Expedition Reports

Exercise Magma Fox ; 15,786ft descended, 15,626ft climbed, 170km ridden, 7 riders, 6 days, 1 Iceland. Iceland’s Volcanoes, synonymous with destruction, danger and death  – all three narrowly avoided thanks to sound instruction, a great guide and a smidge of good luck! (oh, and a strategically located man catching tree). Team Fox pushed themselves to

On 7 Jun 19, 8 members of the AGC(ETS) deployed on a 9-day expedition to climb Mt Blanc in France. The aim of the expedition was to summit Mt Blanc, develop the next generation of AGC(ETS) mountaineers to participate in large-scale Army/Joint mountaineering expeditions in the future, and to highlight the opportunities available in the

HMS WILDFIRE wanted to offer an Adventurous Training (AT) opportunity to members of its ships company where they could be introduced to mountaineering whilst being in a safe environment, and at the same time resulting in a sense of achievement. The Three Peaks is a widely known challenge on well navigated paths, but with a

As a part of the annual adventure training programme, 9 soldiers from 6 RIFLES and 1 outside instructor deployed on Ex TIGER ADRIATIC RIFLES to participate in a Sub-Aqua Diving expedition. This was conducted as an overseas deployment on the island of Vis (Croatia), spanning a 10 day period. The aims of the deployment were

Exercise Northern Purple Endeavor was a ten-day skiing expedition undertaken in March by members from across 7 SCOTS. It retraced the route Norwegian Saboteurs took during Operation Gunnerside, a daring operation by a small team of Norwegians who sabotaged an important Nazi heavy water plant – which was vital to the German atomic weapon program.

Exercise Northern Aconcagua saw nine Army personnel deploy to Argentina in a bid to climb to summit Aconcagua, the highest peak outside the Himalayas at an altitude of 6,962m. This was a challenging and exciting opportunity for all members to attempt such a testing but non-technical trek. The challenge associated with attempting such an endeavour

Ex VIKING CHALLENGE was a Nordic skiing exercise which took place in the Telemark region of Norway between 15-24 March 2019. The aim of the exercise was threefold: First, to research and understand the historic FANY connection with Op Grouse and Op Gunnerside during World War II. Second, for the 15 participants to learn to

A NEPALESE ODYSSEY As the new year dawned 14 members of 2 Medical Brigade prepared for an expedition to the world renowned Langtang Valley in Nepal. This was the first time 2 Medical Brigade had run an expedition to Nepal and the first time many of the group had been to Nepal. During the expedition

Ex DRAGON KANCHENJUNGA  provided members of 37 Sig Regt with the chance to complete one of the most difficult and long trek in Nepal.  It allowed them to test their determination, team work, leadership skills and mental and physical robustness while trekking in the high mountains of Eastern Nepal to Kanchenjunga Base Camp, the 3rd

This year’s expedition was in Egypt, travelling to various sites across the Red Sea. I have done this expedition previously so was excited to do it again. The flight in felt like it took longer than it should have done, with screaming kids commenting every minute on what the plane was doing and with very

EXPEDITION DIARY Prep Weekends (18-20 May & 30 Jun – 2 Jul 18) 1. In preparation for this expedition two training weekends were conducted in May and June to prepare and assess all potential participants ensuring that they were both physically and mentally up to the challenge. Both weekends were conducted from Halton Camp, Lancaster

In December 2018, soldiers from 106 Regt RA deployed to Malta on Exercise Cockney Abyss 2 in order to gain BSAC scuba diving qualifications through the MOD Approved Centre Dive Deep Blue. Ninety percent of the team had absolutely no diving experience and were wondering how they would handle the new challenges of breathing, communicating

7 Scots Diving Trip Malta 22 Oct – 1 Nov 18 Diary by (LCpl Dickinson, LCpl Wang’oo, Pte Moffat This report on a Reservist adventure training sub aqua expedition to Malta would still have been in the planning stage were it not for the financial support of the Ulysses Trust to which we extend our

Exercise Freefall Fougasse was a 42 Engineer Regiment (Geographical) (42 Engr Regt (Geo)) adventurous training (AT) expedition to Spain. The goal of AT is to be “challenging outdoor training for Service personnel in specified adventurous activities that incorporate controlled exposure to risk, in order to develop: leadership; teamwork; physical fitness; moral and physical courage; as

