Exercise FINN GLACIER 19 was a 152 (North Irish) Regiment Type 3 mountaineering expedition to Chamonix, France, which was undertaken during the period 14 – 23 Jun 19. The proposed 9 Day training programme was delivered mainly as forecast within the JSATFA. Activities included a two day Alpine Mountaineering expedition up into the Glacier Du Tour glacier. A change from the original plan to trek the Argientiere Glacier, Alpine Trekking on both sides of the Chamonix Valley, a 2 day Exped including alpine trekking and Rock Climbing at Les Gaillands crags (in Chamonix), and White Water Rafting on the L’Arve River.
The aim of Exercise FINN GLACIER 19 was to promote arduous outdoor activities with exposure to hardship and danger, in order to develop the Army’s core values of leadership and teamwork, as well as confidence, self-reliance, trust and other qualities relevant to enhancing the operational effectiveness of 152 (North Irish) Regiment RLC. This aim was achieved during the exercise.
Diary of Events for the Exercise are as follows:
11 – 13 Jun 19 (Road Party). The road party involving 4 members of staff in one HGV and one van, departed Holywood early on 11 Jun 19, boarding the Belfast to Liverpool ferry before transiting down through England, staying overnight in Dover. The onward movement through France was free moving and the team arrived in Chamonix, France early afternoon on 13 Jun 19. This enabled time for the campsite to be fully prepared with all tents erected, awaiting the arrival of the main body on 19 Jun 19.
14 Jun 19 (Main Body). All personnel arrived in Holywood to board the transport. We made our way seamlessly to Dublin airport and the flight departed for Geneva on time. Management of the large group was made easy as we were only carrying hand luggage with our main equipment being moved with the road party on 11 Jun 19. The collection of three hire minibuses and one car at Geneva airport allowed the main party to move seamlessly to the Mer de Glace campsite arriving at 1800 hours Individuals were married up with their main equipment before settling down for the evening in their tented accommodation.
15 Jun 19. Today personnel were split into two groups, each with a nominated group leader. Group one consisted of potential Cambrian Team Patrol members and Group 2 a mixture of male and female novices. Activities included an acclimatization walk for the one group on the Northern side of the Chamonix Valley (La Flégére area) and another Group Southern Side (Montveners). The weather of sunshine and blue skies allowed the walkers to acclimatise effectively, testing water carriage and consumptions. The trekking went as planned with no issues. This evening was spent preparing groups for the glacier walking.
16/17 Jun 19. Today was an early start with a departure time of 0730 hours for Group One. Initially the plan was for a two-day trekking with an overnight stay on the La Flégére area side of the valley, camping in the area of Lac Blanc. All of this had been pre-planned during an earlier recce on advice from local guides. However, the snow line on the top ridges hadn’t thawed as expected and therefore the overnight stay had to be removed from the programme. The trek then progressed as two separate days of approx. 7-hour hikes on each day. Group 2 spent the 16 June morning white water rafting. A half day was found to be a enough time for beginners, due to the physical demands of the activity. The route taken on the L’Arve River, just west of Chamonix, was delivered by a company called Session Rafting on behalf of Evolution 2. The challenge of the activity was pitched at the correct level for the ability of the groups and thoroughly enjoyed by all participants. The afternoon was spent familiarising novice alpine walkers with the kit required for the glacier expedition phase later in the week. On the 17 June Group 2 undertook a 6-hour trek on the Northern side of the Chamonix Valley (La Flégére area) in order to continue and build capability for the glacier expedition phase later in the week.
18/19 Jun 18. 18 Jun was another early start for Group two as they trekked from the Chamonix Valley at La Tour up onto the Glacier Du Tour to the Refuge Alber Premier. It should be noted that the original route involved using the Argientiere Glacier however on advice from the local guides indicated that snow and weather conditions were dangerous for the group and another route was agreed and risk asses involving the Glacier du Tour. After a 4-hour trek onto the glacier adjacent to the Refuge, the guides rotated the group through a series of stands teaching security on steep ground (ice) and the use of ice axes. The Group spent the night in the hut, rising on 19 Jun at 4am when they trekked through challenging terrain for 6 hours to the summit of Pettit Fourche. After summiting the group trekked back, 4 hours, to the Refuge Alber Premier for a lunch stop, prior to continuing the trek back, 3 hours, to the valley floor at La Tour. During the trek the group traversed across the glacier roped up in threes. The trek was undertaken in favourable sunny weather yet difficult terrain. In the early morning the snow on the glacier was firm and well packed making movement challenging but achievable. In the afternoon on the midday return the sun has caused the snow pack to soften a lot making waking difficult and heighten the risk of cutting across a crevasse. The skill and knowledge of the local guides increased confidence levels of the mainly novice group and assisted greatly in the development of team/leadership skills.
Group one spent the 18 June morning white water rafting and the 19 June rock climbing at Les Gaillands. There are several climbing routes from novice to experienced technical routes. On the day the weather was very warm and sunny thus the group had to take care of working at height in such conditions and managing their exposure to the sun. The climbing area becomes very busy and it is recommended that climbers arrive before 0830 to secure access to the best pitches. The evening of 19 June was spent passing on lessons learnt and preparing group one for the glacier expedition. After discussions on what equipment should be carried with the guides, we were able to reduce the overall weight of equipment being carried by individuals going onto the glacier.
20/21 Jun 19. Today was an early start with a departure time of 0730 hours for Group one as they sought to replicate the glacier expedition that Group two had completed on 18/19 June. The glacier expedition followed the same format as on 18/19 June Groups with good weather and great progress made by the group, however the weather on 21 June as group one made its approach to the summit closed in with limited visibility and stronger winds making the trek more difficult. As with the previous group, the climb was mentally and physically challenging for many of the soldiers, but all completed the climb in good spirit. Teamwork was very good throughout the day.
Group two were tired from the previous few day’s activities but still reeling from their experiences. On the 20 June Group two enjoyed climbing at Les Gaillands with all participants showing great interest in the activity. On the 21 June 19 Group two undertook a 6-hour trek on the Northern side of the Chamonix Valley. This evening all groups spent time sharing their experiences on the various activities undertaken since training commenced.
22 Jun 19. The plan today was to complete a river crossing, the aim was to train and test all team members in tactical river crossing, however due to river conditions as it was flowing in spate this part of the exercise was cancelled and replaced with a morning period of rock climbing and trekking in the southern part of the Chamonix valley. The afternoon was spent with all personnel beginning to prepare the camp for closure the following day.
23 Jun 19. The morning started with an early rise at the Mer de Glace campsite. Personnel collapsed the tentage and loaded it onto the Pantec, which departed for Dover at 0930 hours on time. The main body departed the Chamonix area for Geneva airport at 1200 hours in order to allow time to return the hire vehicles. The exercise has been a great success with all main body personnel safely back to barracks having achieved key training objectives.
25 Jun 19. By morning on 25 Jun18 the Road Party had crossed back into Northern Ireland via the Liverpool/Belfast ferry and were safely back in Holywood, concluding the exercise.
The outcome from the exercise was extremely positive for all members involved, there were personnel that had not conducted any AT of this magnitude before and this has given them a hunger to achieve more in the future. This in its self is a massive recruitment and retention tool for both our serving and future members of our Regiment.
