Exercise Escaping Tiger was designed as a combination of a mountaineering expedition open to all levels of mountaineering experience, as well as a study of a subject of historical interest. The route is known as 'The Freedom Trail', and is a 5 day (47 mile) hike through the Pyrenees along the most challenging route used by civilians and allied servicemen fleeing from persecution by Nazi Germany in occupied France. Our expedition consisted of 12 Officer Cadets and two qualified members of staff hiking the route, with two back up drivers who dropped us off at the starting point in St Girons, France, and met us in Alos D’Isil, Spain. The Officer Cadets chosen had a varied range of mountaineering experience, some with very little who were embracing quite a significant challenge.
The first two days of the expedition consisted of a fairly grueling slog, with 26km and 18km distances to cover respectively. The going was exhausting, with temperatures of +34°C on both days, meaning it wasn’t long before people were starting to feel fatigued, constantly dripping with sweat. One member of the team suffered with particularly bad blisters on both of his feet, but was determined to finish the expedition. Just after midday on day 2 was the final opportunity for anyone to drop out, but everyone was determined to continue.
Day three was largely anticipated to be the hardest day, with everyone up at ready-to-move at 0600. The early part of the day was quite easy going, passing some rather spectacular scenery, including the scattered remains of a Halifax bomber that crashed in 1945. The path became significantly more difficult when we reached a patch of snow that needed crossing to get over - the first high point of the day.. Once over the snow we headed towards the second peak of the day, stopping by a lake for a swim and a rest whilst the midday sun passed. The final peak was no real problem for anyone in the group, as the idea of a shower and hot food at Refuge des Estagnous was a driving force.
The early part of day four presented the most problematic aspect of the expedition so far, which was the route up the mountain to France-Spain border. The path we were supposed to follow was a steep incline covered in compact snow, which we ruled out as a viable route for safety reasons. However, as the inability to continue this route became apparent once we were halfway up a route that included aspects of scrambling, we had to make a decision, to try and find another way up or to slowly edge back down to the refuge and try to find another route. After some route reconnaissance, it was decided we would take a side path up which was difficult going at first, but levelled off soon after. We eventually reached the crossing point and stopped for lunch, admiring the glorious view on both the Spanish and French sides.
About an hour after the crossing, one of the team members suffered a knee injury, so efforts were made to getting her down to a road so that she could be picked up by the backup vehicle. The going became very slow as a result, mixed in with some navigation difficulties. Eventually we ended up on the path down to the river where we met with our support team and finished the last 5 km required of the day. The final day was a short 5 km stint to Alos D’Isil from our campsite, which was a pleasant leg stretch before being driven down to Esterri d’Aneu for a well earned break.
During the course of the route, we received lecturettes from each member of the expedition on various historical aspects of the Freedom Trail during World War 2 where over 30,000 people escaped over the border into neutral Spain. This included various downed aircraft crew, escaping prisoners of war, Jews and other refugees fleeing the Nazis and the Vichy French regime. We gained fascinating insights into the role of the Resistance and the ‘Passeurs’ who took unimaginable risks in helping people to escape - over 1,000 of them were captured and summarily executed. It was inspiring to imagine others crossing the same route that we took under such difficult and dangerous conditions.
As a result of the expedition, every member has benefitted by being part of the team, either by improving their confidence on mountainous terrain, that was at times quite daunting, or learning how to work as a team over a period of time, having to deal with different people’s strengths and weaknesses. Part of our Units aim for this expedition was to encourage the growth of mountaineering as adventure training. As a result of these Officer Cadets having successfully completed this expedition, I feel I can say with confidence that this aim has been successfully achieved, with plans for further expeditions already in the early stages of development.
I would like to finish by thanking our benefactors, The Ulysses Trust, without whom this expedition would not have been possible.
Junior Under Officer P. Coates
