Exercise MONTY MERGER 24 (MM24) was the most recent iteration of Headquarters Home Command and Standing Joint Command (UK)’s annual skiing Adventurous Training expedition. Split across two weeks, there were all levels of skiing ranging from beginners through to those developing their instructional capability before attending the Ski Leader courses which will qualify them to train beginners on future expeditions. A real mix of students and instructors: regular and reserves officers and soldiers with ranks ranging from LCpl to Brigadier from across 3 separate organisations within our command – A truly whole force event and a great opportunity to develop the esprit de corps.
In a nutshell, Exercise MM24 saw a total of 43 students participate across the two weeks, assisted by 5 exceptional instructors. 4 students achieved Ski Foundation (SF) 1, 10 students achieved the SF2, and 5 students achieved SF3 qualifications. 12 students successfully completed SF2 continuation to prepare them for SF3 in the future, and 10 experienced skiers conducted SF3 continuation (Instructor Development). Unfortunately, there were two injured personnel which meant they were unable to complete their awards.
The vision of MM24 started in June 2023 seeking authority to commence the planning in earnest and secure the best prices and ensure value for money. After a presentation from the chief instructor Lt Col Neil (Fitzy) Fitzsimons to the Chief of Staff, it was all systems go to get the expedition up and running. The accommodation was booked, travel sorted, and loan pool equipment booked. The levels of interest shown provided the perfect numbers to maximise training and get the most out of the two weeks. Fast forward six months, the near miss of in-year savings measures, much administration, bureaucracy and pre-deployment presentations, and WO2 (RQMS) Dave Lawrenson set off on the long, well-travelled, route to Mayrhofen on 4th January 2024, the instructors arrived a day later to familiarise themselves with the Zillertal Ski area and all prepared for the arrival of the first week of students.
The routine flight from London to Innsbruck did not quite go to plan on Saturday 6th January. Unfortunately, and a regular hazard with Innsbruck in winter, the thick low cloud swamped the airport. After a delayed departure, the pilots took off, hoping for the best, but were defeated by mother nature and were diverted to Munich. After many phone calls and rapid organisation, the main body were transported from Munich to Innsbruck, where they linked up with the transfer to take them to Mayrhofen. The arrival was much later than hoped, but they were provided with necessary sustenance and made up the lost time early the following day and were out training early on the Sunday morning. In a way that only a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer of the Grenadier Guards could (WO2 Lawrenson), the pre-activity administration was delivered calmly and efficiently, meaning the students were issued kit (skis, boots and clothing), ski passes, piste maps, sun cream and lip salve, the arrivals brief and a reminder of the arduous week of military training that lay ahead of them.
Why Mayrhofen? Located in the heart of the glacial Austrian Zillertal Valley, Mayrhofen is a resort for all. Although the 139km of local slopes might sound slightly limited, there is excellent variety and fast lifts at every corner, there have been over twenty-six new lifts added to the resort over the last two decades. Mayrhofen is renowned as one of the top winter sports destinations in the Tirol region for intermediate and expert skiers, yet also offers plenty of gentle runs for beginners. However, its large network of pistes caters for all abilities and ambitions, from beginners to cruisers and tourers, and extends all the way up to 2,500m. From the resort town, skiers have to ride up the mountain to access the ski areas, but this does mean that they are snow sure as the resort itself is at a very low altitude of 630m. Once up the mountain there are some fantastic beginner areas such as the gentle blues on the Ahorn (and this area is usually quieter). It is worth pointing out for the seasoned French skiers that Austrian resorts do not have green runs (very gentle pistes) but their blues tend vary from green to blue difficulty. For intermediate skiers, most of the Penken area is suitable with some great cruising runs across the mountain that are fantastic for training and conducting drills to develop skiing ability. Adventurous intermediates also get the opportunity to explore the other resorts within in the Zillertal, especially the glacial slopes at Hintertux and the extensive network of linked reds of the Hochzillertal area and Kaltenbach. The introduction this season of the Zillertal Arena presents a great challenge for a day of adventurous, caried and challenging skiing. For the advanced skiers, and those conducting SF3, the Zillertal offers great off-piste opportunities, especially following fresh snowfall. Advanced skiers will want to clock up the miles by visiting as many of the other resorts in the Zillertal as possible utilising the ‘Super Zillertal Ski Pass’ that includes the interlinking trains and buses. The options for the touring groups are vast; plenty of opportunities to ‘bag’ a few peaks and ski the virgin snow as a reward for the hard graft skiing uphill.
