Rich has been in HSX since 2008 and is often found competing in mountain marathons as part of TeamHSX. He participated in the Atacama Desert marathon. 7 marathons in 7 days in the highest and driest Desert in the world.
To meet the other leaders, and to hear more about our Pre Expedition Training, Expedition Breakdown, Fundraising Opportunities and take part in some activities, then please come along and meet the team on Sunday 24th April, starting at 10am, in a scout hut in Winchester, (Email us for location details)
Chris has been an active member of HSX since 2006, he joined as a participant to the Nepal 2007 expedition. Fast forward six years and after gaining a wealth of leadership experience with both HSX and assisting with his old Explorer Scout Unit in Petersfield, he returned to the Khumbu Valley, leading the successful Nepal 2013 expedition. Since then Chris has joined the HSX Antarctica 2018 expedition, completed his Mountain Leader (Summer) award and regularly competes in Mountain Marathons. He is passionate about the mountains and enjoys working with young people, helping inspire people to have adventures of their own!
To meet the other leaders, and to hear more about our Pre Expedition Training, Expedition Breakdown, Fundraising Opportunities and take part in some activities, then please come along and meet the team on Sunday 24th April, starting at 10am, in a scout hut in Winchester, (Email us for location details)
After a slow start being stuck in Winchester due to heavy bank holiday traffic, HSX eventually headed up the motorway towards the beautiful Lake District without too much delay. We arrived at 1.30am at Great Tower Scout Activity Centre; bed was the one thing we were all ready for, so we hit the sack.
Following a fairly good night’s sleep, it was great to get together with everyone for bacon sandwiches and meet more members from HSX. Liam then proceeded to brief us about the plans for the day and a few house rules for the weekend.
Team Cambodia departed at 9.30am (HSX time) for Farleton Crag, a huge limestone pavement east of the M6. Along with Steve and Tom, we completed some bottom and top rope climbs after a short walk to the crag and then finished the afternoon off with abseiling. As a general trend for Team Cambodia, people with longer hair (Bradley and the girls!) were more successful at climbing and keeping their dignity. It was nice to be as a whole team again because we had some quality bonding time. Meanwhile, the other members of HSX either enjoyed a day of climbing at White Ghyll or walking after wild camping at Angle Tarn.
Whilst Friday kept in line with the tradition of beautiful weather in the lakes for HSX, Saturday took a complete U-turn as water and wind came in fast and frequently throughout the day. With an earlier start of 7:00am for breakfast, Team Cambodia had a departure time of 8:00am for Jack’s Rake (Jake’s Rake if you prefer) on Pavey Arch along with another group, whilst some members were running on the Kentmere Ring. Although one successful group did manage to reach the top of Jack’s Rake, Team Cambodia decided to turn back after Stickle Tarn as the winds continued to crash against the rock, as little shelter could be found as the fog thickened over the water and base of the scramble.
Another early start looking for the Easter bunny made us all jump out of bed, but to the great disappointment of no chocolate! With another breakfast of bacon sandwiches, Team Cambodia was told to pack for a day of micro navigation at Skelwith Country Park, whilst other members of HSX could scramble up Harrison Stickle or Micro Navigation around Grisedale Forest. Although we only covered 5km in 4 hours, the day was very enjoyable as Team Cambodia were taught some very useful navigational skills like leapfrogging and got to improve our individual map reading skills and using contour lines. Despite the constant moist nature of the day and the occasional surprise hail storm, the weather held up pretty good. The same cannot be said for those up Harrison Stickle, who saw more hail and rain. Team Cambodia were also faced with the challenge of dealing with 3 injuries at the same time ( Tom broke his leg, Matt got hypothermia and Liam had a panic attack) which showed how we could work well together as a team, but still very much needed guidance on what to do in a first aid situation. It turned out that these injuries were in fact not real, but just a test to see how the team would cope. Once we were all dry, Matt taught us a few Confidence rope skills at Great Tower which was a nice skill to learn, especially as it was an activity we could do inside.
All in all great weekend was had by all despite the weather.
Special mentions to Craghoppers as the team were presented with our Cambodia Uniform (Kit Review to follow soon).
So you’ve heard about this expedition to Patagonia, now let’s take it to the next stage. We have organised an information and taster day for you and your parents/guardians.
