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A AGC JOURNAL 2018GC JOURNAL 2018

Exercise Alpinae Exercise Tiger

Experientia 18 Support Group 2018

By Corporal Diana Snelling By Warrant Offi cer Class One Carol Manifold

Exercise Alpinae Experientia was arduous trekking and Alpine The exercise took place in the picturesque village of
Mountaineering in an Alpine environment in the French, Italian Ballater, Scotland. The activities included mountain-biking,
and Swiss Alps. mountaineering and canyoning.

Amazement and Pride This became even more apparent on the fi nal ascent up Day One With issued wet suits, safety helmets and recipients
the steepest part to the Aiguille du Midi when the ridge of a comprehensive safety brief we walked with some
This was the hardest, most amazing, horrendous and was as wide as two feet together. Luckily everyone made The events were either mountaineering or mountain trepidation to the start of the canyoning. Having been to
inspiring adventurous training I have ever completed it safely to the summit of the Aiguille du Midi. Pure pride, biking; mine was Mountain Biking. We were issued our water parks and experienced water slides and fl umes I
which I say with the utmost appreciation and accomplishment and elation with the result. It shows, bikes and safety equipment and started the day with wasn’t too worried. However, the reality of jumping from
respect. Every day brought a peak of amazement and through sheer determination and strength you can a very gentle cycle ride along the Deeside Way. This cliff s, sliding down natural fl umes, swimming through
sense of pride and accomplishment; yet there was a achieve the most amazing things. paralleled the River Dee just to get us acquainted with the deep pools, abseiling over waterfalls, scrambling over
distinctive point in the day where you would hit a wall bikes and before entering the very hilly (some would say rocks and waterfalls, made for some heart wrenching
where mental strength was required to keep going. It was mountainous) Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve. The moments.
a pinnacle and a defi nite ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity. I scenery was amazing and I thought the forest and lochs
never thought I’d be one to say I’ve completed ‘The Tour of were the perfect setting for mountain biking. Little did I
Mont Blanc’ but I have achieved just that and in pure Army know I would be riding up hills that would not be out of Mountain
fashion too. place on the Tour De France although the views at the top Biking
of the climbs were worth the hard work it took to get up
Tour of Mont Blanc there.
With ponchos packed and kit waterproofed, we set off in After 36 kilometres and fi ve hours in the saddle, and
our teams; the Tour of Mont Blanc awaits with 110 miles to having overcome various physical and mental challenges
go. Distance, terrain, altitude and load carrying were all including a slight navigational hiccup and some trail
thrown into the mix for acclimatisation training during blazing I can honestly say it was the best day of Adventure
the fi rst week to prepare for the second phase in higher Training I have ever experienced.
altitudes. The days started early which proved cooler
before the sun broke out at the hottest part of the day, this Day Two
meant being closer the summit or on the descent by early
afternoon. In the evenings, we quickly learnt routine with Our next activity was mountaineering, climbing to the
our basher buddies: poncho, admin, preparation for the summit of Carn An T-Sagairt Mor, the 84th highest of
next day and food. Scotland’s 282 Munro’s. The climb was quite tough as the
temperature reached 33 degrees and with little shade on
New Challenges the mountain, care had to be taken that no one suff ered
with heat illness. Everyone made it to the top; my fi rst
The second phase brought new challenges in the form Munro bagged. The views were breath taking and we also
of higher altitude and crampons. The crampon novices encountered plane wreckage from an RAF Canberra that
amongst us discovered they aren’t the easiest things to had crashed into the mountain in 1956 killing all crew
walk in, but after a little practise on the snow we started members. The wreckage remains scattered around the Canyoning
Team
to trust them more. The days were slightly shorter than summit area.
the fi rst week with around eight hours per day, but the
terrain and altitude made up for it with the altitude Day Three
between 1,970 and 3,842 metres. New challenges came in
the form of visibility on the night climb to ascend the Petit The temperature had reached over 35 degrees, which
Mont Blanc, after departing at 4 a.m. we were prohibited prompted the instructors to agree a less challenging
from ascending any further after four and a half hours due activity. The mountaineering groups merged together with
to a lack of snow roughly one kilometre from the summit, the instructors and took a cultural visit around Balmoral
so we had to descend. Castle, which included a walk around the grounds and
a brief on the history of the Castle. The afternoon was
Final Climb spent testing individual’s navigational and our river
crossing skills which was a great relief as the water was
Through the build-up in the higher terrain the fi nal climb refreshingly cool.
was the most spectacular and dangerous. With huge
crevasses and crystal clear views across the mountains The Aiguille Day Four
under the shadow of Mont Blanc it was the penultimate du Midi
climb of the exercise. All the way the danger was apparent We headed to Aviemore to meet up with the team
but the harnesses and ropes were in use for our safety. from Active Outdoors for our Canyoning experience.

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