On Friday 25 th September, 11 cadets from 487 Kingstanding and Perry Barr Sqn ATC, headed to the Snowdonia National Park for a weekend of adventurous training.

The cadets and staff were accommodated at the excellent Capel Curig Army training camp.

Following an early breakfast on Saturday morning, the cadets were transported to two locations to start a linear walk. One group were dropped off at the Pen Y Gwryd hotel at the bottom of the Llanberis pass, and the other group were dropped in the town of Beddgelert . Both groups had various tasks to complete during the walk, these included leading the group, taking bearings and pacing. The groups were also stopped at various times to ask the leader exactly where they thought they were at the time. Although the walk wasn't very arduous, the hot conditions ensured that all were challenged during the day.

On Saturday evening, Flt Lt Brendan O'Neill, OC 487 Sqn, had arranged a visit for the cadets to the Ogwen Mountain Rescue Team. The cadets were split into three different groups on the evening and each was given differing talks on various aspects of the mountain rescue team functions. It was very interesting for all to hear that the amount of calls from people who are simply lost (some of these people were carrying GPS systems, but no map, when asked where they were, they didn't have a clue, but they did have a six figure grid reference). The team also recently had a call from somebody on a local mountain who had run out of water and asked if the team could come and give him some more! Needless to say, he didn't get any. The increase in calls to the team has been put down to the rise in use of the mobile phone. The cadets got the chance to feel the weight of some of the equipment carried, and to also practice putting together a rescue stretcher, and to also carry it with a cadet safely strapped in. The visit was extremely interesting for both cadets and staff, and at the end a donation was made by the Sqn to the team.

On Sunday, the cadets were transported to the Tryfan Mountain and again split down into their groups. The cadets completed a circular route around Tryfan, and this time the walk was a lot more arduous than the one completed the previous day. The weather had completely changed, low cloud and high winds were the order of the day. Again, the cadets were asked to lead during the day, the training they had received the previous day standing them in good stead in the conditions.