Page 49 - Bugle Autumn 2014

Rfn Lewis proving his wares on the slopes
On a dark evening on 28 November a six man team left behind a wet Northern Irish winter and exchanged it for the sun and snow of the French Alps. The 2 RIFLES ski team were en route to Ex FROSTED BLADE, the Infantry Alpine Skiing Championships in Val d’Isère.
The first stage of the exercise included an introduction to skiing for those who were new to the sport or technique tuning for those who had experience on snow before. Our instructors, chiefly Aldo, Vince and the lovely Cindy had years of experience instructing in the Alps and had also worked with the British Army for a number of years. At this point it was before the masses
had arrived to Val d’Isère and so we enjoyed
open pistes and no lift queues.
Overall it was good effort from a comparatively inexperienced team and there were great individual moments. We were ready to move
on to Les Contamines, to the Divisional Championships and step it up a level with the Corps teams. Suddenly we felt like the Jamaican bobsled team, out of our environment and amongst veterans. In this case they were seasoned teams from the RLC and REME with years of experience rather than weeks. What we lacked however, we made up in spirit and now away from Val d’Isère we stepped up our game. Things went phenomenally well. With over 30 teams in the field we
were constantly in the top third.
We made it to the Army Championships
in Serre Chevalier! Here it was only genuine competitors with a lot of experience about. We had a solid week, taking guest teams aside, finishing regularly in the top ten. Once again the speed events were our forte. I finished 40th overall in the men’s combined championship.
Rifleman Oli Lewis represented the Infantry Corps team and Rifleman Josh Thorpe was the best Best Novice in the Army. It was a fantastic season for the Battalion and the RIFLES skiing as a whole, with six members of the Regiment making it to the Army Championships. Next year it is imperative that all the Battalions continue from this good foundation and continue to represent on the big stage.
Lt Ara, B Coy
A couple of days after New Years Day and
race week had arrived. As team Captain, I
deliberated long over the team selection and
plumped with myself, LCpl Bean, Rfn Eardley
and Rfn Sanford. In Army competition, four
racers compete in the team with the top three times qualifying for the team’s score. We had a strong first showing, coming third (out of 23 teams) in the practice Giant Slalom race. In the Super G team members posted top 20 times giving us a strong position. Downhill meant gates were removed and the boys had a chance to really pin their ears back. A solid showing all round gave us tenth position out of forty teams.
we felt like the Jamaican bobsled team, out of our environment and amongst veterans
2 Rifles Ski team proving that black red and green lycra is this season’s must...
THE RIFLES
SECOND BATTALION 47
Alpine ski season 2013/14