Gore-tex Fan Dance Challenge – The Kit

Posted on September 18, 2012 by James Clay

Part of the prize for being included in the team taking on the Gore-tex and Berghaus sponsored Fan Dance Challenge was some free kit. I like outdoors kit, I have several boxes full of it in the wardrobe. I love free outdoors kit, sadly though I only have 3 bits of it, all received in the last few weeks. Although it was free, and although they sponsored my dream becoming a reality that hasn’t made me a sycophant. If anything free kit gives me carte blanche to be overly critical as I don’t have to justify what I’ve spent! So, here’s my honest assessment of the kit I was given…

Berghaus Benefaction II Gore-tex Trainers

When these trainers first came in to my possession I was disappointed, for one single but unavoidable reason. They ticked all the boxes with Vibram soles (the stuff climbing shoes are made of, allows you to walk up walls like Spiderman!), aggressive tread (this is Britain, there will be mud, always, everywhere) and they were allegedly waterproof so they should have been perfect. However I couldn’t get over the fact that they looked far more like an approach shoe than a running shoe. I’m used to the slipper like floppy lightness of my Salomon Speedcross and the weight and stiff soles of the Benefaction  felt a bit alien by comparison. From the comfort of my office seat I wasn’t impressed…

And then I put them on and went running. The first steps were tentative, easing in to running with something new on my feet. The first half mile of my route was on tarmac and I couldn’t shift the feeling of stiff heaviness, and then I hit the open trails of Leckhampton Hill and had something of an epiphany. Suddenly my shoes came alive and I understood all that they were trying to do. That stiffness translated in to a sure-footed confidence that the thin soles of other trail shoes couldn’t offer. No they aren’t light, but they pay that back by letting you run, and run, without that bouncy stone avoiding, root jumping, carefully descending dance that I was used to. On descending, these shoes are just brilliant. I couldn’t get them to slip, and I tried. I hit every stone, mud patch, dust and gravel patch I could find and they just wouldn’t fail. I also tested the claim of waterproofness and guess what folks, they weren’t kidding! Obviously being a shoe if you go ankle deep in a stream your getting soggy toes, but striding through puddles and mud like a 4 year old in their first wellies was incredible fun! More importantly they made the unavoidable mile through dew sodden grass a delight, and that makes me very happy. When I got out on to the big mountain trails of the Brecons they were even better, still offering that same sure-footed, sticky soled performance over the big rocks and steep drops.

I have to admit that for simple trail running on fire roads and well built paths I will probably still revert to the trail slippers, but for the more demanding or weather-affected routes these shoes are perfectly suited to the changing terrain of trail running, and as such they will see a lot of use.

Berghaus Vapour Storm Gore-tex Jacket

Getting this in the post made me a ridiculously excited young boy! This jacket isn’t available until next year, it is also worth a lot of money and has had mentions/features in every outdoor and fitness magazine I read (including Outdoor Fitness, unsurprisingly) so getting my hands on one now was a treat. It has amazing technology (as do all Gore-tex products, I learnt a lot about the material whilst in the Brecons) but what makes this jacket exceptional is it has lots of flaps, and that’s a good thing. Hard to believe it stays waterproof with the gills all over it, if you want the science click the picture and get the lowdown. All you really need to know is this is new, newer than new, in fact this jacket more than anything else makes me believe we are in communication with an advanced race of aliens who are giving us their technology! Oh, and a word about the colours…not everyone’s cup of tea but I believe in be safe be seen whether I’m running the pavements or a lonely mountain and this jacket can certainly be seen!

In use the jacket nearly always did what it was made to do, nearly. I’ve worn mine a few times now (ironically we had great weather in Wales and didn’t really need the kit much!). It’s done some kilometre sprints on early mornings and worked okay, certainly in the places it is vented. I did get very wet arms inside the jacket but I was working exceptionally hard in short sleeves and I sweated, a lot! In fairness I wouldn’t expect any material to have coped with that perspiration! I then wore it on a ten mile hill run, and it was incredible. During a hard climb I stayed cool, but then I was caught in not one but two torrential downpours. Let me assure you that being on the highest point for miles around when a lightening storm hits is never normally an enjoyable experience. However, putting up the jacket’s hood, zipping myself in and running through the storm is the most fun I’ve had in trainers for a long time. Importantly, after an hour of this thunderous fun, when I got back to the car and took the jacket off I was dry. Not just dry because the rain didn’t get in, but dry because the sweat got out. The final time I wore it was a night hike in the mountains through thick clag (low cloud, very wet) and combined with a long sleeved base layer it kept me very comfortable indeed.

