After 18 months of very little or no adventure training, Expedition ‘Summit Adventure’ couldn’t have come any sooner!
Aimed to provide cadets with an opportunity to undertake adventurous activities and push themselves out of their comfort zone, cadets had the opportunity to undertake the following activities:
- Abseiling and Rockclimbing. Set in an historic slate mine, cadets had to traverse the various nooks, crannies, tunnels and chasms along with the various rope bridges and tightropes. It certainly was a one-of-a-kind experience for the cadets with over 13 zip lines to carry them over the many dark voids in the caverns. All had to come over the fear of height and speed and the benefit of teamwork and encouragement didn’t go a miss on this one!
- Zip lining. Rush down from the top of an operational quarry, cadets travelled over 1500m on the worlds fastest zip line travelling up to 100mph! All cadets overcame their fear on this activity and undertook the adventure. Travelling in a group of 4, the cadets all encouraged each other for the activity ahead as it certainly wasn’t for the faint hearted.
- Cadets had the opportunity to get onto the largest lake in Wales, Bala Lake. Working together, cadets had to undertake various challenges on the water and some even worked hard to overcome their fear of deep water.
- Hiking/Trekking. Cadets set out to brush the dust off their navigation skills in the mountains of southern Snowdonia. At this point, it had been two years since cadets last trekked in wild country. Many undertook a 2 or 3 night camping expedition during the week mainly to complete the ‘Expedition’ aspect of their Duke of Edinburgh Award. The expedition threw many hurdles at the teams, from poor weather with heavy rain to warm sunny ‘French-Riviera’ settings. It truly tested all their training and gave a diverse experience.
The week certainly had its difficulties, especially so close after the slight ease of covid restrictions and that of a year like no other! With cadets travelling from England into Wales, two sets of national rules had to be adhered to, which needed all to be fully focused and aware.
Originally the expedition was meant to take part in the heart of the Snowdonia National Park however due to covid restrictions and safety, the expedition was relocated to a less touristy location which still permitted cadets to fulfil the aims of the week.
It truly wouldn’t have happened without the support of the Ulysses Trust!
The activities selected by the cadets all came with their challenges, from overcoming fear of heights and deep water to pushing through weather systems on the mountains, it was certainly a different sight and warmly welcomed after the struggles of lockdown.
A week like this showed that all can get back out to the great outdoors and cadet development can continue. The camp was a massive morale booster for the squadrons and greatly aids recruitment in the local area.
The cadets all thoroughly enjoyed the slate caverns and Cadet Flight Sergeant Kyle Ravi mentioned:
“I learnt the importance of being outdoors, both on my physical and mental wellbeing. It was great to be in the hills and on the water, I just love it!”
The Ulysses Trust wish to thank the generosity of the Aviation Focus Group for supporting this expedition.
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