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
Interested in the HSX Patagonia 2017 expedition but never heard of Hampshire Scout Expeditions before? Why not join us on our annual trip to the Lake District this Easter.
Hampshire Scout Expeditions invite you to Ad+Venture our annual trip to The Lake District, March 24-28, leaving Thursday evening from various locations around Hampshire. There will be lots of activities available providing introductions to; rock climbing, scrambling, hill walking, gorge scrambling, and many more. Anyone is welcome, whether you are a seasoned mountaineer or have never been on the hills before. A great chance to meet the leadership team, find out about our expedition and many more!
If you are interested please contact us on patagonia@hsx.org.uk and we will get back to you.
In 2017 a team of Hampshire Scouts and leaders, will take to South America to embark on a 6 week expedition to Patagonian Chile. here are some facts about the area, that you may not know, Enjoy!
The area of Patagonia spans a massive 1,043,076 km2, occupying almost half of Chile and Argentina, and yet is only home to less than 2 million inhabitants.
Until 180 million years ago, South America was knows as the super continent Gondwanaland, a combined landmass that also included India, Antarctica and Australia. The continents split, and South America drifted some 4800 kilometres westwards, to its current latitude.
There are 31 national parks located in Patagonia, each with their own unique charms: Torres Del Paine is the largest, and one of the most visited parks in Chilean Patagonia. The park is an extremely popular hiking destination.
All of Patagonia is in the Southern hemisphere, so summer is from December- March
In Chile you can find the driest place on earth- The Atacama Desert. At 7500 feet, some parts of this region have never received a drop of rain. The desert is a 1000km long strip between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, spreading over an area of 363,000 square km. Why not ask Rich – our deputy leader more about this amazing landscape?
Penguins live in Chile- penguins don’t only live in Antarctica or at the zoo, they can be found in several areas of southern Chile. They usually lounge on the beach and commute to nearby nests. Humboldt penguins, named after the current that they swim in, are also found on the north coast of Chile.
The slopes of the Andes, provides Patagonia with about 120,000 square kilometres of temperate rainforest. Home to the giant Alerce tree- the second longest living thing on the planet, similar in size to the Giant redwoods of North America, the Alerce trees are home to the rare little hill monkey, and the Patagonian toad.
The capital city of Chile is Santiago which has a population of around 7 million people, about 36% of the total population.
Travelling around in Patagonia can be quite challenging, unless you are willing so swap a bus for a hike, but this challenging aspect is what helps the region to retain its charm. Sometimes you are more likely to see more wildlife than people, and that makes this landscape 100 times more picturesque.
Most people visit between November and March, which are the warmer months in Patagonia. Warm is a relative term. Within Torres Del Paine National Park, the summer (Jan-Mar) average temperature is 41°F to 68°F (5°C- 20°C). The weather is still unpredictable. Four seasons in a day is entirely possible. Wind, rain and cold can challenge you any time of the year.
If you want to know more about the Expedition, please feel free to contact the leadership team on patagonia@hsx.org.uk
Keep Watching This Space! – The Leadership Team #Pat2017
Over the weekend Ollie and Chris took part in The Original Mountain Marathon (The OMM) a 2-day mountain event, combining endurance, navigation and mountain survival skills:
This year’s event was held in the Tweedmuir Hills in the Scottish Borders, and began with a torrential downpour, ensuring we were soaked from the start. To ensure that no team has an unfair advantage over fellow competitors, route maps are handed out on the start line, with each team being given a minute to plan their route to the first checkpoint. Competing in the C-Class this year, we had to visit a mix of compulsory checkpoints, before being given free rein to choose a series of optional points to really test our route planning skills. For much of Saturday the terrain under foot was terrible, consisting of shin deep heather, peat hags and ankle deep bogs; none of which are conducive with running!
After covering around 34km, and with darkness rapidly descending, we still had two checkpoints to find. We certainly hadn’t intended to be out for this long, but were happy to find them relatively easily before sprinting into the overnight camp. We were surprised at the number of head torches still out on the hills after-dark and thought that maybe we hadn’t done so bad after all! Having spent well over 10 hours out in the hills, we found ourselves sitting 39th out of 44 finishers; it was a good morale boost to know that 31 teams had already retired. At the overnight camp we soon discovered why two men really shouldn’t share a one-man tent (especially when one of them is over 6ft5!), however, enjoyed being warm and dry and sharing a ‘wee dram’ before bed.