This jacket works. It isn’t cheap, and whether it is worth the money depends on how big your wallet is and how important comfort is to you, but I absolutely love it. It now hangs by my door, ready to go at a moment’s notice, and I’m looking forward to cold, wet winter runs so I get to wear it again and again.

Berghaus Helvellyn Gore-tex Trousers

The thing about waterproof trousers is, even in the UK, I just wear them so rarely that it’s never been worth investing in quality. A normal waterproof trouser scenario runs something like this—> Walking along wearing some Craghoppers admiring the view – Ooh, that’s an angry looking cloud – Ah, yes, it’s raining a bit, sure it will pass – It isn’t passing, it’s getting heavier – I’m really quite wet now, I wonder if it’s worth putting on my overtrousers – Actually I’m getting really quite cold now, time for the waterproofs – Hmm, the rain has stopped, I’m boiling hot in two pairs of trousers one of which is soaking wet and the day is no longer fun.

So when I opened a parcel and found these trousers I was obviously overjoyed at having such wonderful free kit, but knew they would only ever live in the side pocket of my rucksack and be part of every soggy disappointment I subjected myself too. It seemed a shame as the trousers look absolutely wonderful. Far more stylish than other waterproofs I’ve owned, they looked great on and it seemed a shame they’d hardly ever get seen. They were also really comfortable, and with the lining mesh from the knee upwards and the solid liner around the calf and ankle they were far superior to the single layer trousers I was used to sweating in.

So, whilst in Wales, I decided on an experiment. Dressing for a night hike in thick clag I donned just the Berghaus trousers. Thanks to the lining they instantly felt comfortable against bare legs, not like wearing waterproofs at all. The walk included cutting through heather and knee high grass and I was gloriously dry throughout. If I’d been in my usual trews they’d have been soaked and subsequently I would have been cold and uncomfortable. The walk was such a success that I opted to wear them again the next day for a series of tasks and an afternoon of survival training. It was the perfect decision! The venting on the sides kept me cool when working in the sun, and when I was scrabbling around on the forest floor the material kept me dry and proved very durable. I was amazed at just how comfortable they were all day and performed not at all like claustrophobic waterproofs. I actually forgot that’s what they were until I went knee deep in a stream and stayed dry!

I’m now looking forward to the autumn really settling in so I get to wear these trousers again, along with the trainers and amazing jacket I’ll be looking good and feeling good, and I now wish the rest of my wardrobe was this impressive!

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Gore-tex Experience Tour – Fan Dance Challenge

Posted on September 13, 2012 by James Clay

After 7 weeks of training and 3 days of preparation, Monday night was the start of the Fan Dance at last. For me the relationship with the challenge goes back much further, about 20 years further. I’d first heard of the Fan Dance in tales of the SAS on a hiking trip with school, part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award. 24 kilometres up and over the highest peak in South Wales, to a distant checkpoint and back via a second ascent of the mountain and mad dash down to the start point, all within 4 hours! I remember thinking that must be the hardest thing in the World and I couldn’t understand how anyone was capable of such feats. Years later, after I stopped playing rugby and fell back in love with walking the mountains I returned to Pen-y-fan and remembered the Fan Dance. It was still an impossible dream for me, but I thought one day I might walk the route just to see how hard it is. 3 years ago I started running, and I remember one afternoon in 2010 running down the last few kilometres of Helvellyn in the Lake District just because I could and wondering if I’d ever be able to run up it instead…I thought not! That afternoon the Fan Dance came to mind, an impossible challenge that maybe one day I would have a go at…but it was always unlikely I’d ever have the focus and tenacity to do it.

So when the opportunity with Gore-tex came up it seemed a good idea to apply, and amazingly now I was one sleep away from taking on the mountain it still seemed a good idea! Having had the training plan to guide me, being provided with kit I could trust in, having the support of experts preparing us and with a team relying on me it seemed all the ingredients were in place to give it my best possible shot.

