Lincolnshire ACF saw 27 cadets and 9 CFAV’s take part in their Annual ski expedition to Folgarida in Italy’s beautiful Dolomites between 14th and 22nd February.
People will remember Valentine’s Day 2014 for a number of different reasons but for Lincolnshire ACF it was memorable for one reason and one reason only… the good old British weather!
We departed Sobraon Barracks at 4pm on the Friday making it to Dover in good time. However, once we got into the queue to embark the ferry the wind was whipping up and the bus was rocking back and forth. It transpired that a Force 12 Gale was showing its full strength and as a result the Port was closed until the wind retreated. We sat on the coach patiently waiting for news as to when the next stage of our journey could get underway. 14 hours later we departed Blighty, making our way to Dunkirk. In true Lincolnshire ACF style however, the spirits of our cadets and CFAV’s remained bright, unlike our weather. The crossing, needless to say was rough.
Regular Blogs were posted to update friends and family on our journey progress which reassured all concerned.
Having travelled through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, we finally arrived in Folgarida at about 06:30hrs on the Sunday morning. 39 hours of travelling! We were all allocated our rooms and busily unpacked as we were eager to get straight on the slopes. We all had en-suite and some rooms had amazing views looking over the mountains - pine tree after pine tree… simply stunning!
At 9am, as bright and breezy as one can be following a 39 hour epic journey with little sleep, (with the exception of AUO Pearson and the Commandant who had their own little… ‘Who could sleep the most on a bus competition!); we headed to the Ski Shop where we were issued with our pre-ordered skis, boots, helmets and poles.
The group was split into three - an experienced group and two novice groups. We met our instructors Stefano, Mario and Charlotti (All later known as ‘Follow me!’) and everybody took their first tentative steps/glides on their skis. The experienced group headed straight to the blues and reds and familiarised themselves with the piste map, whilst the novice groups had their poles ‘confiscated’ and tackled the nursery slopes and the different lifts. Some were more successful than others… but everyone did their best to motivate, encourage and praise their fellow skiers ensuring that morale was maintained and progress made.
By the end of Day 1 we were all shattered and an early night was a very welcome end to what had been an incredibly long day. We all awoke on Day 2 raring to go… cereals, rolls, cheese and ham and copious amounts of hot chocolate and chocolate spread greeted us and filled us with the fuel that we needed to have another successful day. Day 2 to Day 4 carried on in a similar vein. We had a leisurely stroll to the slopes each morning, rode the gondolas to about 1900ft and skied under instruction for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. The experienced group were away on reds and the odd black run and the novice groups were getting competent with their snow ploughs, parallel turns and stopping. Control was key and once we mastered that, the poles were returned.
Unfortunately the weather was not great… there was low visibility as well as some really heavy wet snow some days but spirits were never dampened and everyone did their absolute best. The cadets (such fast learners) spent the days perfecting their skills and to the untrained eye, it really did look like they had been skiing for weeks,not days! Watching Cadets beam with pride having mastered a blue or for some a red run was truly impressive.
The weather brightened for Day 5 and Day 6 and the true beauty of the Dolomites was realised. I can honestly say that the scenary was stunning. Pure beauty which really did take ones breath away. The skiing continued and all cadets were skiing competently on red slopes; a real credit to their determination and the instructor’s abilities to inspire and keep them motivated when for some the going got tough.
Towards the end of the week cadets also had the opportunity to ski the bottom of a black run at night. The run was flood-lit, popular and very steep. They built up some real speed and momentum, mastering those parallel turns that they had worked on so hard to perfect.
Other evening activities included ice skating, bingo, Karaoke and a Pizza night. Pizza was a welcome change for Major Watson who had had to face pasta (he doesn’t like pasta!) every night in the hotel; however in true practical joke style, Major Fielding ordered him pasta shapes instead of his pizza!
The final day came far too quickly. Every cadet and CFAV received a certificate and a medal based on the skills that they had learnt during their time in Folgarida. Cadets said their goodbyes to the instructor’s and picked up their last minute gifts for their families before heading back to the hotel to pack up before getting on the bus to come home.
Italy 2014 was a massive success for Lincolnshire ACF. Cadets grew in many ways. Their confidence grew, new friends were made and a massive sense of achievement was evident in all. Well done to all cadets and CFAV’s that embraced Italy 2014. Hope to see you again in 2015.
