‘Hidden Valley’ before a long undulating tour to the Rifugio Fanes. Poor weather the following day provided
‘Exercise participants saw evidence of the huge engineering efforts of the First World War ’
a useful opportunity to practice micro-nav on an ascent to Ju de St Antone (2466m) where, thankfully the weather cleared just enough for some stunning turns in descent. The expedition finished with a long ski out from the hut and a few hours of fresh powder and tree skiing around the Cinque Torri.
Exercise PICCO CIMA TIGER was a hugely successful exercise which provided high quality, arduous training to partici- pants whilst giving them the opportunity to study WW1 Alpine warfare.
Skining up the Col di Locia Service of Rememberance on Col dei Bos
i
ACTIVITY: SKI TOURING EXPEDITION AND SKI FOUNDATION 3 (SF3) COURSE.
LOCATION: ALTA BADIA REGION OF THE DOLOMITES, NORTHERN ITALY.
EXPED DATES: MARCH 2018.
HOW TO GET THERE: FLIGHTS TO VENICE OR INNSBRUCK, HIRE CARS.
ACCOMMODATION: HUGE VARIETY AND AVAILABILITY IN SAN CASSIANO, CORVARA, COLFOSCO. WWW.ALTABADIA.ORG
LOEGA APPARTMENTS – WWW. LOEGA.IT
RIFUGI LAHAZOUI – WWW. RIFUGIOLAGAZUOI.COM/ RIFUGIO FANES – HTTP://WWW. RIFUGIOFANES.COM
SKI PASS: DOLOMITI SUPERSKI GIVES ACCESS TO 450 LIFTS
AND 1200KM PISTED RUNS AND BRILLIANT ACCESS TO OFF-PISTE AND BACK COUNTRY. WWW. DOLOMITISUPERSKI.COM/EN
MAPS: TABACCO SERIES MAPS 1:25,000, NUMBERS 07 AND 03 WWW.TABACCOEDITRICE.IT
GUIDEBOOK: SKI TOURING
AND SNOWSHOEING IN THE DOLOMITES - 50 WINTER ROUTES BY JAMES RUSHFORTH, PUBLISHED BY CICERONE.
EXPED LEADERS CONTACT DETAILS: PHILIP.CARROTTE@
DA.MOD.UK
FACTS
Earning the turns
Avalanche rescue drills
ARMY MOUNTAINEER / 33