If you would like to know more about;
The Leader Team/ Pre Expedition Training/ Expedition Breakdown/Fundraising Opportunities and take part in some activities, then please come along and meet the team on Sunday 24th April, starting at 10am, in a scout hut in Winchester, (Email us for location details)
An expedition can be a life changing experience and this could be the beginning of your journey.
In 2017 our expedition will take us to Torres Del Paine National Park, where we will undertake our trekking phase.
Have a look at this short time-lapse video taken from across the National Park to find out lots of the places the Patagonia team will be visiting. I’m sure you’ll agree that the locations are quite stunning!
Inspired by what you’ve seen? Drop the leadership team a line at Patagonia@hsx.org.uk to find out the how you could get involved with this once in a life time expedition!
Follow us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/HSXPatagonia
Prior to joining the rest of the Antarctica team at Badagusih this February, Joe headed up to the Cairngorms early to complete his Winter Mountain Leader training.
Based at Glenmore Lodge, one of three National Mountain Centres in the UK, the centre provides training and assessments for instructors as well as coaching course for the general public in a variety of sports. Over the six day course Joe learnt the skills and decision making tools to safely lead groups in winter conditions. This included many different navigation techniques, security of steep icy ground, as well as an overnight expedition in a snow hole.
Given the winter conditions still being experienced across some mountain ranges, we asked Joe to share his 10 top tips of how to stay safe in the mountains;
Have a plan of what you want to do – heading out into the mountains with no plans can cause you to drift into areas that are potentially avalanche prone without you even realising. Just as importantly, it also means that you won’t be able to give anyone a description of where you are going… just in case you have a problem!
Check the avalanche forecast – knowing what slopes are avalanche prone will allow you to make an informed decision about where to go to complete your objectives, without the risk of endangering yourself or others.
30 – 45o slopes are the biggest triggers for avalanches – knowing this means you can mark up your map with hazardous areas before heading out, stopping you wandering onto these slopes and realising you’re in the danger zone.
Check you have the right kit – a winter bag is heavy! Normally, in addition my normal summer hill walking kit, I will have an ice axe, crampons, helmet, a flask of hot drink, extra warm layer, lots of gloves (I take three as a minimum) and ski goggles. Making sure your crampons fit your boots the night before is essential, as doing this on a steep slope in howling gale and blowing spindrift is not the place to find out they don’t fit!
Practise operating with thick gloves on – taking gloves off to put crampons on, take a bearing or open a bag is not ideal and, in extreme circumstances, can lead to frostbite on your fingers. Try doing these activities at home beforehand.
Put your goggles on quickly – once they’re on your face they’ll likely be on for the rest of the day, or at least until it clears up again. Taking too long to put your googles and they’ll rapidly fill up with snow. This can quickly melt, leaving you with annoying water droplets on your lenses, or worse, completely misted up! In really foul weather consider taking two sets of googles, with at least one set of clear lenses ones which are ideal when using a map.
Hydration tubes are prone to freezing – any water which is left within the hose can freeze, blocking the tube and stopping you from getting a drink. Having a thermal protector can help, but the best thing to do is blow back the water once you’ve had a drink.
A 1:50,000 map is better than 1:25,000 – in winter you don’t need to see the detail of a 1:25k map. When the ground is covered in snow most of these features will be buried, so you have to rely more on the contours and what the ground is doing under foot. This is more easily defined on a 1:50k scale map.
Be well practised in your compass skills – you will be using a compass a lot more in winter. White outs are quite common, reducing your view of the world to a few feet and stripping your concept of up and down. Navigating in these conditions is really hard, and knowing how to use compass quickly and efficiently is critical to make good onward progress on your journey… and more importantly reduces the risk of you walking off a cornices!
Having ice axes and crampons are cool – but know how to use them. There is nothing worse than putting a hole in your waterproof trousers because you can’t walk in your crampons or you lose an ice axe because you did not know how to self-arrest correctly. Practise these skills in non-consequential environments before heading out into the hills.
With the margins for error reduced in winter, it important that you have the necessary skills to look after yourself. If you’re new to winter mountaineering then it worth gaining the necessary skill from a qualified instructor, who can teach you all you need to stay safe in the mountains this winter.
Hopefully these tips will make your life much easier and more enjoyable in the UK’s winter conditions, and remember there is nothing wrong with turning around if the conditions don’t feel right!
Feel free to comment with any of your favourite tips, or leave any questions for the team and well get back to you.
