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Ian, how do you fancy leading a Royal Air Force Mountaineering Association Alpine trip this summer? Of course, my answer was ‘yes’, even though I only had a few months to find other instructors, team members, gain approval and financial support. A lot had changed since I had left full-time Royal Air Force Service in

Exercise SKIMO WARRIOR in April this year was the final exercise to prepare the UK Armed Forces Team to compete in the Patrouille des Glaciers (PdG). The PdG is the most prestigious ski mountaineering (skimo) race, with 4,386m of ascent over 58km from Zermatt to Verbier. Teams compete in patrols of three, racing through the

AIM: The exercise took place over the period of 10 – 16 June 2024 and involved 8 personnel from the Regimental Headquarters permanent staff cohort of 203 MMR, conducting 6 days of cycle touring in Northern France. The overall distance was 238km and was conducted from Cherbourg to Caen. BENEFITS: 203 MMR conducted numerous exercises

Ex Snjor Mountaineer was the Army Mountaineering Association’s recent flagship ski mountaineering expedition to Iceland, which aimed to prepare for and then summit Iceland’s highest peak, Hvannadalshnúkur – a feat that had not previously been achieved by a British Military team. WO2 Ross Penver, the Exped leader, aimed for the Expedition “to expose a group

Introduction: The focus of the exercise was for five members of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) to attend and complete the rigorous static-line parachuting training course at the Centre École des Troupes Aéroportées (ETAP) and thereby earn their ‘French Wings’. Over two weeks, participants underwent intensive physical and theoretical training alongside 125 troops from

In October 2023, in-year Army-wide saving measures were announced that effectively turned off the public funding for adventure training for the remainder of the Training Year. Not to be deterred, 3RWELSH looked at options to deliver low-cost training delivered using non-public funds and the result was a week on Scotland’s west coast in near perfect

The AMA winter meet is a highlight of the year, weather permitting and, for the last two years has been based in Glencoe. This is a world class destination for winter mountaineering and the Glencoe hostel provides an excellent base. On arrival we met our instructor for the week, Andy Hogarth, a runner who climbs

Ex TELEMARK TITAN 2024 was the FANYs’ first foray into telemark skiing as part of a fortnight of race training in Pralognan-la-Vanoise, culminating in the British and British Army Telemark Championships. The Corps was keen to take part in the exercise as, since 2019’s Ex Viking Challenge, kindly sponsored by the Ulysses Trust, members had

JOINT GLACIER 24 was a seven-day adventurous training expedition to the Stubai Valley in Austria. The purpose of the trip was to take eight non-skiers and eight with a variety of experience and instruct them either in skiing or take them to their next qualification level.The purpose of this type of trip is to expose

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

The 2023 MR Sailex once again generated excellent participation figures with 47 reservists from across the Maritime reserve taking part, representing 12 units. This was the fourth running of the event, which has been supported each year by the Ulysses Trust, without whose support the event would simply not happen. Aims Maritime reserves Sailex has

WHAT WE ACHIEVED​​PHASE 1: ​ Novice climbers, many of whom were completely new to the sport gained the required knowledge to safely climb using a top rope on a sport climbing route. Students with previous experience were able to gain valuable log book days, in preparation for the Rock Climbing Supervisor qualification.​ PHASE 2: ​ Once students had gained sufficient experience and were

During September 2023 the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC), an army reservist unit in the City of London, took 22 soldiers and officers out to the Mont Blanc Massif, with the objective to summit Gran Paradiso, a 4,061m peak in the Aosta Valley, Italy. This expedition comprised a core component of their Alpine Mountaineering Foundation (AMF)

159RLC EX DRAGON BARBARIAN NEPAL 7th October to 30th October 2023  Planning a trip such as adventure training in Nepal can take literally years to get everything right and ensure all the important considerations are met. On top of this, finances are possibly the biggest restriction now on any large organisation and especially those in

