RAOC Gazette - page 142
Image details
| Corps | RAOC |
|---|---|
| Material type | Journals |
| Book page | |
| Chapter head | |
| Chapter key | |
| Chapter number | |
| Full title | RAOC Gazette |
| Page number | |
| Publication date | 1980 |
| Real page | |
| Colour | Yes |
| Grey | No |
| Early date | 1980 |
| Late date | 1980 |
| Transcription |
BEGINNERS IN BAVARIA By LANCE CORPORAL JIM BROCKIE A SMALL party of soldiers pottering around a minibus in the car park of Building 102 in COD Chilwcll very early in the moming—anyone guessing that this unusual sight was an- other of Regimental Wing's picnics would be quite mistaken. It was, in fact, the start of Chilwell's contribution to Exercise Ski Tour II in Bavaria. With a full load and a full tank, we set off on our long haul across Europe, which in itself proved to be eventful. Having reached Dover in one piece and on time, we boarded the car ferry for Ostend and the point of no return. The journey from Ostend to Sonthofen. Bavaria, was broken by frequent stops for petrol and refreshments and on one or two anxious occasions when we had trouble with our minibus, how- ever, we still managed to reach our destination, the RAOC Ski Hut. in good time. We were greeted with a very welcome hot meal (our first in thirty hours) and after unpacking, washing and cleaning up we were kitted out with ski boots, skis and ski sticks before the remainder of the course arrived. The following afternoon, armed with skis and sticks, we ventured onto the slopes for the first time. For the non-skiers this was a chance for us to get used to moving around on skis, whilst for the more experienced it was more of a warm up for the two weeks ahead. Our first day of instruction went very' well indeed. Lance Corporal Gerry Crow. Privates John Heany, Nobby Clark. Andy Holloway and myself were all together in the same beginner's class, Lance Corporal John Hutchinson and Private Bob Moon went to the intermediates but were later to join Major Braith- waite, who was instructor of the advance class. At the end of the first week all of the beginners were surprised to find them- selves ski-ing quite competently. The weekend was devoted to Langlauf (Cross Country) ski-ing. The first morning after waxing our skis, we left for a trial run round the circuit. In the afternoon we took on a more ambitious run and as this sport not only demands skill but a great deal of physical fitness and stamina, it was quite obvious that, after having travelled some distance, we would have to find somewhere to quench our thirsts. The planned stop had to be aborted because the Gastatte was closed! The Langlaufing con- tinued on Sunday and, although it was very enjoyable, many of us were glad to get back to the downhill slopes on Monday morning. The second week had arrived; this is what we had waited for and all that had been promised came true. For the beginners it had started to come together and it could be said that they Lance Corporal Jim Brockic, the author, keeps his feet on the last day. could now ski under control. Whilst for the advanced skiers it was time to practice the more difficult aspects of the sport. It is often said that ski-ing is the most demanding of sports. both physically and mentally, and this turned out to be true after one particularly tough day on the slopes. After our even- ing meal we retired to our room and feeling rather weary, we decided to catch forty winks. One fool, on leaving the room. turned the light off. This resulted in six of us sleeping for a solid thirteen hours and later we found a sign on our bedroom door saying—" Beware! Zs." Soon we were ready to move on to more difficult slopes. No. 2 slope on Grasgehren was the most difficult of all the runs and even ascending the lift itself is quite a feat! Never- theless, we all mastered this in no time at all and the view from the top of the mountain was the most impressive I have ever seen. All too soon the last day of ski-ing in classes had arrived. This was the day of the Slalom contest and also the worst day for weather, with visibility down at times to about ten metres. Everyone in our party gained respectable times in this event with Private Bob Moon being the quickest. It snowed heavily for the remainder of the day and strong winds made it almost impossible to ski safely. A disappointing day but the Chilwcll lads were looking forward to some fine weather the following day, and it was. This was Saturday and while most of the others went shopping and on outings, our party decided to ski from the top of Grasgehren down, across country, to the road where a driver was waiting with our minibus. This was to be the climax of our two weeks ski-ing, al- though for some it was to be an experience of a different kind to that of the more widely used ' piste ' slopes. Deep powder snow ski-ing is completely different in technique. We all watched Major Braithwaite make it look so easy, but we had no sooner started off than were people falling all over the place. Some of us feel more than others and one of the party never quite got the hang of it. Although I am told that. despite my constant complaints from the top to the bottom. I The Chilwcll party left to right: Privates Moon, Holloway, Clarke, Hcaney, Lance Corporals Brockie, Hutchinson, Crow and Major Braithwaite. — (Continued on page 356) 343 — |
| Book number | R0403a |