There was a nervous excitement around the Storey Arms after dinner on Monday. All talk was of the morning and how people were planning to approach the run, their expectations and worries. As the sun started to set behind Fan Fawr we met on the grass behind the hostel for our final briefing. Instructor Jason had built a visual representation of the route (it was a work of art, I wish I could have brought it home with me!) and proceeded to explain the challenge with military precision. The timetable was set and with an early start agreed I made my excuses and hit my bunk for as much sleep as possible!

Jason talks us through the work of art that was his route guide.

Tuesday morning and breakfast was over early as everyone prepared in their own way. I’d already laid out my kit and packed my bags in the car so I had time for a leisurely shower, to knock up a banana smoothie and to stretch out before we all gathered outside for a final photocall (in case we didn’t all make it back!) and final instructions. At 8am life went rapidly uphill!

The group shot, in case it was the last opportunity!

12 of us set off on the Fan Dance at the same time. I’m sure we all had different experiences and I can only record mine, but one thing I think we all share is that it will stay with us for life. I’d planned my pace up the first 2 mile climb and stuck to it. This meant watching some of the others stride off in to the distance (and mist) but I knew trying to keep pace with them now would cost me later so I stuck to the plan. Carolyne was with me all the way up past Corn Du as we entered the cloud cover and got buffeted by the wind. I wasn’t ever cold thanks to the effort I was putting in but knowing I had the Gore-tex Berghaus kit on me anyway provided comfort. Having run anything flat or downhill we started the short climb from Corn Du on to Pen-y-fan in good time and I was happy with the pace. Despite knowing Pen-y-fan well as we crossed the plateau to touch the summit stone I still checked the compass to be sure we came off the mountain the right way. With visibility down to about 20 feet now would be a bad time to make a navigational error! It turns out not everyone was so lucky, Brendan took a wrong turn at this point adding 5km to his route! The initial descent from the top of the mountain was damp, stepped rock and demanded a slow approach, but once we were past that and out of the wind it was time to open the legs and get back some of the time lost on the climb. I was confident of doing under 6 minute kilometres through this stretch, getting ahead of schedule by the turn around point and having a buffer for the long climb back up the mountain.

And then disaster.

I was making good time and enjoying myself to the point that I was taking self-congratulatory glances at the gps watch a little too often. The almost inevitable happened and as the path leveled out and looked to be getting easier eyes lingered a little to long on the watch and I got my footing all wrong. My left ankle is the reason I don’t play rugby, it’s been weaker since a bad injury 4 years ago but I’ve never turned it as much as I did in that moment. There was an audible pop and the pain was instant, I was stopped in my tracks and my first thought was “oh Christ, Instructor Pete is going to have to carry me out!”. I took a few tentative steps and the pain was excrutiating, but I could still move my foot and had control over it. It was going to hurt but I was still capable of getting to the halfway point under my own steam and at least I wouldn’t suffer the indignity of being escorted out on the arms of a navy boy! With Carolyne still with me I pushed on, but the pace had dropped significantly now. After about another kilometre, so approaching the 7 kilometre mark, I started to feel a bit better. The pain was subsiding and I started to feel fast, loose and like I could run again…I was wrong. I realise now that was adrenaline keeping me upright and helping me continue, but at the time all I could think was not letting myself, and in turn the team, down by not finishing. It was at this point I went over on the ankle again.

With the damage already done by the first injury this time my ankle twisted through almost 90 degrees and left me sprawled on the grass by the side of the track. I was convinced my challenge was over. I ushered Carolyne on, for a terrible moment I thought she was going to insist on waiting with me but I couldn’t have handled the guilt of ruining someone else’s attempt so eventually she turned and took off. I sat for a moment contemplating my options, there weren’t many. I knew Pete would be along at some point, as sweeper he was at the back of the group and would get to me soon enough. Sitting there though all I could think about was all that wasted training, all the effort I’d put in and sacrifices I’d made and all so I could sit here and give up. I thought about how it would feel coming home and telling the story, admitting defeat and disappointing everyone who had shown belief in me. I stood, took a step, took another and decided that whatever it took I would cover the distance and to hell with the pain. Pulling out would be a pain that lived in me forever and anything I was feeling now was only temporary.

