Mountaineering, 'Green Finn', Spain Alora, Sep 2011, ID 1184

152 (Ulster) Transport Regt (V)

“Bring on the sunshine” the troops shouted as they exited the plane in Malaga after getting out of their beds at 0300hrs on a Saturday morning. The excitement was curved as they moved by cars through the resorts of the Costa del Sol and into the mountains to a small town called Alora. A quick bit of administration and they where sent out to test boots, acclimatise and to see the local hills over a 3 hour period. The small 10km hike brought them down to earth and some suffered with lack of fluids and hot spots on the feet. The evening finished with a fantastic meal supplied by the Staff, who were expecting the same standard of food over the next 7 Days made by the students.

Day 1 of activities saw one group disappear into the mountain regions of El Chorro for their introduction to mountain biking. The 1st route, called the Hippo, was 2.5 km downhill over boulders and single track: after three near-death incidents, they headed up to the top again, a 2.5km road climb from hell. We couldn’t tell if the tears from Trudy were from it being hard or from all the excitement. Another group headed of to the Kings Walk (Via Ferrata Climbing), which is a high walkway built hundreds of years ago. The route takes you along a walkway 2ft wide aand 300ft above mountains and canyons. The worrying part is that the cement had disappeared in many locations, making it very dangerous. A few from the group struggled with the heights; however the freedom that this type of climbing gives builds confidence and gives the young moral fibre. Ryan considered it to be the hardest thing he has ever done (well at 17 years old what else can I say!!). The other group took the hike into the mountains and were always waiting for a restaurant to pop up round the corner. However after scrabbling over some boulders to get to the Trig point the group where overwhelmed by their achievement and took in the view. They were rewarded with a 30 minute break before being told to start walking downhill again!!!

The harder stuff started in the final 3 days, with the Mountain biking taking in a 35km route which had as much downhill as there was going up. They increased their skills by progressing from completing the Hippo with ease at the start and finishing the day dropping off 40 foot boulders with confidence. The hill climbs where still hard: however the best quote of the days must be “do I get buns of steel from this”. The climbers took on “Comorro Alto” (1378m). The Via Ferrata is typical of most routes found in Europe. They took a route full of Grade 1 scrambling to the summit and a grade 1 scramble descent. Some had difficulty picking up a knife or fork in the evening as their forearms where in spasm from a hard days climb. The hiking took in the biggest peaks in the area: however they still didn’t find any restaurants. Seeing the young guys going from the 1st day of walking 3hrs over hills to building confidence and resilience to complete 8hrs of serious mountaineering was remarkable.

This was an amazing expedition for 70% of individuals who had only passed their Recruits course 2 weeks earlier. Our thanks go to Ulysses Trust for their financial help in letting us achieve a fantastic time or as one student put it “this is flipping brilliant”.

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