In the early hours of Sunday 7th October members from the Woolwich based National Reserve Headquarters Royal Artillery (NRHQRA), embarked on Exercise COCKNEY MEDSAIL. This Adventurous Training Exercise comprised of four students overseen by two instructors and after quick introductions it was quickly apparent that except for the experienced Skipper, Richard and the organiser, Bruce,

On Saturday 29 September 2018 a team of 10 Officers from National Reserve Headquarters Royal Artillery (NRHQRA), based out of our HQ at Woolwich, and a Reserve Private soldier from 203 Field Hospital RAMC in South Wales, assembled in the town of Bohinj-Bistrica in Slovenia to do some adventurous training in the Julian Alpes. The

On the 13th October 2018, 14 soldiers from the Queen’s Own Yeomanry deployed to Nepal for Ex Himalayan Fox; an 8-day trek in the Annapurna Region of Nepal to reach the basecamp of Mardi Himal at 4,500m. This particular expedition was a long time in the planning with the initial conversation taking place in 2016.

Exercise (Northern) Gozo Diver was an Army Reserve led sub aqua diving expedition to Malta/Gozo over the dates 06 – 13 October 2018. The aim of the trip was to train up new British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) Ocean Divers and to allow the qualified safety divers to expand their dive experience. The Ocean Diver

It has been a busy period for the 4th Battalion the Parachute Regiment, from supporting our sister Regular Battalions on Exercise Joint Warrior to overseas exercises in the Ukraine and a two week Battle Camp in Sennybridge. So, what better way to reward soldier’s commitment and hard work than with Adventurous Training (AT) to the

As part of the 2018 training year, eleven members of 3rd Battalion the Royal Welsh were lucky enough to have the opportunity to participate in adventure training in the Himalaya of Nepal and the Annapurna Circuit. We departed from Heathrow in the early hours of Friday 14th of September and arrived in the City of

On 6th of September 12 members of 103 battalion REME set out on Exercise Castle Adventure to the island of Corsica to conquer the northern half of the GR20 route. The route is claimed to be one of the toughest treks in Europe and we were about to find out why. On the weeks leading

British Army team train with Georgian Army on Mt Kazbek (5,047m) in the Southern Caucusus In September 2018 a team from 6 RIFLES deployed to the Southern Caucasus to conduct a high-altitude Mountaineering expedition alongside the Georgian army. Their objective was summitting the renowned Mt Kazbek (5,047m) in Georgia.  This celebrated peak was first climbed

The Aim of Exercise Tiger Alpinae Experientia 18 was to conduct a Level 3 Arduous Trekking and Alpine Mountaineering event in the French, Italian and Swiss Alps. Adventurous Training is core activity (strategic/essential activity) and this exercise helped develop psychological resilience. This exercise enhanced the Battlefield Discipline Sub-Skills of the Back to Basics Soldier First

Exercise FINN GLACIER was a 152 (North Irish) Regiment Type 3 mountaineering expedition to Chamonix, France, 21 – 28 Aug 18. Activities included a two day Alpine Mountaineering expedition up into the Mer de Glace glacier, Alpine Trekking on both sides of the Chamonix Valley, Rock Climbing at Les Gaillands crags, Mountain Biking and White

The 5th August saw 7 Fusiliers deploy on Exercise NORTHERN – ALPINE FUSILIER 50, a summer mountaineering expedition to the Swiss Alps for 15 days. The expedition was conceived in celebration of the Regiment’s 50th birthday and included 5 reservists and 2 regulars in a year where our battalions were paired under 1 Brigade. The

This was 2 R IRISH’s main Type 3 AT activity for the current trg yr and was designed to give all serving members the opportunity to experience an arduous trek in a completely new area.  13 members of 2 R IRISH took part and they were joined by three members from Queens University OTC. The

Our journey starts at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and finishes at Reykjavik, Iceland. Day 1 (JSASTC, Gosport, 9 Jul 18) Five odd things we’ve learnt as we prepare to sail across the Atlantic Ocean (authored by LCpl Rebecca Lefort) Exercise PACIFIC LONGBOW is the British Army’s major adventurous training sailing exercise, circumnavigating the Atlantic and

My first military trip to the Alps was on the Joint Services Alpine Meet, staged from a campsite in Saas Grund in 2009. It was run slightly differently to previous iterations in as much that the Joint Services Mountain Training Centre had intervened to assist. Little did I know at the time that this marked