10 Military Life DAY 4– Open Boating Down Rapids and Ice Climbing By Cpl Si Hodge After another early start, breakfast and the promise of a day to remember, we tackled the drive down to the white river. With Andy Reeve behind the wheel this seemed as daunting as the rafting! Thankfully we made it. Once the boats were offloaded we headed towards the river, which was a slow process as the boats had to be dragged 400m over marsh land, resulting in a few lost trainers. The first brief from Andy on “how to paddle down rapids” was one that some had difficulty paying attention to, and during the demonstration the QMSI and Cpl Dave Oakes were swept away by the powerful current, capsizing and swept down river. Once the group managed to stop laughing, we set off. My wing man, Cpl Eddie Stone, and I managed to navigate our way round the first cluster of rapids… BUT a rock jumped out of nowhere and capsized our boat. Of course it was intentional- Eddie said he wanted, “to see how cold the water was”. Well it was ***** freezing! Officers, Capt Hall and Capt. Rawlinson, were the only ones dry, I put it down to “playing it to safe”. With most of us wet, and the first 400m completed, I thought the rest should be easy.
Never assume anything. A further 1km was completed but the best was yet to come. The final stretch was considered dangerous, and the boats were banked to have a look at the rapids that lay ahead. This was supposed to be a strategy so we could spot the best line to the finish point. All I can say is that the view is different from inside the boat! Andy led the way followed closely by my boat, then the Q’s boat and the Officers boat. The order soon changed when Q’s boat came thrusting past us, in either a rush to finish or spurned on by the PTI mentality to win. Shortly after that the Q’s boat was under water, followed shortly by my boat. The Officers came through next, and were, I hate/have to say, very good and were the only ones who didn’t get wet!
Ice Climbing There were two groups of 6 for Ice Climbing on the largest wall in Europe. If you can picture this the ice climbing was like walking in a giant freezer (which exactly what it is).Most of my group had rock climbing experience, all we had to do was transfer these skills to ice climbing… ”Not as easy as it sounds” because when you add ice picks and
boots in the equation it becomes less coordinated. The wall consisted of various climbs ranging from easy to dam right impossible. We all tried most of the climbs and occasionally managed to get to the top. Despite the group really enjoying this newly found activity it was extremely demanding and very cold. Luckily, the ice climbing was pitched at the right duration and a hot cup of coffee after this challenging activity was welcomed. During this week I have been constantly out of my comfort zones and today was no exception. In fact, today was a great day, one that I will remember for a long time.