On 25th July 2013 15 Tri-Service Officer Cadets from the Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme from ThundererSquadron (Southampton University), Taurus Squadron (Newcastle University) and Typhoon Squadron (Loughborough University) set off on a 22 expedition to Cortina, Italy.

At 7am the team mustered at Southampton University library; the trip to Dover was quick and we were soon at Calais just past noon.We stopped overnight at Aachen to recharge, before going directly to our first campsite in Oberturbach, Germany in the Frankenjura National Park.

Most days we would walk to the crag, as most were within 5km of the campsite. The forest provided great shade from the blistering sun and on a few days we were able to climb above the tree-line to see the valleys and mountains in the distance.

Notable climbs included Fighting Gravity, a tricky 7c climb completed by two of the most experienced instructors.

On the 3rd August,after spending a week in Germany, we moved south to Italy. After almost 10 hours on the road, we made it to Camping Rochetta, our home for the next two weeks; a family orientated campsite within walking distance of Cortina. Ideally situated at the base of a picturesque mountain range, notably Tofane(10,643 ft) to the west and Cinque Torri (7,746 ft) to south, both great for multi-pitch climbing and Via Ferrate.

The group was split into three groups for either single pitch, multi-pitch or Via Feratta Climbing. The novices on the trip all became well-versed in safe climbing practices and the novice instructors each had the opportunity to take groups out on four or more single pitch crag days.

The more experienced instructors had a great chance to try some of the most technical slab in Cinque Torri, as well as many multi-pitch climbing days where novices had a chance to climb from the base to the summit in 10 or more pitches.

The scenery was breath-taking, and the Via Ferrate allowed the beginners to get some spectacular views early on in the trip!

Towards the end of the trip the whole group took a trip to Cinque Torri to climb and to learn about the WW1 history of the ‘Mountain War’. The trenches, huts and lookout posts were preserved and tour guides were dressed up as WW1 soldiers. Blank-firing was also done too for show and it was impressive to see the old rifles firing. Whilst in the region we found a lot of the wartime tunnels and had the opportunity on the Via Ferrate days to experience some of the traverses soldiers would have made along narrow ledges.

The group had plenty of opportunity to relax between climbing with R & R days spent at Bayreuth in Germany and in Venice in Italy.

On 15th August we reluctantly left Cortina but everyone had done as much climbing as they could. We then spendt most of a day travelling to a campsite outside Luxemburg. Late that evening we had a group meal at a nice sushi restaurant close to where we were staying. Travelling back to the UK the following day to Southampton we were ahead of schedule before being stuck in 5 hours of traffic on the M27!

It is hoped that a similar expedition will run in 2014.

Mid Smith