Over the May bank holiday, 2030 squadron and 479 squadron embarked on an advanced navigation course on the Carneddau mountains in Snowdonia National Park . The weekend was attended by 7 cadets and two Staff. It was an early start as the day involved the long drive into Wales with a full days walk. Weather conditions were changable resulting in frequent changes of clothing. Navigation required Cadets to pinpoint their position on the map to within 25meters on the ground. Briefings before and after the leg were required involving the cadets to give distance, height gain, eta, bearing, backstop and a description of route.
   
The route was physically demanding with some 600meters of height gain simply in the afternoon leading upto the saddle between Carnedd Llewelyn and Foel Grach. Conditions on the peaks rapidly turned less favourable. Cloud cover moved right in reducing visibility down to 10-15 meters with the temperature rapidly dropping. The original plan was to drop down to Dulyn Bothy to pitch camp but in light of the lateness of the day and the weather's variability, the decision was made to set up camp outside Foel Grach's mountain shelter. Cooking and the days de-brief took place inside the shelter before a well earned early nights sleep was had by all.
  
Overnight temperatures dropped to -10 degrees C and saw wind speeds of upto 50mph meaning a cold start! After breakfast and when the tents had came down, the walk to the top of Carnedd Llewelyn began. It wasnt long to the top and after 90 minutes the top had been scaled. Weather had greatly improved which saw a sedate descent throughout the remainder of the day. On the way down we witnessed an RAF Sea King rescue up close, which highlighted the dangers of mountain walking if not properly prepared. A demonstration of how to do a river crossing was also covered before returning to the minibus.
  
The weekend ended with a relaxed stop at a public campsite for the night before returning back to Brum on the Monday. The weekend was very useful in all aspects of navigation and mountain walking which will further help the future success of the Cadets Duke of Edinburgh participation.