Members of 208 Field Hospital embarked on exercise SERPENT TROLL, a trekking expedition exploring Norway’s remote mountainous region utilising cabins facilitated by the Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT) in the vicinity of Hovden.

The exercise started early with a travel day consisting of flights from Liverpool to Oslo (Torp), followed by a road journey to Hovden Bykle. The group spent their first night in the Hovden Fjellstoge Hostel, preparing for the start of the trekking phase by participating in equipment and safety briefs, collecting maps and ensuring individuals packed enough food to survive the first day.

The following morning, having broken down in to smaller teams, the group started its first 6 hour trekking day with boggy conditions due mostly to rain run off from the previous days weather. Once altitude had been gained the damp conditions were replaced with barren landscapes akin to the remoteness experienced with hill walking in Scotland. The weather didn’t do much to dampen spirits, but for the most part we remained clad in waterproofs all day long.

A comfortable night’s sleep, dry kit and a good hearty breakfast in the Tjornbrotsbu mountain hut the group enthusiastically began their second day of trekking enjoying dramatic landscapes occasionally capturing sight of herds of reindeer grazing or bolting the moment we came in to range of their senses. After a long day of trekking the group arrived at the Berdalsbu mountain hut and prepared to settle for the evening. Being a Friday and a short walk from Hovden this particular hut is very popular with locals and with bed spaces a premium it was a tight squeeze getting everyone settled for the night albeit cozy.

The following morning the descent off the mountain was steady with everyone in high spirits and eager to be off with the promise of showering facilities and proper ablutions beckoning only a few hours away back at the hostel where we started some days previous.

Overall the breathtaking views of the Norwegian mountains coupled with the self service cabins equipped with everything you needed for cooking and sleeping made for a memorable and enjoyable experience.

This exercise presented an excellent opportunity for reservist members to undertake arduous training in a unique environment. It tested physical fitness whilst underlining the importance of team work and unit cohesion, and improved navigational skills and provided a fantastic log book experience in preparation for individuals to attend Summer Mountaineering courses.

A retention positive activity the exercise had a real military training application and demonstrates to the Reservists that they and the principles that Adventurous Training encourages are valued by the Army as an organisation. It also provides an opportunity for us to demonstrate that Adventure Training is a reality of Reservist life and not something reserved for the recruiting brochures.