I adopted a peculiar shuffling bounce of a running gait, keeping the left foot off the floor as much as possible avoiding as much of the broken ground as I could. There were sections where I had no choice but to slow to a very deliberate walk a step at a time and be certain I knew what was under my feet, but with all thoughts of time gone as long as I was moving forward I was happy. By this time the ankle was throbbing and felt red hot, so much so I had to check I wasn’t bleeding at one point. Swelling was already obvious but I figured if I just kept moving I could keep going as long as I had to. I made it to a gully which signified the end of the really rough track, but crossing that was the most painful challenge I faced. Unable to plant my foot flat to minimise pain but equally unable to put weight on it to stop me sliding I did a kind of one-footed skiing action and landed in a heap in the stream at the bottom. Climbing the other side was a peculiar exercise in hopping and hoping and desperately clinging to anything that looked solid. I knew I was going to have to cross that gully again if I wanted to finish and it was with no small sense of dramatic irony that as I limped away I muttered “I’ll be back”.

On to the flatter terrain and with the shuffle/run perfected I started to move a bit quicker. There was the occasional bad step which would induce a wince, a groan or in some cases some highly creative swearing. At one point I passed Anna and Nicole who were taking photos, and seeing me limping past Nicole shouted out about giving me a lift. My response was far from polite, and I have since apologised, but the basic message was “I’m finishing”. Shortly after that the other challengers started passing me coming back the other way. They were flying and although their cheers and encouragement were well meant to me they sounded like mocking. With no opportunity to explain what had happened as they flew by I was consumed by the idea that these athletes were going past thinking I was slow and incapable and after all the effort I’d put in this made me angry as hell. We’d talked about BPE the night before, Best Possible Effort, and here I was incapable of giving mine.

Like no running style you have ever seen before, and I hope to never see again.

I got to the turnaround point and was still ahead of Pete and the backmarker, I’m not sure how but it seemed that the early pace had set me up well and I could have been on for a very decent time. At halfway I grabbed a couple of paracetamol and in the absence of any freeze spray poured several litres of cold water on to my ankle. It instantly numbed the throbbing and some of the pain and within minutes of stopping I was off, hobbling back up the mountain with a buoyed sense of grit and determination. It wasn’t long until Pete and Lindsay came past me towards the halfway mark, and were met with some sort of growled greeting. I now knew that until they caught me I wasn’t going to see anyone else before the finish, this was me against the mountain and I wasn’t coming off second best.

The face of pain and determination

The next 5 miles of gentle incline were a mix of slow, careful steps and shuffling as fast as I could when the track allowed. I crossed the gully quicker having learned first time what worked, and by picking the bits of smoother track I’d found first time I was able to cover the ground better heading back up to Pen-y-fan. The path was crossed by small streams quite regularly, and I stopped at every one to splash the cold mountain water on my ankle and keep the pain at bay. On the way back you can see the route ahead of you from a long way off and I could see the mountains getting closer. I knew I was covering the ground albeit slower than I wanted and as long as I was sensible I should be able to finish. As I rounded Cribyn to start the steep ascent of Pen-y-fan for the second time I allowed myself a glance at the watch. Expecting to see I was way off schedule and looking to finish well outside the time I was amazed to see that there was still just over an hour left. I couldn’t believe that even with the injury and stoppages, despite not being able to get up to the speeds I had planned there was still a chance I could make the 4 hour deadline. That thought disappeared almost as soon as I started to climb, the angle of the path and broken terrain made every step an agony and I was managing about 10 paces before having to stop, breath and swear. Progress was slow but I knew every step up was a victory and counting these little victories took my mind off the distance I had to cover. It felt like an eternity, with more time spent bent double than spent moving, but eventually I reached the rock steps that marked the last obstacle to the summit. I picked my route carefully, keeping moves as small as possible, and as my eyes came level with the summit plateau I allowed myself a smile.