The expedition was not solely about skiing. Every opportunity was taken to impart mountain knowledge on the students, relevant to their ability and a look forward to their next skiing expedition. From wearing the correct clothing, carrying the right equipment, understanding the weather, snow conditions, light conditions, avalanche risks and group ability; development of all-mountain skills and education is at the fore of all instruction. A common theme from pre-deployment briefs to the expedition itself was the application and development of the growth mindset and Adventure Training Leadership and Resilience Training (ALeRT); the day-to-day ability to overcome challenges and mentally develop throughout the week. This was built upon even more in week 2 where the group were in the presence of a Great Britain Skier LCpl Euan Kick. The evening lessons and briefs allowed the students to understand the growth mindset in a skiing setting when hearing LCpl Kick recount some personal struggles when competing at the highest level and how he overcame the obstacles and was able to continue to develop and improve. All the students involved on MM24 came away with a better understanding of the mountains, skiing and their individual and personal methods to overcome fear and obstacles that can be directly applied to the workplace, be that in the office or on operations. Invaluable lessons and development that can only be achieved by putting our service men and women in environments that are out of their comfort zones; skiing is an excellent medium through which to achieve this.
Under the guidance of Lt Col Chris Charnock, the SF1, true beginners, started the week being taught how to put on their salopettes, fit their goggles, get their boots on, and understand the basics of the equipment they were introduced to. Their introduction to the pistes started with simple movement on skis, progressing to snow plough and onto plough-parallel turns as they attacked the blue runs on the resort. By Thursday, they were all ‘parallel skiing’ and the more challenging reds became pistes of choice and their progression was extraordinary; a real transformation.
For the SF2 students, after a couple of days of alpine skiing their instructor Lt Col Damian Gartland, introduced them to the uphill version of ski touring, and after collecting their extra kit and equipment, attached their skins (the modern version of seal skins to the bottom of the skis that allow gliding one way, and grip the other – you only get it wrong once!) and up they went. Learning the dark arts of the kick turn, the importance of the smooth glide and forcing those feet forwards, taking it in turns to break track (lead of the touring Peloton) and reading the mountain to ensure safe training whilst developing the students’ knowledge. Those conducting SF2 continuation training spent their week developing their knowledge, skills and gaining greater experience on the mountain to prepare them for the next level of foundation training – SF3.
The SF3 ‘heroes’ (self-labelled) were the busiest of all. Not only did they develop their skiing both on and off piste, but they also had to construct a snow shelter and make a Rutsch-block to review and test the snow stability. This is an important element to ensuring the touring environment is as safe as possible. Not an easy feat, the block needs to be a minimum of 2m wide, 1.5m deep and 1.2m tall on a slope of around 30 degrees. This allows for a visual check of the snowpack and a physical test involving a student mounting the block and jumping up and down on it. This will physically demonstrate stability of the snow and inform the tourers of the state of the snowpack. Once the practical lessons were done, a day tour was conducted prior to planning for an overnight tour that would see the SF3 group away from the accommodation and staying up in the mountain for a night. After the students, under the watchful eye of the SF3 instructor Maj Chris Sharpe, planned their route, each doing a leg of navigation and completing the routes cards, they packed their kit and prepared for the adventure. A day of climbing, an overnight stay in an austere hut saw them refreshed to attack the immediate summit and then let gravity do its thing. A great experience and a lot learned by the students.
The use of video analysis throughout the two weeks proved essential to the development of students and is an invaluable way to develop all levels. The accommodation provided excellent facilities to plan and analyse. With areas to do centralised presentations, and breakout areas for instructor-student feedback and development, everything was well planned and thought through to facilitate maximum training value for all involved.
After the successful recovery of all troops and equipment, plans are already afoot for Exercise MONTY MERGER 25 which is hoping to see a return to Mayrhofen and an opportunity to develop another fifty or so members of HQs Home Command and SJC(UK).
With financial restrictions being imposed across most of defence, Alpine and Ski touring can still be achieved. Seeking the best deals and value for money is time consuming but a necessity. Once again, the financial support of the external agencies such as Ulysses Trust made this possible. Many of those who attended this year would not have been able to do so due to financial constraints, we are very grateful.
The exercise provided an outstanding opportunity to develop ethos and unit cohesion difficult to achieve in such a busy HQ. The following comments were made:
“This is the value for money equation… maximised training value, how to communicate, how to plan and how to execute. Bravo!”
“Awesome! A fantastic opportunity to receive high level instruction in a relaxed environment, whilst being pushed out of my comfort zone and really stretched at times.”
“It really was exceptional organisation, brilliant instruction and they [the instructors] demonstrated levels of patience I have rarely witnessed; but persistence paid off!”
“Thank you. Truly truly thank you for the experience, it was an absolutely incredible week, and quite possibly one of the very best experiences I’ve had in my career. So wholeheartedly, thank you for giving me the opportunity to join you and get some more experience on skis.”
