Chamonix, France
18-26 March 2022
14 reservists, 1 regular (from our paired regiment, 10 The Queens Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, QOGLR) and 3 ski instructors managed to make it away onto their first overseas adventurous training expedition after the easing of COVID restrictions. For some, it was their first time on skis, for others it was an excellent opportunity to shake out their rusty legs after a two-year pause from overseas expeditions. This expedition aimed to deliver distributed training and to introduce our newest skiers to the Joint Service Adventurous Training (JSAT) scheme as it allows the progression from novice up to instructor level.
Early on a Saturday morning, we made our way across the Euro tunnel and made our long drive across to Chamonix. Having arrived just in time for dinner, we oriented ourselves to the different ski areas available in Chamonix valley and received a brief from our instructors as to the plan for the upcoming week.
With the sun shining and clear skies, day 1 consisted of introducing our beginner group to the basics on the nursery slopes. After a few stumbles and eating some snow our beginners began to get the hang of the basics. Meanwhile, our advanced skiers began their exploration of the various ski areas and unintentionally tested themselves as the exposed pistes we were on had become quite slushy with the strong sun!
To avoid the slushy snow characteristic of spring skiing, days 2, 3 and 4 consisted of our advanced skiers taking the 30-minute bus ride to the bottom of the highest ski area in the Chamonix valley. With excellent “bluebird” conditions, under the watching eye of our instructor, we practised carving, a few ski jumps and little exercises aimed at developing our balance and confidence even under tricky conditions. Having recced the area and finding a good number of forgiving runs, we fed this back to our beginner and novice groups so that they could enjoy some good skiing too!
Day 2 for our beginner group saw them return to their nursery slope to consolidate everything learnt from day one. As one of them said afterwards, they were very glad they did this as it gave him the confidence to tackle the harder slopes later on in the week. After some patient learning and eating a bit more snow our instructors were finally satisfied that they were ready to be unleashed onto the slopes that the advanced group had recced.
Having mastered the snow plough and coordination of the actual skis with body movement, Day 3 consisted of introducing parallel skiing and building the confidence on blue runs for our beginners. Being on the better snow up high gave them the incentive to ski with speed and confidence and they progressed rapidly over the next 2 days. The beginner group progressed to the point where they joined up with us after lunch on day 4 for a bit of group skiing. We took this opportunity to take group pictures and general media capture for future use in public engagement.
On the final two days of skiing, the advanced group split into smaller groups for independent skiing and to just enjoy the weather and perfectly pisted slopes. Our beginner and novice groups entered an assessment phase to ensure they had met all the training outcomes required to sign them off for their Ski Foundation 1 qualifications. This was then followed by re-joining our advanced skiers for a final group ski down red slopes as well! The amount of progression our beginners had was amazing going from zero to hero, literally!
The soldiers that deployed on this expedition were challenged, even the seasoned skiers. For our beginners and novices, they achieved their aim of obtaining their Ski Foundation 1 qualifications, paving the way for them to advance further in the JSAT scheme. Our advanced skiers had a tune-up and refinement of their skills and drills making them fit and ready to advance further if they choose. We would like to thank the Ulysses Trust and the RLC Association Trust for their generous support in supporting our personnel. Adventurous training is a key cornerstone in developing our soldiers outside of a military environment. This was a brilliant and memorable experience after the 2-year hiatus from winter adventurous training.