The mountain Gods must have been watching and hadn’t finished with me yet. As I lifted myself that last step up on to the summit I caught the toe of my shoe under a rock lip and pulled sharply on my left foot. The pain that shot through my ankle carried on through my entire body and I hit the deck. The pain was so sudden and severe I was sick, and stayed for a minute on all fours struggling for breath. Eventually getting to my feet, the last hundred metres to reach the summit stone the second time were the hardest and most painful of the day, I thought then I might be finished, unsure if I could carry on. WIthout going in to detail (maybe that’s for a later post) when I am training and things get tough I have a few phrases I can be heard mumbling, shouting or screaming at myself to keep me going. None of them seemed to fit at this moment, they were all about driving the last ounce out of tired legs or punishing burning lungs just that little bit more, nothing had prepared me for this situation. It was then I remembered BPE, and thought to myself “surely this must be my best possible effort?”. The answer was no. I was still stood up, I could still move and, whilst it may be slow and may be painful, as long as I was capable of moving forward then I was capable of more.

I don’t remember much about the descent of Pen-y-fan. There was more traffic on the paths by then and I didn’t make eye contact with any of them. I imagined looks of pity, incomprehension or humour from everyone; “why’s this bloke pretending to be a runner, he’s hardly moving, fool”. All I could focus on was putting my feet on something solid, trying to bounce off my toes and not go too fast. I was so focused I nearly missed the turning I needed but Jason’s training come back to me and I knew I wasn’t “handrailing” the ridge so I need to be heading north. I found the right track and shuffled through the last few kilometres to the finish. As I broke over the final rise and looked down and saw the others I knew I was going to finish, but it looked like everyone was there waiting for me and had been for some time. I wanted to let the legs go and sprint the last few metres but I knew it would be dangerous, so I limped my way home to the applause and cheers of my new friends and finally stopped, collapsed against a gatepost.

There was no sprint finish.

When I eventually looked at my watch I was amazed to learn I had made it inside the 4 hours (3hrs 40mins) and wasn’t last back. I should have been happy with this and I’ve been told since it was a great achievement and I should be proud. Sadly the truth is that to me it will always feel like I missed an opportunity. I was fitter, faster and stronger than my time tells and sat here 9 days later recovering from the ligament damage I suffered with my crutches leant in the corner of the room I know I will have to go back. I have to take on the mountain again, I have to know what I am truly capable of and know the truth behind “best possible effort”.

The team, reunited and successful, although my smile hides a disappointment that one day I’ll return to put right.

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Gore-tex Experience Tour – Fan Dance Challenge – Afternoon of Day Three

Posted on September 11, 2012 by James Clay

After lunch we were driven out to the deepest darkest wilds of the Welsh wilderness (out the back of the Dolygaer Outdoor Education Centre, but still pretty wild!). As classrooms go there are much worse places to be than in a wooded glen on a sunny day. I’d love to wax lyrical about watching the dappled sunlight play across the ground and the sound of the stream rushing past on it’s way from mountain to sea…but all we could see and hear was Instructor Pete getting excited about plane crashes and starting fires!

Instructor Pete lists the keys to survival. Disappointed not to see “wifi access” on there!

Going through the essentials of survival and how to find them or make them, Pete kept his class rapt. Sharing survival stories with various endings (no-one expected the Canadian pilot to shoot himself, especially not our own pilot Stephen who was hoping for a happy ending!) and revealing the contents of his own survival kit (that sits in his chest pocket whenever he’s deployed…I told you these guys were the real deal!) I think he left us all hoping that maybe one day we’d have to survive in the wild ourselves, but maybe only for one night while our hotel rooms were being cleaned! Having gone through the theory of surviving on rain water in a shelter of palm fronds whilst cooking iguana on a fire stolen from the Gods it was time for some more practical demonstrations and for us to have a go ourselves…with mixed results.

By this point we’d been joined by another Instructor, Andy. He’d actually joined us the night before and been an instant hit with the ladies (especially Anna during the night hike, who had her own helping hands while the rest of us waded over waterfalls!) and now was his chance to win the lads over by burning stuff. Every bloke likes a good fire, we could sit and watch a bonfire for hours, poking it occasionally with a stick, or battle with a barbecue in conditions that would have the average Aussie firing up the aga and putting on a waterproof. Learning to make fire from everyday household items was a revelation. (by everyday and household I’m assuming that you live above a Boots shop with a well stocked cleaning cupboard and a chemistry teacher for a housemate)

Instructor Andy shows us how easy it is to get a fire going with supplies from a survival tin. I expect we all have a survival tin now just in case!

