Page 46 - The Bugle 2018

Exercise FROSTED BLADE – alpine skiing in Val d’Isere, France
In November 2017, a team from 2 RIFLES departed from Thiepval Barracks on a 1600-mile journey to the French Alps in order to take part in Ex FROSTED BLADE, the Infantry Alpine Skiing championships. Ex FROSTED BLADE has been running for 33 years, and is based in the French resort of Val d’Isere. Every year, over 250 Infantry soldiers and officers gather to compete in alpine racing and to produce an Infantry team to take part in the Inter-Corps Championships.
The team consisted of Lieutenant Knox as the Officer in Command, Serjeant Fairnigton as the Second in Command and six Riflemen; no-one
in the team except for Lieutenant Knox had ever skied before. Although the exercise is based around skiing, the aim of it is not just to produce a good Infantry team; far from it. Ex FROSTED BLADE is designed to push individuals to their limits in order to develop courage, teamwork and administrative skills. During the exercise, the team would train solidly for 5 weeks before competing in a series of races in the final week. Having never skied before, the team showed a huge amount of determination to learn and improve. As a Platoon Commander, there is little that is more satisfying than seeing your young Riflemen not only enjoying something that you planned and executed, but also taking to it like a duck to water. It may be hard to believe, but 6 weeks of skiing is hard; physically, the team were using muscles they had never used so much in their lives. Mentally, they were having to commit to runs, speeds and turns they never thought that they would achieve at the beginning of the exercise.
Long days on the slopes were not the only thing that the team had to contend with, however. 2017 arrived with record breaking snowfall across the resort, with over a metre of snow falling in a single evening. When we could ski, this meant conditions were incredibly difficult for racing, adding further complexity to the already difficult challenge of learning to ski and race at the same time. Occasionally the weather was so bad and the avalanche risk so high that the resort shut down, meaning long days of digging out and maintaining the vehicles, and long evenings of servicing the skiing equipment.
Through all of this, the team stayed focused, and put their absolute all into the training. This paid off, with two of the members of the team coming back with medals: Rifleman Hanley won a bronze medal in the Giant Slalom novice category and Rifleman Yeamsri won a Gold medal in the same event.
The team also engaged in several social events. These ranged from formal drinks evenings with influ- ential members of the town to less formal inter-team events. On one night, the team was even lucky enough to meet Pixie Lott!
Overall, Exercise FROSTED BLADE was a fantastic and worthwhile training exercise for the Battalion, giving an excellent opportunity for young Rifleman to experience a completely new sport and culture. Coming home with two medals was a great achievement for such an inexperienced team but the true value came from the personal development of all those involved.
Lieutenant Gavin Knox
Officer Commanding 5 Platoon
THE WEATHER WAS SO BAD AND THE AVALANCHE RISK SO HIGH THAT THE RESORT SHUT DOWN
Pixie Lott asked to have her picture taken with the 2 RIFLES ski team. She didn’t ask anyone else
The Battalion alpine ski team ready to race in Val d’Isere
52 SECOND BATTALION
THE RIFLES