Two Cadet officers, Capt Tony Willmore of the CCF and Lt Graham Wilding of the ACF, have been providing ski instruction support to twelve members of staff from Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, on an arduous two week ski touring expedition in Norway. The aims of Exercise Selva Backstop were to provide ski touring training to qualify the staff up to a basic level of Nordic skiing, as well as completing a demanding ski tour to retrace the route taken by the WW2 ‘Telemark Heroes’ from the Operation Gunnerside drop zone on the Hardangervidda plateau, to the site of the heavy water plant at Vemork. The two officers, both experienced Nordic ski instructors, were responsible for training the members of the prestigious multinational headquarters in the disciplines of Nordic skiing as well as leading them on the expedition.

The expedition began with a week of ski training based at a Norwegian Army camp at Heistadmoen, which is approximately 90 kilometers south west of Oslo. The instructors quickly set about getting the headquarters staff introduced to Nordic skiing at a local ski centre. Initially, it was a challenging experience for them to get their students to ski with unfamiliar skis, as well as getting them to cope with the fitting and removal of skins and maintaining their balance over varying types of terrain whilst wearing a large rucksack. With the weather being sunny and calm, the skills were swiftly learnt and by the end of the week all twelve staff had gained their basic Nordic ski awards. Included in this period were lectures and training on mountain winter hazards, safety and survival, all of which would become very relevant in the days to come.

The training period was followed a 6-day hut-to-hut tour across the Hardangervidda plateau which is about 150 kilometers to the west of Oslo. The tour commenced at Ustaoset in the north and went south to the site of the heavy water plant. The sudden change in the weather on day one of the tour resulted in strong winds and driving snow that abruptly brought home the need for good personal administration and ski touring skills, to ensure that the dangers of cold weather injury and navigation errors were eliminated. Day 2 brought even worst weather, as well as being the longest distance to be skied on the tour; some 24 kilometers. This was a real test of survival in arctic conditions. Gale force winds caused wind chill in the region of minus 27 degrees whilst a blizzard reduced visibility down to approximately 30 metres. Not to be deterred, the group set off and surprisingly made very good progress, reaching their destination after 7 hours on the trail. The next 4 days on trail saw a mixture of mild, sunny, wet, snowy, windy and cold weather, but nothing too severe to slow progress of approximately 20 kilometers per day. The Norwegian Trekking Association huts were all first-class which allowed the group to rest and recuperate ready for the following day. Four of the huts were manned whilst two huts were self-catering. Food in the self-catering huts was obtained from stores left in the hut, and in one hut, it consisted of canned reindeer stew and dried biscuits, for both dinner and breakfast! On the last day the group were met on the trail by a local historian who gave a guided tour of the exact route taken by the Operation Gunnerside team during their approach to Vemork. This involved skiing along a secluded valley and down a very steep re-entrant to a point where skis had to be removed and carried. Finally the group were briefed on the actions undertaken by the Gunnerside team to destroy the heavy water plant at Vermork, as well details of their escape after the attack and the sinking of the Hydro ferry.

The expedition was a very challenging undertaking in austere conditions that presented a great opportunity for personal development training, which ensured that everyone developed some of the qualities of fitness, physical and moral courage, initiative, teamwork, and powers of endurance and leadership. For the two instructors, it was extremely gratifying to note that everyone had such an enjoyable and worthwhile experience over 12 days of skiing, and that despite some very harsh weather conditions, the safety of the group was never in question. Both the instructors are very grateful to the Ulysses Trust for their generous grant which was totally instrumental in them supporting this important expedition.

Lt G K Wilding