06:00 seemed to roll around far too quickly, even with the extra hour gained from the clock change, and we were woken up in traditional OMM style – with a rendition of “Scotland the Brave” on the bagpipes! Having secured an early start time we were packed up and on the start line by 07:44. Mercifully, day 2 had been slightly shortened by the race organisers; in recognition that day 1 was much longer than it should have been due to land access issues. Starting with stiff legs, the organisers naturally eased us into the course by placing the first checkpoint of the day 250m uphill! We soon warmed up and found ourselves traipsing over an all too familiar mix of heather, peat and bog; just what our battered legs wanted! But before we knew it, we were visiting the penultimate checkpoint, meeting the first proper track of the weekend (thank God for engineering!) and were finally able to move quicker than a slow trudge! On our decent from Glenheurie Rig, we passed Chris Laws and Richard Batstone, who were also representing Team HSX, and successfully crossed the finish line at a jog after a 7 hour day.
One of the key points we took away from the weekend was the importance of accurate navigation. Rather than worrying about pace, good navigation can allow much more time and ground to be made up. For us, this meant we managed to find all of the checkpoints straightaway, whilst lots of other teams, having initially overtaken us, spent ages trying to find the markers and losing significant amounts of time (on day 1 we were 20 minutes out from checkpoint three when we passed one team still looking for the marker – a mistake which was likely to cost them around 30-40 minutes!).
Overall we came 35th out of 39 finishers in C-Class, with a further 5 teams dropping out on day 2. We were both particularly proud of this result, considering that half the field retired. Although enjoyment of the OMM is always retrospective, for now it’s time to rest up and get ready for the Welsh 3,000’s this weekend… No rest for the wicked!
Please follow our progress here or via Facebook or Twitter!
As is tradition for HSX, December saw the group once again converge on Ferny Crofts Scout Activity Centre for our annual Christmas celebrations.
Saturday morning saw participants divide into 6 teams for the adventure race, a 3 hour orienteering race across the New Forest with teams trying to gain as many points as possible. This year the race was “expertly” organised by Andy Humphreys, Josh Hicks and Alan Braithwaite, who had promised us a slightly different event from years gone by. One by one the teams converged at the back of the Mountbatten Lodge for the 10:00 start time for the race, provided with map for each pair, and given a quick briefing. Unlike previous years, we were told the finish of the race wasn’t to be as simple as expected, with the finish line being at Ferny Crofts legendary Assault Course!
At 10:00 the klaxon sounded and the teams dispersed, each heading in different directions, depending on their chosen route choice. The routes were incredibly varied this year, and unlike in previous years, it didn’t seem possible to get around the entire course within the allotted time, so route strategy would prove criterial to gain maximum points (and more importantly avoid the dreaded 2nd place!!!).
Around 13:00 the teams began arriving at the assault course, absolutely cream cracked after the last few hours’ exertion, only to be told we weren’t finished yet… Brilliant! One by one we were briefed that the finial element to the race would involve a timed circuit of the course in our teams, with 30 points available for the fastest time, 20 points for 2nd place and 10 points for the 3rd fastest time. Having put in a good shift in the run, we all knew it would be important to dig deep for one last push… easier said than done, when you’ve already covered around 15miles!!!
Upon completing our laps, we each headed back to the Lodge for a cup of tea, chow down some lunch and thaw out with a ‘warm shower’… well Ferny Crofts version of a warm shower!
The afternoon was passed comparing routes, fixing tents from stores, decorating the hall and preparing dinner… a 4 course banquet!
In the late afternoon the numbers swelled, as we were joined by more HSX members as well as special guests. As the atmosphere grew we were invited to take our seats, and one by one the courses were served. The evening was spent catching up with friends, swapping stories, and more importantly conceiving plans for adventures in 2015 and beyond! After dinner, our illustrious leader MC Kinger took to the stage for the usual Karaoke, which continued late into the night… and well into Sunday morning!!!
After a monumental tidy up on Sunday morning, we all gather for the HSX Christmas forum… our annual meeting to reflect on the achievements of the last 12 months, inform the group of the progress made behind the scene and our plans for the up-coming year! Towards the end of the forums we had presentations from Steve Knaggs on a sport climbing trip to Kalymnos in 2015, Bakewell launch his plans for the 2016 expedition to Cambodia and Oliver Robinson also provided an update on the progress of the HSX Antarctica team. The forum also saw Chris Slater outline his plans for an expedition to Patagonia, planned for December 2017.
With much excitement and anticipation for the year ahead the forum closed, groups broke up for quick discussions on differing aspects brought up in the meeting. After lunch and tidying the hall we parted on our merry ways, excited for what lay ahead.
I’d like to take this opportunity for wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, all the best for your adventures in 2015… whatever shape or size they may take!
