Wye us? We didn't “Brecon” on this weather!

So what’s this global warming all about? During May and June, expedition groups travelled to the Wye Valley and North York Moors for their Silver Assessments and the Gold group went to the Brecon Beacons for their practice and to Snowdonia in August for their Gold assessment.

If we had known what welcoming weather we were to encounter, maybe climate change may have been the purpose work for some groups. So, having experienced glorious weather through April and May with the Bronze expeditions, we set off anticipating much of the same and hoping long range forecasts may be inaccurate.. However, the “wet weather experience” began not at Alton Towers, but in the Brecon Beacons during the Spring Bank Holiday – some holiday! We went equipped for “all weathers”. After all, that is what the groups were trained for!

Day 1 was fantastic but we had heard a weather front was moving in with packed isobars. Apparently isobars are not ice creams but weather indicators for wild and windy weather. That night tents were pegged down and guys secured. Sure enough, we were awakened in the middle of the night by heavy rain. However, totally focussed, breakfasts were cooked and rucsacs packed After all this is Gold and groups are trained for this kind of stuff. By 9.00am everyone was on their way to cross the Black Mountains. By midday, everyone had passed the last check point where injured or ill participants or infirm leaders could drop out. It was raining heavily but everyone was in good spirits and eager to press on. Little did we know how strong the wind was! Once we had climbed to the highest point of the day, the wind was so strong, it was difficult to walk. Some participants had to crawl on their hands and knees with full rucsacs in order to make progress. We had gone past the point of no return. After all it was downhill from here - bleak and remote, but downhill.

As long as the groups kept moving, the cold was not an issue. Safety became a priority and micro navigation was shelved as the need to reach camp was paramount. Thankfully, by 5pm all groups had descended safely but two members of the first group down had got cold and the first stages of hypothermia were setting in with members of other groups beginning to show signs. A decision was made by leaders to” pull the plug” and return home. Although first aid was working, the fact that every bit of kit was soaking due to the incessant wind driving the rain through the rucsacs and the forecast for the following day was much of the same, there was no alternative.

By midnight, we had returned to Hinckley to be greeted by warm beds and thankful parents. On evaluating the experience, we felt we had trained and equipped the group to the best of our knowledge and experience. We were, however, victims of extreme weather –the worst in 10 years of Gold expeditions.

Footnote. All 26 participants went on to successfully complete their Gold assessment in Snowdonia in August.

Next came the Wye Valley Silver assessed expedition. If you have seen the film starring Jack Hawkins and Sir Alec Guinness where their mission is to blow the railway bridge in Burma and was almost ruined by falling river levels, well our “Bridge on the River Wye” experience was the total opposite. The first part of the expedition was extremely successful. BUT…………………..heavy rain came in just after midnight on the last night and by morning, the stream next to the camp site had risen by about 15 metres. Tents were awash and areas of the camp site were shin deep in water.

Leaders had concerns about the welfare of the 4 expedition groups but all were adamant that they wanted to continue and complete. However, to enable this to happen, leaders went out early and ahead of the groups to check vulnerable points such as stream crossings and mobile phone bills of leaders soared as communication was ongoing. Groups were having to reroute due to unsafe water levels where footpaths crossed streams. Unfortunately in some cases, this meant more roadwalking than normal, but then the weather was not normal! Indeed some roads were flooded and covered with mud from adjacent fields. (This is where I learned about the value of “contour ploughing”-amazing what you learn on an expedition!)

By the end of the last day, all groups negotiated obstacles with some guidance from leaders but all 22 participants impressed assessors by their determination and planning “on the hoof”. All succeeded and most have gone on to Gold.

Finally, the North York Moors, my favourite place (childhood memories and all that). The weather was much better for the three expedition groups traversing the Moors. They had heard about the wet weather experiences of their peers and were equipped for bad weather. However, the bonus of not having bad weather (apart from one thunderstorm lasting an hour) was offset by the fact that they had to negotiate terrain affected by that bad weather from the previous two weeks. Footbridges washed away, landslides, muddy stream crossings and an abundance of mosquitoes and the odd adder here and there were added problems that the groups contended with magnificently. One group even did that extra bit for the local community by phoning leaders for assistance as they were very concerned that a dog that had followed them for 12 kilometres would not find his way home. JCC dog rescue duly responded and returned the dog to his thankful owner. All participants completed successfully and most have enrolled for Gold.

If you want a good way to test character building and other associated life skills, these experiences were tailor made – but not recommended. All those involved-young people and staff alike - deserve credit for what was a huge challenge.

Dick Beaumont