Up where eagles dare

UATL Capt Darren Rosemond, gets ready to inspect participants’ individual emergency snow shelters during Exercise Kosciusko Trek 04. Photos by Maj John Liston, HQTC

Capt Nick White takes shelter in his emergency snow cave.

Participants dig a snow cave into the side of a hill.

Lt-Col Craig Burn leads the group as they traverse a slope.

Alpine regions can experience some of the most sudden and deadly weather changes of any environment on Earth. Maj John Liston goes into the high country with a team of adventurers from HQTC-A.

They thought they felt the sensation of fresh snow moving under their skis but they were actually standing still. The strong, freezing wind was almost sliding them back up the hill.

Unable to see the next person ahead or differentiate between the white ground and the white sky, eight Army cross-country skiers snaked their way downhill towards the Snowy River and hopefully into better visibility.

Participants in Ex Kosiusko Trek make their way through the Snowy Mountains.

Capt Gavin Simmons secures his tent after a night of strong winds and snow.

At the front, navigating this intrepid band of adventurers out of the “white-out” conditions to a more sheltered part of the Kosciusko National Park was Lt-Col Craig Burn, HQTC-A, on his first Nordic ski touring and snow survival activity.

“It was so easy to become disorientated so I made extensive use of the compass to confirm my direction of travel,” he says of navigating through conditions that in the past have led experienced explorers to their deaths.

“But I could see people struggling and I felt the pressure of not wanting to put any extra strain on the group by going any further than we needed to.”

Only two days before, on the Friday, the group from HQTC-A left Thredbo under blue skies, to begin a six-day adventurous training exercise. Bad weather was predicted for the coming Sunday – but it came early.

Not long after they set out, the clouds came in and by late afternoon winds were gusting to more than 120km/h as the group erected their tents and battened themselves down for the night.

“I thought ‘this is serious, if we don’t get this tent up we’re in trouble’,” Maj Dennis Sweeney says, reflecting on that evening.

“But when we were set up I realised that everything we were taught and the equipment we were issued worked.”

With no sign of the weather abating and the NSW Parks and Wildlife Service warning people to defer all back-country travel, the group sought emergency shelter in a nearby mountain hut the next day and used the time to repair damaged equipment, dry gear, conduct lessons and wait out the storm before setting off again.

The group’s initial experience was consistent with the aims of the exercise. Adventurous training seeks to develop individual and group qualities required by soldiers in battle – qualities like courage, determination and teamwork – by placing participants in situations of high, perceived danger.

Expedition leader Capt Darren Rosemond says the group was also able to feel first-hand the awesome power and unpredictability of nature. During their trek they came across two avalanche sites that were less than 24 hours old.

“This hammered home the point that it’s not necessarily wind and snow that can cause problems in the alpine region but also snow pack stability,” he said.

The participants practised digging emergency snow shelters, were taught how to build a snow cave, navigated the group and learnt how to survive in the alpine environment.

One part of the exercise involved night skiing across the Snowy River illuminated by half-moon on a cold, clear night. It’s moments like that, which evoke all the qualities mentioned earlier, according to UATL Capt Ed Jackson.

“People don’t expect skiing at night without artificial light to be possible, and so it challenges their mindset – but that’s what adventurous training is all about,” he said.

Carrying heavy packs with all their supplies, the group trekked across frozen ice plains, traversed steep ridges and zigzagged up and down mountains in much the same way as small boats tack into the wind.

Heavy snow had blanketed the Snowy Mountains less than a week before the exercise began, making the creeks and rivers difficult to identify during navigation exercises.

“It was good to experience these adverse weather conditions,” Capt Jackson said.

“I have never taken beginners out in such weather, but after a few days the sun came out and they saw that it was not all doom and gloom in the back-country and found the remainder of the exercise easier.”