Cold War: How To Survive An Avalanche

Royal Air Force reservists have flown to Norway for seven days of extreme cold weather survival training by Norwegian forces.

During Exercise Wintermarch, service personnel have to learn how to cross-country ski and how to survive an avalanche:

A total of nearly 50 reservists from 17 squadrons across the UK have taken part in the exercise.

RAF Regiment gunner, LCpl Justin Ritchings, said:

“I like being pushed outside of my comfort zone and trying new things. At some point we will be working with the other exercise participants on operations, so it’s great to meet them and build that rapport on an exercise like this.”

The exercise, which has been taking place for nearly two decades, is hosted by instructors from from the Norwegian Reserve Officers Federation.

Exercise coordinator, Squadron Leader Alex Redman, said:

“I’m impressed by the effort our friends and allies have put in to host us here in Norway. It’s great to see the reservists show their ability to tackle new challenges in unfamiliar terrain – the level of confidence they gain is great for them to take back to their civilian employment.”

Ex Wintermarch takes place in Hardangervidda National Park, in the high plateau of the Telemark region.

This is the same area where British and Norwegian forces used cross-country skiing in the famous Telemark raid to defeat the enemy in World War Two.