Having seen the expert doing it and feeling endowed with manly super powers to harness the elements and create fire we paired off to have a go ourselves. Carolyne and I worked together and we started well, gathering stones to form a fire circle, and lots of kindling and wood to fuel the flames once we had it going. Next came the contents of the fire making tin and trying to tear up cotton wool in to a fluffy little air-filled cloud ready to burst in to life when a spark went anywhere near it…or at least that was the plan. I can’t imagine anyone ever saying “James couldn’t fight his way out of a wet paper bag” but if they said “James would lose a fight against a cotton wool ball” they may well have a point! It took several (and then some) attempts to get a spark from the flint only to discover our wad of cotton wool melted rather than flared beautifully. With the sounds of success and roaring fires starting to fill the air we had another go and, with a little help from some fuel blocks and a sympathetic instructor, we finally got a little fire going just in time to save our embarrassment. I came away from the day with a couple of fire starting kits so hopefully I’ll get the chance to practice again soon, but I don’t think the landlord would be too happy about me building a raging inferno on the garden lawn so it will have to wait a while.

There were definitely flames in there somewhere, I think they’ve been photoshopped out…

One of the keys to survival, and it’s important you remember this, is if you find yourself stuck in the woods it’s very useful to have a glamorous assistant you can send to Tesco. Luckily for Instructor Pete his glamorous assistant returned right on cue for a demonstration on how to turn our new found flame in to dinner. Hot rocks were taken from a fire that had been set a good while earlier and placed in a hole dug previously to create a “hangi oven”. On top of this went some nice green foliage and then we added the contents of the emergency survival supermarket bag. Having gutted a trout, and invited Lyndsay to do the other which she did superbly, these were put in the oven alongside some vegetables (carrot, potato, swede) and some chunks of beef expertly taken from the plastic packaging they arrived in. In hindsight I’m quite glad we didn’t spend the afternoon preparing fresh caught squirrels but it would certainly have been an experience! The food was covered with more fresh leaves, buried and left for later while we worked up an appetite…

Dinner going in the oven

Over the course of the afternoon Instructor Pete introduced us to the various deadly snares and traps he’d set up around our camp. Explaining where the best places were to set traps for rabbits and squirrels and showing us some of the ingenious ways of catching dinner we could use in the forests you got the distinct impression this man had practiced what he preached.

Barry was lucky not to get caught under the figure 4 trap

We went on to learn about collecting water in the wild. Everyone had suggestions they’d seen in films or read about in books, some more appetising than others! We were shown how to harvest water from trees, make condensation catching pits and where to source drinking water in the wild. I came away with knowledge and, maybe more usefully, a handful of puritabs for cleaning water, which will come in especially useful on the wild camps I have planned soon.

Simplicity itself. (the moisture collector, not Pete)

Our last tutorial for the day was Instructor Andy sharing ways of navigating using the moon, stars, flora, fauna…pretty much anything but a compass.  There were loads, including the watch method (good for impressing people), using the stars (handy at night, obviously) and the stick in the ground method which takes an afternoon to do so isn’t much use on the move. Some of the things he said were so blindingly simple yet it took someone to tell you for you to realise. The easiest to remember and most obvious once you heard it though was navigating using the sun. We all know the sun rises in the East and sets in the West (we did all know that, right?) but also it travels through the sky South of the U.K. Knowing where the sun is, has been and is going makes it very easy to orient yourself and a map. Obviously it isn’t exact and changes a little with the seasons but in terms of facing the right direction it’s a great thing to remember!

If you aren’t carrying a kitchen clock when your plane goes down in the jungle you can use a wrist watch.

The training was almost at an end but not before we had dug up our dinner and feasted on flesh. Okay, we weren’t actually going to feed 14 of us on 2 fish, that would have needed a miracle, but everyone got to taste the contents of the hangi oven. It was surprisingly delicious! The veg could have done with slightly longer but there was no denying it was on the way to being cooked and perfectly edible. The beef was delicious, amazingly tender and moist to the point that I was thinking about how to fit a hangi oven in my kitchen, but the real triumph was the fish. It was falling off the bone and tasted so fresh and unadulterated, we quickly picked the skeletons clean like a school of hungry piranha!

With that it was time to return the glen to it’s former beautiful state by removing all trace of our fires and traps, and start the journey back to base. The excited chatter about the afternoon’s activities slowly died as all thoughts turned to the final chapter of our 4 days together and the reason we were all there.

