Trekking, 'Northern Jacobite Venturer', Cairngorms, Apr 2011, ID 1036
Giggleswick School CCF
High winds, high plateaus,
high water and high adventure are the nature of Northern Jacobite Venturer (Ex
NJV). Our now annual Scottish exploit is in it’s 4th year and hopes
to reach maturity on our next visit.
This is a multi activity week designed
to give cadets from Giggleswick School the opportunity to produce a tangible
outcome to the adventure training elements of their cadet experience.
Expeditioning in March and April in such wild areas of Scotland certainly
exceeds the requirements of the DofE Awards but is made achievable by exploiting
the additional leadership and determination that comes from non DofE training in
the cadets such as leading close target recces or organising teams of junior
cadets during summer camps. In addition, Giggleswick’s location in the
Yorkshire Dales means that most students will have been over Ingleborough,
Whernside and Pen-y-Ghent, not to mention their day to day exposure to weather
gives them a greater exposure to inclement conditions than most.
Cadets enter the ex NJV programme aged
15 as direct entrants to the Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award and in their first
year complete a Summer Mountain Proficiency (SMP) based course, subsequently
remotely supervised and assessed in the summer. In year two cadets return aged
16 to use a Winter Mountain Proficiency (WMP) platform which allows them to
return in April the following year to complete their Gold DofE Assessment in the
wildest areas of Scotland. On successful completion of the Gold expedition,
cadets are invited back to move up a level and try some graded routes and true
Scottish mountaineering, guided by practicing MIC’s and fuelled by their own
previous experience. In addition, cadets working towards their professional
standard 4* kayak qualification can gain valuable log book experience with
conditions that other UK areas struggle to provide.
Second only to logistics are the
challenges imposed by the weather. We have had 14" of snow and whiteouts at
the valley floors, and days of blazing sunshine where one was overdressed in
shorts. This year was no different with winds at times exceeding 70mph, plenty
of snow but too warm to snow hole and the Great Slab in Corrie an Lochain
avalanched while we were there. Rivers in spate with icy meltwater provided a
truly emotional experience for some whilst "no impact camping" with
the need to carry out everything you take in (and produce) was the challenge for
others. Jack was particularly anxious about attending the SMP week having
assumed that the high level military anecdotes recited at home from an SAS
father were the norm. However, once pressed into the expedition he quickly found
that comforts could be found and he now looks forward to returning for the Gold
training.
Two of the girls completing the
remotely assessed Gold expedition both suffered heel blisters bigger than the
patches available in the blister kits. Olivia had gained her blisters by the end
of the first morning whilst no-one knew about Nicole’s; her view was that she
was going to finish the expedition. The blisters weren’t life threatening, so
why say anything. I can only imagine the discomfort with wet, cold and soft feet
following the numerous stream crossings. There are two impressive parts to this
story. The first is that both girls successfully completed the four days and
over 65 miles without complaint. The second is that their group continued to
work together and support one another, despite a slightly slower pace,
independently of any adult support. Keith Dickinson (MIC and Assessor) felt that
this was possibly the strongest group he had seen in 25 years of assessing at
this level and that their success was due to high standards of progressive
training and cohesive teamwork. They "epitomised the ethos of the DofE
Award".
To run all of these activities
concurrently with cadet and adult males and females requires flexible
accommodation unavailable through the military system and we are very grateful
to the Ulysses Trust for awarding a grant that allowed us to pay for rooms at
the local youth hostel. It also requires the full contribution that being a
cadet brings. Physical ability, leadership and the desire to succeed are all
intangible elements of the cadet experience that in some way can be illustrated
to a future employer by having a qualification such as the DofE Award. Without a
curriculum vitae that stands out form the crowd a cadet may not get to an
interview. It is only when in front of the interviewer that their soft skills
and confidence often place cadets head and shoulders above the rest.
We tried to diversify our expeditions
by introducing canoeing last year but the severity of the weather made this
quite unsuccessful. We hope next year to use the experience of Chip Rafferty to
trial a mountain bike expedition at Gold level.
My hope is that at some point in the
future this progressive training programme will generate a group of students who
would wish to journey into more even more adventure. Greenland crossings or
alpine ascents seem an achievable aspiration for the most able cadets whilst it
is recognised that the challenge to merely wild camp for two nights is of equal
demand for many.
- 3 cadets successfully completed elements of their 4* kayak
- 10 cadets completed a WMP platform for Gold DofE training
- 8 cadets successfully completed an SMP platform in
preparation for their Silver Assessment
- 8 cadets successfully completed their Gold DofE expedition
- 3 adults successfully gained update and best practice
training working with MICs.
Thanks to
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working in
partnership with
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