IET

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Initial Expedition Training

• CWO Richard Atkin

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Planning an Expedition

• Planning is the most important part
• to fail to plan is to plan to fail
• Need to decide on how many people are in a group
• usually 4-6, the more difficult the route the
  smaller the group
• consider the length of route, the type of ground
  covered, weather conditions, age and fitness of
  participants

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Route Planning

• Where are you going?
• How are you going to get there?
• take the quickest, not the most direct
• Whats the nature of the terrain?
• avoid roads, dense woodland can be slow etc.
• Are there any hills in the route
• may be easier to go round and not over

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Emergency Situations

• Create plenty of escape routes
• what if it rains, low cloud cover, someone in the
  group gets tired etc
• Know where the nearest telephone box or mountain
  resuce stations are on your route
• mobile phones may not always work
• Plan for all possible situations

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Walking Skills

• You can work out distances by getting an average
  time to walk 1km on flat ground, a gentle slope,
  a steep climb
• Measure journeys in hours not km
• The group acts as a single unit with one leader
  who shares responsibility
• Support is given to weaker members
• Get a good walking rhythm
• Keep hands free
• Shouldnt be any conscious use of leg muscles
• Same speed for any terrain (shorter paces up hill)

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General Walking Tips

• Constant stopping and starting uses more energy
  than continued walking
• Stop on average 5-10mins every hour
• Have a little and often approach to breaks
• Carry plenty of food and drink and always have
  some spare for emergencies
• Check the weather before hand and keep a look out
  for changing weather situations

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Route Card

• Tells you the route
• Splits the route into manageable legs
• Incorporates breaks and provides an ETA
• Each leg should be about 1.5km/2km long
• Make sure escape routes are included
• Give a copy to a base contact who can get help if
  route doesnt match the card because of an
  emergency

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Route Card
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Equipment

• Each member requires a map, compass, whistle,
  rucksack, large plastic bag, personal first aid
  kit and emergency rations
• Some items can be shared between two
• If camping then take a tent, sleeping bag and
  roll mat
• Leader needs to take a comprehensive first aid kit

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Clothes

• Hiking Boots
• Thick Socks
• Trousers (not jeans)
• Several thin tops/jumpers etc
• Several thin layers are better than one thick
• Fully waterproof coat
• Take spare clothes
• Leader needs to check suitability of everyones
  clothing before setting off

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Feet

• Take good care of them
• Wash regularly, cover any irritations
• Boots need to be broken in, have good ankle
  support and sturdy soles with grip
• Have several pairs of clean, thick socks
• Blisters need to be treated instantly
• Cover with antiseptic cream and then plaster

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The Anorak/Waterproof Coat

• Essential for any walker
• Keeps water out if clothes become wet they
  dont keep heat in
• Allows sweat/moisture to escape a breathable
  material stops the inside from getting damp which
  then wets other layers
• Keep heat in stops wind coming through and
  stops heat escaping from inner layers

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Choosing a camp site

• Needs to be sheltered from wind
• Choose flat and dry ground
• Close to a water supply
• Not directly under trees as although they will
  provide shelter from wind, rain will drip off the
  branches and penetrate the tent

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Pitching A Tent

• Allow for poor weather conditions
• Put the back end facing the wind
• Peg out the back side of the tent first to stop
  it from being blown away
• Make sure tent is fully pegged down including guy
  ropes
• Unused ropes should be tied in bows not knots
  (easier to undo a bow)

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Striking Camp

• Taking the tents down is simply the reverse of
  putting it up
• Make sure all pegs are clean
• Check the site to be sure you havent left any
  equipment or litter (take all with you)
• Once at base hang the tents out to dry and check
  for damage
• If a tent is left wet for a long time it will rot

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Rucksacks

• Get the right size big enough to carry
  everything without being too big
• Make sure its waterproof
• All straps should be well padded
• Make sure it is fitted correctly get someone
  else to help fit it for you
• Pack it light its you that has to carry it
• Avoid having items strapped to the outside

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Packing The Rucksack

• Items needed during the journey or immediately at
  the camp site need to be at the top
• Eg. Food, First Aid Kit, Tent, Compass
• Heavy articles kept as high as possible
• Balance the weight
• Stove and fuel should be in a plastic bag well
  away from the food
• Sleeping bag and clothes should also be kept in a
  plastic bag

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Packing The Rucksack
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Cooking

• Have something that everyone likes
• Have food that can be cooked quickly and easy,
  ideally in one pan/mess tin
• Have a good cooked breakfast and evening meal
• Before starting make sure you have everything in
  easy reach
• Put the food that takes the longest to cook on
  the stove first

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Health and Safety with Cooking

• Changing gas cartridges or filling stoves needs
  to be done in the open
• Practice before setting out
• Cook in an area with plenty of ventilation
• Never inside the tent
• Store stoves and gas cylinders outside
• Dont overfill stoves
• Use handles when touching stoves as they can be
  hot
• Dont have outside fires close to tents

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Hypothermia

• Progressive fall of core body temperature
• Symptoms
• Unexpected behaviour with complaints of coldness
  and tiredness
• Lack of physical and mental energy
• Some slurring of speech
• Strong language and denial of a problem
• Violent outbursts of unexpected energy
• Lack of muscular co-ordination causing erratic
  movements and falling
• Failure of vision, particularly in focusing on
  objects

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Treatment of Hypothermia

• Remove wet clothing and replace with dry
• Insulate with sleeping bags and/or other people
  to provide warmth
• Give them a hot drink and easily digestible sugar
• If breathing stops then carry out artificial
  respiration
• Get medical help/rescue party

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Heat Exhaustion

• Be wary of sunburn so use sun cream
• Caused by lack of water and salt lost through
  sweating
• Solved by drinking lots of water and eating salty
  foods
• Symptoms of heat exhaustion include thirst,
  fatigue, giddiness, high pulse, high body
  temperature, low urine output

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Heat Stroke

• Occurs when the body temperature controlling
  system fails
• Symptoms are high body temperature and lack of
  sweating, although it can quickly lead to a coma
  or death
• To treat sponge the sufferer down and cover the
  body with a damp cloth or put the sufferer in
  cold water

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Initial Expedition Training

• CWO Richard Atkin
• END