Tomorrow morning was the Fan Dance.

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Gore-tex Experience Tour – Fan Dance Challenge – Morning of Day Three

Posted on September 7, 2012 by James Clay

After the exertions of yesterday the pace slowed for day three as we conserved energy for the challenge tomorrow.

The day started with more competition as we split up to tackle “command tasks”. These are tests of ingenuity, efficiency and team work designed to highlight a marine’s strengths and probably very important in the military. For us it was another excuse to goad each other, earn bragging rights and play with ropes!

It’s amazing what you can achieve with a hammer, some rope and great team work

Precarious yes, but also surprisingly effective!

Task one involved a healthy dose of imagination, buckets of volatile liquid surrounded by a moat of molten lava and instruction to get the buckets safely to shore. We had a big pile of kit we could use including ropes, harnesses, carabiners, a hammer and more. Wild theories flew around involving tension lines (like those we’d used for the river crossing except using humans as trees…it would have been a recipe for disaster!) and using twin ropes to try and balance buckets which would have required super-human strength and co-ordination. I’m not saying we don’t possess super-human strength and co-ordination, but with explosive lava now wasn’t the time to find out! I think it was Jaroslav who obviously spent too much time at the funfair as a child and suggested attaching the hammer to the middle of a rope and going fishing for buckets. It took some frantic knot tying, amazing team work and cool heads but we finally lifted out the buckets safely…but it had taken a while. Instructor Sarah hadn’t seen our technique before…so imagine our surprise when the other team had a remarkably similar approach with very little debate! Unsurprisingly they completed the challenge much quicker than us, but it’s difficult to be bitter seeing as imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. (I expect abuse from the other team for that comment!)

Next up was an exercise in trust, communication and not getting blown up! With dangerous landmines (disquised as SQA cones) scattered on the ground, 4 blinded soldiers and one mute one who could see had to find a way to navigate from one side of the minefield to the other. Again the two teams had very similar ideas, using claps and whistles from the sighted member to navigate the blind guys (two claps left, three right, whistle means stop etc). This time though the other team took the brave approach of sending through the whole team as one train. It cost them a man (poor Barry was blown sky high!) but unfortunately we lost one as well when sending them through one at a time. Thanks to the other’s gutsy approach they beat us, but only by 5 seconds! Having lost twice it was all about the final task and salvaging some pride…

Stephen guides his team – Clive, Rachel & Brendon – through the minefield…minus a blown up Barry!

Finally we had to build a weapon with a difference. Armed with bamboo canes, string, sellotape and a wooden spoon we had to launch an egg as far as possible…and hopefully catch it at the other end! Up against some very technical minds in the other team we set about the task with great gusto and not much planning, but we all had the same idea. We built a four legged base, roughly sellotaped together then secured badly with string! Next we bound two canes together, taped the spoon on the end and built an ingenious cradle around the bowl of the spoon by layering up sellotape.

The engineers at work. Our finished design was ugly, but effective.

We had a few minutes to test our design with tennis balls…and they flew! We were launching a good 10 metres past where the other team were reaching and things were looking good. Even when Sarah snapped our launch canes I wasn’t worried, we had this competition in the bag! We let the others go first, and they managed an impressive 15 metres with their first egg. Barry came very close to catching it with a dramatic dive that owed more to looking good than doing good but was impressive all the same. With a very achievable target set we relocated our machine and prepared for victory.

Practicing with tennis balls, Sarah’s technique was perfect but the design wasn’t.

Sadly our perfect design had one small but fatal flaw. Our expertly crafted egg cradling spoon/sellotape hybrid had been a bit squished by the tennis ball trials. When it came to launching the eggs they stuck in the cradle for far too long and our first effort “flew” a poultry (pun intended) few metres. Spotting the problem Sarah made some clever adjustment to the launch speed and I set up for the all important catch of our last egg.

Nowhere near! Sarah managed 11 metres this time but I was in no position to even attempt a dramatic diving catch like Barry. We were beaten 3- nil, our humiliation was complete. With ten minutes to get kitted up and on the road to head for survival training I was looking forward to learning how to survive alone in the woods until the shame had passed!

