Page 35 - Wish Stream Year of 2018

EX ALPINE CADET was an alpine summer mountaineering expedition with Officer Cadets traversing 50 miles and 5km in ele-
vation on the Tour du Mont Blanc Route. It was conducted in the Alps, walking from France into Italy, and then Switzerland, over the period of the 11th-18th August 2018.
Four eager Officer Cadets departed Sandhurst to drive across France to Chamonix to start the hiking expedition. The hike began the next day with a steep initial climb into Col De Voza, where we crossed over the Tramway du Mont Blanc and down into the valley through beautiful French villages. We then headed up into the mountains to find our first refuge, Chalet de la Balme. The second day was a more technical climb, taking us to the most southern point on the hike at Les Chapieux before heading up into the Alps to Ref- uge des Mottets. Day three took us up and over into Italy, summiting Col de la Seigne and Tete d’Arp, while day four gave us our best view of Mont Blanc towering over us before we reached Rifugio Bonatti. The final day of climbing involved scaling Grand Col Ferret before descending into Switzerland. Our final evening was spent in La Fouly before heading back to Les Houches to collect the vehicle. We spent five days on the
OCdt Cater
trail, working closely
as a team, as we had
in the detailed expedi-
tion planning. While the
climbs were arduous,
the views were incred-
ible, the food en route
excellent, and we met many international hikers along the way.
Officer Cadets displayed leadership skills while navigating the route and maintained motivation, pace and commitment during the toughest of climbs. The characteristics developed during the week are the type of characteristics required of Junior Officers during training and operational challenges.
Exercise ALPINE CADET
While the climbs were arduous, the views were incredible...
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