Bebo

1st Daviot Oldmeldrum Scouts <oldmeldrum-scouts>

"Be Prepared... Be Very Prepared"

	SATURDAY - DAY 8	521 jours il y a
	Terry's group got back to camp safely, although very tired. They had met Mike's group on their way down. Terry had told everyone that the mountain hut was warm - the second group didn't agree. Terry asked who had helped weigh down his rucsac - nobody admited guilt. Someone had put a rock (Chris had 2 rocks) in the rucsac and these two poor chaps had to struggle up hte hill with the extra weight - not happy! Never mind, they made light of the matter (pardon the pun) by making their very own cairn. After a long slog up to 1930 metres in the wet, they were all soaked, in fact drenched. The got shown round the hut - which was VERY basic to say the least. The smelt the toilet before they saw it! And believe me it wasn't the cow dung. Everyone dried off and tried to get warmed up and this was helped by the girls doing the cooking (sexist eh). It has to be said that the catering at the centre isn't great and it is ironic that the food here was the best of the camp so far - well done the girls. There was a Belgian group there and there was a little interaction between them and we received some Belgian sausage. Unfortunately we coudn't recipricate as we had already eaten our mince. We retired to bed, which was a slab of foam rubber, and two army blankets. Terry's idea of warmth is obviously different form ours as we were awake frequently during the night, looking for more blankets (or stealing from those who were asleep)! Up at 7, basic breakfast and making lunch - ham and cheese sandwiches for a change! - yummy, yummy. Then it was on to the slopes and on with the gear. It started off with fairly simple bouldering to get warmed up then it was followed by 5 progressively more difficult climbs in different locations. The weather was fantastic for climbing and we managed 7 hours in total, before then setting off back down to Kantersteg. We could now see how far and steep we were climbing on the first day, where we couldn't on the way up because of the mist and low cloud. Maybe just as well mind you or we maybe wouldn't have gone up in the first place! Mike and Nick finally hobbled in and brought up the tail end, getting back at about 5pm only to be dismayed at the sight of the scouts going off to play football - oh to be young again! The Older Group (Explorers) set off on Thursday morning at 0730 for their snow and ice climbing. They were told it was a 20 minute walk to the cable car and then a short walk to the mountain hut - humph`! The first bit was right but after the cable car it was a 4.5 hour hike over 10km up over 1000 metres. Most coped really well and we arrived up to the luxurious hut (sorry younger scouts to rub it in). After lunch, it was on with the crampons and ice axes and out onto the glacier. After roping together in groups of 7, we were shown how to climb through this type of terrain. we then tried falling down the mountain, and thankfully we all managed to stop, using the ice axe techniques we had been shown. More playing in the snow and ice and then Keith was thrown down a cravass. I don't know what he had done but I'm sure he didn't deserve it - well maybe he did! The rest of the Explorers then had to set up a rescue system to pull him out. It was very cold and wet down there. The weather was now very bad and it was time to get back to the hut to dry off and get a rest. Unlike the primitive conditions the Scouts had, the Explorers were in luxury. A warm building; no cows next door or anywhere near; good toilets; a well stocked shop; food cooked for them and two lovely waitresses - oh and cold beer! Sorry should¨'t have mentioned that. After three bowls of soup each and three plates of spag bol, it was rest time. One explorer went to bed at 7:30pm and the rest followed at 9:15pm. Wow! A reasonably long lie and the weather was grim.So instead of going onto the ice climbing it was time to throw people off a cliff and leave them there until the could rescue themselves. Thankfully everyone had been trained in how to do this so safely managed to get up the cliff without any help. It is scary to do this when you have seen them undoing the knot that is holding you onto the rockface. After lunch it was time for the 11km trek down to the campsite (the extra 1km is the length of the cable car). A brilliant day was had by everyone and the mental effort of completing this was almost as great as the physical. Sorry for the lack of a proper report yesterday but the two bloggers who had been out on the hill were too busy to get to the computers in time before they closed, hence the "comment" made by the Group Scout Leader using a phone. Today's blog is also very late - sorry - but it has been another busy day. We were desperate to get the Scouts to complete their badges and some have done brilliantly now. We also had a last chance at some shopping in the village (so hopefully some lovely souveniers coming your way - or chocolate not quite making it)! This is the final evening for us and may be emotional for some. Yes, romance is in the air. Maybe some flight tickets to Ireland sometime soon perhaps!!! Who for - well that would be telling and what goes on tour - stays on tour! We set off at midday tomorrow on the coach to Geneva, then onto the plane to Amsterdam and then Aberdeen. Keep an eye on the klm website (or baa.com) for the times. We MAY get a chance for an update on route but don't rely on one. The best place to look is on the "comments" to todays blog as we can add comments remotely but not new entries. They will come from "Group Scout Leader".
	posté par 1st Daviot Oldmeldrum Scouts

1 commentaire:

	Ginny a dit...	Il y a 521 jours
	Wow - what can i say! You poor, poor leaders.
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