This week team 2016 was busy doing survival and field training so that we could take over emergency response team roles for the rest of the year.
Tony our 2016 field training officer has been busily taking groups up to the plateau to do all sorts of activities like setting up a quad bivvy in 25+ knot winds, climbing ice walls, abseiling and sleeping outside in a bivvy bag. Survival and field training is part of the compulsory training that most of the team doesn’t mind getting involved in. We are all keen to get out and about, learning some new skills and extending our comfort levels in an environment that not many of us are familiar with.
While all the exciting activities like climbing and abseiling sound tough to learn, it is actually the little things that are the hardest to master. Things like putting micro spikes on your boots while wearing four layers and thick gloves or how to quickly put on multiple layers of jackets, neck warmers and boots in the right order so it doesn’t take five minutes to leave a building.