“Exercise Northern Rock-Warrior” deployed 14 individuals, from the newly formed 215 (Scottish) Multirole Medical Regiment to Sardinia, Italy for a rock-climbing expedition with foundations in mental resilience and wellness training.  Prior to deployment the expedition leader and second in command, (both climbing instructors) put together a business case, fundraised, carried out a medical recce to

Between 25 September and 13 October 2023, MAS(A) (Management Accountancy Services Army) personnel participated in an arduous adventurous training exercise in a remote region of Nepal. The team trekked the Manaslu Circuit for 10 days through blistering heat, monsoon rain and a little snow whilst reaching an altitude of over 5100 metres! After months of

Exercise SPITFIRE ADVENTURE 23 was a 20 Works Group Royal Engineers (Air Support) canoeing expedition which took place on the Green River, Moab, Utah, from 9 – 24 Sep 23. The main aim of the exercise / Expedition (Exped), which were successfully met were to: a. To develop teamwork, leadership and confidence in a challenging

A trek over the Pyrenees in the footsteps of the Prisoners of War that made this their escape route during WW2. Background: During WW2 Saint Girons was in the occupied zone of the South of France and it was from here that PoWs would jump off the train and head into the Pyrenees to attempt

(09 – 27 Aug 23) at Yukon, Canada Ex Dragon Fireweed saw 16 members of 37 Signal Regiment spend 14 days in the Kluane National Park in the Yukon Territory. Yukon is in the north-western corner of Canada and is bordered by Alaska and the Northwest Territories. The sparsely populated territory encompasses natural scenic beauty,

3RWELSH is always keen to offer opportunity to its soldiers as a reward for their service to the unit and the wider Army Reserve in general. To that end, the annual battalion skiing trip is a key event in the unit’s Forecast of Events and extremely popular with our serving soldiers. For several years now

In Sep 2023, 101 Engineer Regiment ran EX BLACK CHARGE 4 in Somerset, a multi-day AT package in the Cheddar Gorge area. 30 Reservists from the London, Kent and Essex regions undertook a series of land-based challenges as well as extra-curricular activities to improve their leadership skills and enhance their civilian qualifications. The aim of

Ex TIGER SWISS ROCK was an alpine rock-climbing exercise for members of the Army Mountaineering Association. The unique challenge of the exercise was to push the boundaries of alpine rock climbing to provide development opportunities to an experienced cohort of Adventurous Training instructors. Ex TIGER SWISS ROCK was a ‘road trip’ exercise, constantly moving, with

After a long adventurous training hiatus following the pandemic, six members of 457 Battery, 106 Regiment Royal Artillery deployed to Stavanger, Norway on Ex Tiger Cara Nordic, a sailing expedition aboard the NATO Joint Warfare Centre’s (JWC) sailing club yacht, Aurelius II. Sailing over nine days, the aims were to develop team cohesion and introduce

Between the 8th and 16th July 2023, 12 Officer cadets (OCdt), 2 Officers and 2 instructors completed an expedition to Iceland to achieve the Summer Mountain Foundation Course (SMF) by finishing both the Laugavegur and Fimmvörðuháls trail. Through hiking over 75km with 7,500ft of elevation whilst carrying tents, rations, and relevant equipment everyone had an

The objective of the expedition was to take 12 novice kayakers with 2 experienced guides, to the beautiful and challenging Isles of Scilly, exploring the archipelago whilst simultaneously developing skills and safety at sea, and challenging the team and individuals to push beyond their comfort levels. These base objectives were not only met but surpassed,

Between 17-23 June, 8 students and 2 instructors from the Northumbrian Universities Air Squadron completed a series of progressively harder hikes, climbs and scrambles across challenging via ferrata routes located in the North, Central and East ranges of the Italian Dolomites. The six different via ferrata completed put our mental and physical resilience to the

Ex NORTHERN AMAZONAS FORTUNE was a 4th Battalion The Royal Yorkshire Regiment Kayaking / Canoeing expedition to the Rio Urubu, Amazonas District, Brazil, 23 June – 08 July 2023. A physically and mentally demanding expedition, conducted in one of the most bio-diverse and challenging environments on Earth, where 13 novices and 2 instructors completed an