Page 27 - RADC 2020
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The view down over Ballachulish and towards the Pap of Glen Coe
are less popular, or simply hard to achieve, and as such, there are greater opportunities to join an external unit’s expeditions if and when they require leaders.
The WMF courses are all held at Ballachulish, so once again, I found myself driving up through Glen Coe. This time driving in significantly worse weather with the snow falling heavily along the high and winding roads. The first week in January 2020 saw the worst winter mountaineering conditions in years, with gale-force winds and temperatures rarely below freezing. We had to travel far and wide to find suitable snow conditions and safe approaches
to summits. Thankfully, we still managed
to achieve the course requirements.
This course is aimed at novice winter mountaineers and develops the skills you require to safely gain personal experience in winter conditions.
Winter mountaineering is another prospect entirely from the summer. Visibility can be greatly reduced, the weather conditions
are highly challenging and changeable
and there is the ever-present risk of an avalanche to be considered. In the abysmal weather conditions of that week, everyone on the course found that waterproofs that functioned perfectly well in the summer were no match for the Scottish winter! Having said that, the sense of achievement and the beauty of being in such an environment are easily rewarding enough to make it worth the effort.
Winter Climbing Foundation (WCF) – February 2020
As a climber or mountaineer in the Army, it’s worth your while joining the Army
Being dragged down the snow to practice ice axe arrests
Some shelter for de-kitting and lunch after a hard days climb
Mountaineering Association (AMA). Alongside a host of discounts from many premium outdoor equipment suppliers, you can bid for expeditions and meets hosted by the AMA. The AMA Winter Meet is usually held in Feb-Mar time and is fully booked up by the previous October. It’s always worth applying to be on the reserve list though
and this time it paid off for me as someone dropped out of the WCF course. Although not provided through JSMTC, it is the
same course and is delivered by JSMTC accredited instructors.
The meet was held in the Cairngorms in Scotland (I was getting used to the drive from Catterick!) and the weather conditions looked to be perfect. The AMA group
was far less formal than the courses at JSMTC, with many people there just to gain experience with their peers. There were only two of us on the WCF course and the other was a Royal Engineer who had been on my WMF course the month before!
The week started strongly, with the first day cementing our summer climbing skills in the winter conditions. We quickly moved on to harder climbs with a Grade 2 ridge, Grade 3 and 4 mixed rock and ice, and a Grade 3 pure ice climb. The climbing was certainly physically challenging and the approaches to the climbs are equally so in winter
Me practicing probing for bodies in avalanche rescue
An intimidating Grade III ice climb on Lurchers Crag
conditions, so I found the mental challenge far more prominent than I expected. The difference between similar routes in summer and winter really ups the ante but to me, this seemed to be the pinnacle of what AT aims to achieve. I was well and truly out of my comfort zone at times yet you have no choice but to continue to function when you’re committed to a climb.
If there is anyone reading this interested in mountaineering, then I’d encourage you strongly to consider a leadership course with JSMTC. The RADC as a whole would benefit from more qualified mountain leaders, climbing supervisors, and indeed any type of AT instructors. The courses are available to all, with CoC support, and I feel we should be taking advantage of them more within the Corps. If anyone wants help or guidance in bidding for a course or developing experience, then I’m happy to help.
The ‘Berg Heil’ saulte to the summit of Beinn Dorain
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