Exercise Alpine Adventure originally began life in Bavaria in 1991 when a group of cadets from 125 (Cheltenham) Squadron were taught to ski by British Army instructors. It was very late in the season and only a limited area on the Kanzelwand (1957 metres) above Kleinwalsertal was open. Nevertheless the cadets had great fun and the idea was born. The picture shows a 1991 group setting off from a mountain cafe after lunch.
There was then a gap of a few years until 1996 when the next ski exercise was staged in Scotland. Snow conditions on Cairngorm were excellent and the cadets enjoyed a great week staying in accommodation managed by RAF Kinloss. The exercise was repeated again the following year. Unfortunately there was not so much snow and skiing was limited to the Lecht ski area. The cadets had a fantastic time but a decision was taken to explore the possibility of moving the exercise back to Europe.
In 1998 Exercise Alpine Adventure moved back to its original home in Bavaria. Initially Alpine Adventure was based at Gschwend beside the Rottachsee. This centre held about 36 personnel and proved to be an ideal base. Unfortunately, because of restrictions on space, some adults had to be accommodated in the village of Petersthal – a 2 km walk that seemed to get longer every night! The exercise proved to be very popular from the very first year as can be seen in the 1998 group photograph. As a result, in 1999 and 2000 the exercise was spread over two weeks to take advantage of different half terms and enable more cadets to take part.
Sparked by an urgent need to find alternative accommodation, Alpine Adventure moved in 2001 to Haus Schanz near Kempten. The Schanz had more bedrooms and enabled Alpine Adventure to grow in size. A number of holiday flats were rented around the Schanz and this made it possible for up 70 people to take part.
More and more adult staff qualified as Alpine Ski Leaders making it possible to expand Alpine Adventure. Since 2005 cadets from across the South West Region have taken part – almost doubling the numbers. Initially, the Region party was accommodated at Haus am Brunnenbach near Sonthofen, the venue for the very first skiing exercise in 1991. In 2010 the Region changed its base to Wertach. Over the years cadets from other Wings as far afield as Aberdeen have also participated on Alpine Adventure and there is potential for more. Our target is to achieve over 100 cadets!
In 2008 the Bristol and Gloucestershire Wing moved to a new accommodation base in the village of Voderburg (861 metres) – not too far from Gschwend. This base is now central to the ski areas and reduces the daily travelling time. It also allows all of the party to be accommodated in one building.
The Alpine Adventure package of accommodation, travel, ski hire and instruction cannot be beaten by schools and other youth organisations. Places are always over-subscribed and the expedition therefore gives priority to cadets who have never skied before.
Cadets always speak highly of the Alpine Adventure experience e.g. “It has been the most fantastic week! The best camp I’ve been on! The instructors were simply fabulous!”
Exercise Alpine Adventure is now one of the ATC’s top adventure training expeditions. Considerable experience has been developed over the years but there is no room for complacency and the consistent aim is to make Exercise Alpine Adventure better every year.
This was the case in April 2007 when a pilot Exercise High Alpine Adventure was sucessfully staged in France. The participants took full advantage of the Espace Killy – one of the world’s biggest and best ski areas. Participants were able to soak up a spectacular view of the very famous resort of Val d’Isere.