Thanks for visiting our RAF Coningsby Base Support Wing Dolomites fundraising  Web page.

Six RAF personnel from Base Support Wing at RAF Coningsby completed a 5 day trek in the Dolomites between 18 and 22 Jul.  Part of the aim of the trek is to raise money for St John Ambulance, specifically the money raised will go towards a new minibus for the Stamford Division of St John Ambulance in Lincolnshire.  

We trekked from the Refugio San Marco across the Dolomites to the Tofana over a number of the mountain ranges in the Cortina area, including the Sorpis, Croda da Lago, Cinque Torri, Lagazuoi and the Tofana.  Much of the route we  followed was along the First World War Austro-Hungarian and Itailan Front Line, including many of the trails and paths that were used to evacuate the wounded from the front line, hence the connection with St John Ambulance and First Aid.  The distance covered over the 5 days was 60km which may not sound like much, but there were considerable ascents and descents on the way, including a crossing of the Forcella Grande at 2650m.  Much of the trekking each day was over 2000m. 

The account of our trek, written by Grace is below.  A big heart felt thank you to everyone who sponsored us.

On a rainy Friday morning on 17 Jul, 6 members of Base Support Wing from RAF Coningsby (John Chappell, John Ward, Grace Birtwistle, Mel Carrier, Sue Allen and Ian Rush), departed RAF Coningsby for the Dolomites, North East Italy.  On arrival at airport, we were greeted with some welcome warmth and sunshine and a, momentary, thought of diverting to the nearby beaches.  However, common sense (or not) prevailed and we set off for Cortina.  The mountains soon came in to view, although the drivers were forced to keep their eyes on the road, in view of winding roads and, more importantly, the nature of Italian drivers.  The beautiful weather continued on the journey, to ensure that the thunder showers predicted by John Chappell before our departure seemed laughable.  After a number of circuits of the Cortina one-way system, we arrived at our accommodation for the night.

18 July

 

And that’s when the rain came…and the thunder storm did not let up until the following morning.  Cue lots of looking at the sky, seeing non-existent breaks in the cloud and ensuring the waterproofs were at the top of the backpacks.  Unfortunately, the local advice was that we should not venture on to the mountains that morning.  A contingency plan was, of course, put into place, but was stopped in its tracks when the one road was closed due to a land-slide.  Just as John's next plan was being executed, the road was reopened and they reverted to plan B.  And, belatedly, the trekking began in earnest.  A different route up to the accommodation (Rifugio) was taken and was somewhat of a severe introduction for the, mainly, “beginner” trekkers.  After about 3 hours of solid climbing and some thoughts of “can I carry this on for 4 more days”, we reached the top and the mountain views were worth all the effort.  And, the Rifugio was in sight; there was just the slight issue of traversing some fairly treacherous slopes and a mountain side on which the guide wire was, worryingly, only attached at one end!  Eventually the team made it to the Rifugio and what an achievement; the owners had been expecting approximately 30 others, but the team were the only ones who had made the climb that day.  It was a well-earned introduction to the hospitality of the Rifugios (including an array of slippers to which some members became more attached than others). 

 

Spectacular views greeted the team in the morning and, after a strong latte, they were ready for the steep descent.  The slow introduction to trekking continued with a hearty climb, which took the team past some picturesque streams and rivers and a large number of butterflies.  Lunch was had perched on a rock at the top of the climb, with wonderful views all around.  The trek continued at a steady climb and chocolate motivation was in need as the team were approaching 8 hours of walking.  During one particularly arduous climb, made all the more difficult by fallen trees from the storm, a Dutch couple were walking the other way.  The team were mightily encouraged to hear that their intended destination was only 1-1½ hours away, until the friendly man informed them that it was “very steep”.  Eventually, though, we rounded a corner and saw the very welcome sight of the Rifugio Croda da Lago.  This Rifugio was, by comparison, a hubbub although this seemed to be explained by the fact that there was road access (at that stage, perhaps some of the team were questioning why the car simply hadn’t been driven to this point?!).  Following a well-earned, if quick and over-priced, shower there was time for a little R&R.

 

The following day, after team warm-up (the PEdO Mel was part of the team after all) we bagan our trek on a much busier track and certainly less arduous than the previous days’ climbs.  On assenting the mountain, we were greeted by a much greener scene, with undulating hills rather reminiscent of Snowdonia.  We also sighted our first Marmot.  Lunch was taken overlooked by the , which is the Queen of the Dolomites and stands at a height of 3343m.  This provided an opportunity to take the boots off and re-apply the Compeed to blisters, prior to the afternoon climb.  The climb took the team under (not on) a chair lift and, rather bizarrely, across some snow (cue putting snow down the back of the person in front of you).  A well-earned hot chocolate was had at the top and the team backed out of the opportunity to do an extra climb (yes, the PEdO included) and continued the descent to the Rifugio Cinque Torre providing stunning views. 

 

21 July

We set off on a long descent the following morning, looking rather like a moving washing line, with wet clothes strewn across our backpacks.  The terrain was certainly the most varied on this day, from forest into and moon-like scenes and finally into rolling hills.  The team looked on in envy as the majority of people queued for the cable car to the summit and we set off on the steep 2km climb in the glorious sunshine. 

The sight of a large number of Alpini soldiers running down the mountain was not enough to distract the the ladies in the team and we pushed on to the top for some well earned crackers and cheese at the Forcella \lagazuoi.  The afternoon ended with a seemingly never-ending descent to the Rifugio and the stream at the bottom provided a refreshing, if icy, dip for some of the team.  The Rifugio had strong Austrian influences, with traditional dress worn by the staff, but the most welcome point came when there was hot running water at no extra charge and, more importantly, no time-limit! 

 

22 July

We prepared for an early morning climb, as the Rifugio was situated in a valley.  The majority of the team branched off to reach the high-point of the trek, at 2650m, following some rather less well-trodden paths.  The reward for certain members of the group was a young Italian girl who arrived in just a bikini!  Following another beautiful lunch stop, the team were informed that they had a simple stroll back to their Rifugio.  Unfortunately, John had failed to notice the tightly-knit contours (they were apparently over the fold in the map) so that, after a few more hours trekking, there was what appeared a sheer rock-face to climb.  But for the copious amounts of chocolate and the promise of a cold beer at the top, that may have been the end for some members.  However, all reached the top of the ascent, with one member being lucky enough to be attached by rope all the way up.  En route to their lodgings the team saw some Chamois (better known for their car cleaning qualities !).  At the Rifugio, the team were able to sit and look at the panorama and appreciate the scale of their achievement. 

 

We retired to our rest contented, if exhausted.  A welcome sight of the hold bags even provided a chance for some clean clothes. 

 

23 July

 

The following day gave some time to look around and, amazingly, the first opportunity of the week for a Pizza. Arrival in rainy Stansted the following morning provided a rather swift bump back to reality.   

The Dolomite region was the scene of serious fighting between the Austria-Hungarian and Italian forces during World War I.  There are numerous reminders of that conflict with caves, remains of barracks and even ladders which remain on the rock-face and provide some insight into the extreme and arduous conditions which must have been experienced by those soldiers.  One telling statistic is that only 1/3 of the troops were killed in action; the remainder were killed by natural phenomena such as avalanches, landslides etc. 

The members of the team raised money for Ambulance in and would like to thank all those who kindly contributed.

 

Thanks

Grace Birtwistle, John Chappell, John Ward, Mel Carrier, Iain Rush, Sue Allen