WINTER SURVIVAL PART 1







Top Of The ZUGSPITZE

  Despite leaving brochures of skiing holidays on coffee tables, in the study, by the telephone or
in the kitchen I could not get anyone to take the bait, rather they were collected and shoved in
the magazine rack. Discussion proved equally fruitless and a general apathy abounded every time
snow, cold or skiing was mentioned. So there has to be another way......... 

 The Royal Air Force of course does all sorts of survival courses so that we, the aircrew, just might
make it should we be forced to get out over enemy territory or into less than friendly situations.
Survival courses on offer are;
Sea Survival
Desert Survival 
Jungle Survival 
Winter Survival

 Winter survival courses are two weeks in duration and are held at Bad Kohlgrub Bavaria. I
volunteer and get selected so off I go on another adventure into the unknown. First stage London
to Munich by "Court Line" a ramshackle airline that flew multicolored 737's  serving the holiday
trade to European Ski destinations and the Costa Del Packet in Spain during the summer. The
flight is full, and as it transpires too full as when we get to the carousel there are thirty
passengers waiting for their non existant baggage which is still in Gatwick!

 A nice warm German bus and we wend our way through Autobahns and then up into the snow
and at last our cheery Gasthof Zur Post. Arrival briefing and room allocation then it's bar time and
a lot of introductions over german beer.




Gasthof Zur Post

 Monday morning and its straight into lectures then fitting of skis etc. 1000, and now we walk up
 the hill to the ski slopes (about a mile!)..... this is all part of the conditioning, as is the skiing, to
get you physically fit for the survival portion. On the slopes and 2 very good instructors arrive and
after everybody showing what they can do we are divided up by ability levels and the game is on
although this climbing up the slopes is a bit tedious. Don't knock it it's free skiing! 



The "A" Team

 Skiing stops about 4 then back to the hotel, ski or walk and then more lectures until 8 then dinner.
So pretty long days 6 hours of lectures or practical things in the snow, 5 hours skiing,  and a few
hours drinking. Of course there is a fair amount of fooling around building shelters, lighting fires,
making survival tools and trying to stay awake during the early morning demos.

 The week continues the same way, lots of walking, climbing up mountains and in truth some good
skiing in great conditions. Wednesday night we have an orienteering run around the mountains
and villages trying to find people in "RV's" and navigate through the forests and snow in the dark.
My group romps round and we are back in the bar in no time while others are still out there
blundering around in the dark until 2 in the morning.



The 28 Survivors!

 Skiing continues up to Friday luchtime then its time to get ready for the survival portion of the
course. We will be taken somewhere in the middle of nowhere, dumped, then walk about 10 miles
in the snow, build a one man shelter, and spend the night. Saturday walk another 5-7 miles to the
area where we will spend 2 nights and then on Monday at about 5 in the evening we will have a
25 mile escape and evasion run across Germany trying to avoid the German Army, our own SAS
and a whole load of ski troops who will be following our tracks in the snow. If you get caught you
WILL be interrogated and that does not sound like fun!

 Off we go on the bus with our meagre amount of belongings...... no food of course, but you may
take some clean underwear and socks, cigarettes and lighter and 4 german marks for emergency
phone calls. Well we have been through all the do's and don'ts in the classroom but some of the
younger gentlemen seem to think the instructors are joking and even to the untrained eye you can
see strange bulges in cold weather parkas and under hats. The bus stops and various peoples
names are called and off the bus they get to now endure a "search" and the pile of contraband
goodies grows by the roadside as the remainder of the course watch in horror.

 My turn comes and I have cigarettes and my pipe and tobacco. Arms outstretched and the search
begins, pockets, hood, boots and all the other hiding places like inside the flashlight where people
manage to shove a mars bar having removed the batteries. They find nothing and let me go.......
trudge over to the pile of junk in the field where there is a parachute and assortment of survival
gear as though you had just parachuted into the field. Take what you want including parachute
and liferaft and make a back pack and hump the lot 10 miles to the first night stop.





 At the night stop find a suitable area and build your one man shelter. Cut up the parachute, 7
panels for the shelter 14 for the sleeping bag, pump up the liferaft stuff a load of fir branches
under everything, build a fire just outside and prepare for a miserable night. I'm all done, fire
coming on well and now time for some snow melting in the "Go Pack" can. As the water starts to
warm time to bring on my contraband! First remove the light covering of unlit tobacco in the bowl
of the pipe, carefully extract the silver cube from the bowl that has taken two hours to shape and
push into same. Remove distinctive silver foil and crush contents of OXO cube into simmering water
and Piss off all and sundry as soup odor waffs through woodland on the crisp night air. I don't
know whether it was the smell or the actual taste that was more satisfying or maybe just having
got one up on everyone else. 
   


 Some sleep until the fire goes out then its uncomfortable, bitterly cold and questions are being
asked about the logic of this experience. Early dawn, nothing for it get up and get that fire going
again. Just as a good base is there the Staff arrive from their hotel to tell us to be on our way to
Camp 2. By the time we had got to the camp site the flying boots have had it and with every step
you can see the water squeezing out of the leather. Now its 2 man shelters and 2 nights at this
place with constant interruptions to go play some game the staff have devised and by the time
you get back the fire is out again!





 Arrive at our new campsite and start making our 2 man shelter and huge fire that will last for 2
days. No sooner have we started then the tack, tack, tack of wilkie knives begins as people start
hacking away at branches and trees. Now as grandad always said make the fire do the work for
you, so once you have your spot drag in 4 trees and criss cross them and just feed the fire. When
its the size you want make a reflector and put up some parachute line and dry gloves, socks and
anything else ...... put up a few bundles of kindling for later fires and the jobs done






The Wilkinson Sword Survival Knife (this ones mine which I found stuck in a tree)

 Night 1 and my colleague is not contributing very much so I tell him the best way to do this is for
him to go to bed now as its dark and I'll keep the fire stoked up and I'll wake him at midnight and
then he can do the same for me and that way we will at least both get 6 hours nice warm sleep or
as good as its going to get. Midnight comes, and in between light snow flurries and during the
course of the night I have discovered a fresh water spring on the hillside which is going to take all
the pain out of boiling water from melted snow. I wake him up and take my boots off and take them
into the sleeping bag with me (if you don't the leather freezes and then you can't get them on)
I'm in the land of nod pretty quickly and then I wake up freezing cold and in the remaining embers
of what was the fire see that it's only 1.45 in the morning and arsehole is back in bed!! 
 "Oi, what the f*** is going on???"
"I was  tired so I went back to bed"
"Look sonny, I'm not babysitting you, so get your arse up and get that fire going"  Well this looks
like being a fun trip with this dickhead!

 Just before daybreak the wind must have changed as I'm woken with clouds of choking black
smoke and as if you hadn't guessed it numbskull has fallen asleep again with his boots in the fire
and now the soles are melting!

 Sunday and Monday are spent building such interesting things as resin stoves, snow shoes and
a variety of other goodies out of branches and parachute cord, and at last it's time to get ready
for the Evasion portion of this exercise and now the woods grow quiet as the constant tap
tapping of the Wilkinson knives stops.

 The Briefing.......... to be continued!!



TONY DOWN