Exercise TA ODYSSEY 2013 is a combined Regular and Reserve Forces Mountain Leaders Expedition held in South West USA. It was held over the period 24 August to 15 September 2013 and involved 23 officers and soldiers from 2 Med Bde and its affiliated Field Hospitals.

Led by an experienced veteran of the South West USA mountain regions, the expedition was also supported by Joint Service Mountain Leaders from external units and a Service Support Team.

The major expedition objectives were to use the unique local alpine and desert environment to improve mountain leadership and skills for all participants and to qualify the maximum number of students to Mountain Leader (Training) so to increase the numbers of unit qualified Mountain Leaders.

The first phase of the expedition was the deployment phase. All members met at Heathrow to undergo the initial administration, creating teams and the team bonding process. This would enable the teams on landing in Los Angeles to move straight onto the actual expedition phases.

The second phase was 6 days trekking in the High Sierra Nevada of California, from the Onion Valley at 9200 feet, along the John Muir Trail into the Kern River catchment from the Kersarge Pass in the North, via the unforgiving Forester Pass at 13,200 feet to eventually exit at Mount Whitney Trailhead in the Southeast. The overarching objective was for all trekking personnel to climb to the summit of Mount Whitney which at 14,526 feet is the highest mountain in the contiguous USA. Only one person did not make the summit due to suffering with the altitude, even so they did make it up to and over Trails Crest at 13,800 feet to exit the trailhead safely. Whilst in the High Sierra Nevada the whole of the trek from Kersarge Pass to Mount Whitney trailhead had been beset by lower than average temperatures, thunder, lightening and sporadic torrential rain. In all, an unsupported trip of about 62 mountain miles at average altitudes of around 10,500 feet with the heavy mountain packs.

The third phase was 2 days of mountain skills instruction in the Alabama Hills to the west of Lone Pine. This was designed to consolidate and test personnel in security on steep ground and Basic Mountain-craft skills.

The fourth phase was to trek into Death Valley and to climb to the summit of Telescope Peak at 11,050 feet, but this was cancelled due to recent high rainfall and flash flooding in the Death Valley area which had made the approach roads to the trailhead impassable.

The fifth phase was to spend 8 days in the Grand Canyon Nation Park. The teams needed to acclimatise to the heat and dust before trekking 32 miles below the canyon rim, wild camping for 4 nights next to the Colorado River and on the Tonto Plateau. Whilst below the canyon rim the teams endured electrical storms accompanied by torrential rain and the resultant flash floods, requiring good timing and mountain-craft to extract from the Grand Canyon in good order.

Finally to recover the cancelled fourth phase, the decision was made to utilise the large recreational areas within the Las Vegas valley. This included trekking to the summit of Turtle Peak located within Red Rock Canyon, various routes within Lake Mead Recreational area and down to the Colorado River through White Canyon which is located 4 miles east of the Hoover Dam just over the state line in Arizona. All the planning for these routes was undertaken by our 17 newly qualified Mountain Leader Training expedition members, overseen by the group leaders.

At the end of the expedition time was taken out for a memorable tour of the sights in Las Vegas and shopping for souvenirs on the day before the long flight back to the UK.

The expedition was a huge success with 17 new Mountain Leaders available to be utilised by units and will have a lasting legacy within the Brigade.

The Reserve Officers and Soldiers of 2 Medical Brigade would like to extend their thanks to the Ulysses Trust for their unwavering and enthusiastic support to adventure training and for their very generous donation to support the participating Reserve personnel.

SW Ashcroft, WO1, Expedition Leader, HQ 2 Medical Brigade