The events of the afternoon warrant their own post and soon I’ll be writing up the survival training, which I think everyone was really impressed by and which reinforced just how skilled, drilled and ready to kill our instructors were!

Thanks for reading.

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Gore-tex Experience Tour – Fan Dance Challenge – Day Two

Posted on September 6, 2012 by James Clay

After a night of getting to know each other, and an amazing breakfast of porridge courtesy of Sarah (BMF event organiser) Sunday morning saw the start of the instruction and training with a few hours of navigation theory. Cramming in to 3 hours what it takes a marine cadet 8 weeks to learn our instructor Jason managed to keep it fun, but it was important stuff we’d be using later so everyone studied hard. Was good to brush up my skills, especially as I rarely use them out on the hills and often get “lost” (as anyone who’s walked with me will confirm!). I prefer to call it “exploring” and usually find my way eventually, but now there’s no excuse for ever missing a turning again!

Barry and Lindsay plot our route on the map using new skills thanks to Jason’s expert tuition… “There’s pointy hills and flat tops…and these hills look a bit rude”

After all the theory we could handle it was time to get out, maps in hand, and see how lost we could get on Fan Fawr. Our first proper climb as a group and there was suddenly an obvious gulf in fitness and speed between those at the front and those at the back…I’m glad to say I slotted comfortably in the middle and didn’t feel too out of place. All those weeks of training must have helped a bit! We finally saw some wild ponies, which pleased Lindsay as she’d been talking about them all day and we were starting to think she’d confused sheep for horses! Navigation went well, we covered about 6km through cloud and over open ground and arrived in good time at the site of our much anticipated river crossing!

Navigating through the cloud on Fan Fawr with Instructor Jason

We met Instructor Pete in a beautiful wooded gully with a river flowing through the bottom, and the first thing he had us do was don harnesses…excitement built! We were then shown how to rig a rope crossing to get over rivers, gorges etc. It was an amazing technique using rope, strops, carabiners, figure 8 knots and lots of team work to get everyone and all the kit cleanly across an obstacle. We were then split in to teams and the race was on!

Jason lends a hand as Clive stretches to Grab Sarah on the river crossing challenge

I was teamed with Stephen, Jaroslav, Rachel and Carolyne and somehow (probably because I talk too loudly!) I ended up team leader. In reality this team didn’t need leading, it took seconds to agree that Stephen was tallest and best to ford the river with the rope and set up the other side while Jaroslav was tallest on our side to get the ropes right up in the tree. The communication between us was excellent, or maybe we just all liked shouting, but before long we had our ropes up and were lifting team members and clipping them in to caribiners to slide them over the river until there was just me left (leader goes last). I checked the rope set up to make sure we could pull it all across after me and went to hook on…disaster! The rest of the team had harnesses with carabiners on their chests, mine was a standard harness, carabiner at my waist, and I’m not exactly the tallest of chaps! (not the shortest either, Barry gets that prize!). A moment’s panic when I couldn’t get near the rope but I eventually managed to climb up a barbwire fence and balance long enough to get hooked on and launch across the water. We pulled across our ropes and somehow managed to completed the challenge ahead of the other team, winners! It soon became clear we were going to have to race back across again and without making the same mistakes we won for the second time. Not sure how quickly the professionals could have done it, but I’d happily go into battle with my team any day.

Me and the winning team of Stephen, Carolyne, Rachel and Jaroslav.

That night we were in for a real test of our navigation skills as we ventured out on to Fan Frynych just as darkness fell. Watching the moon rise over Pen-y-fan and walking without torches was an incredible experience, unfortunately some of the navigation wasn’t quite as impressive. Thanks to some pertinent questions from Instructor Pete (are you sure this is the cairn you’re looking for? How many paces till the next turning? Is the map the right way up?!?) we followed the route but it took a while. Was a great opportunity to chat with Nicole and Anna, the two organisers of the experience, and a timely reminder of the importance of careful navigation!

Navigation as the moon rises, checking the map with Carolyne while Nicole and Rachel wait for directions. Pete watches on, marveling at our bad decision making!

We made it back to base around 11pm, too late for a beer, and I after a gentle ribbing from the others (who had covered the course 40 minutes quicker than us!) I was to my bed to rest up ready for another fun-filled and challenging day ahead.

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