Campfire tonight was fantastic fun. Connie Mendez was (one of) the best acts with 'crazy moose' but ALL the scouts went up on stage to support.
Tomorrow is Swiss National Day. The webcams of the village might show some of the fun and games. We don't know what to expect but it does end with a parade by torchlight and fireworks. The rest? we'll see.
Back on the campsite tonight, all the scouts are back from their walks. All safe and sound. (Apart from Mike Mcguigan... see earlier post and Tom King... ditto). Apart from the occasional graze, scrape or sore ankle from the hikes. All are in fine fettle and after the campfire... slightly hoarse.
Anthony Chrumka will also be blogging i think so see if you can spot the difference in styles.
Hopefully we'll have some more kid blogs tmrw.
Thursday, 31 July 2008
The rock climb hike
by Robert Watson and Michael Kaczmarczyk
On the 29th of July a group of 12 of us left the main chalet to hike up to the Scout centre's hut which is hard to spell. Our guide was a funny Danish guy called Carston and he couldn't pronounce r's( Wobert and Womain up the fwont pwease) . He made us pack supplies in our bags for dinner like half-defrosted beef, cucumbers, apples and a massive slab of cheese. We then had to split into 2 groups because of stupid UK regulations and then we left.
*(Edit from Chris! Please note our adherence to the rules and regs!)
The first part of the hike was walking across open ground but then we got to the forest and the terrain got really steep but Carston wasn't even out of breath. We climbed through the forest for about a mile. We then got to a road and stopped for a two-minute break. We then carried on walking through a forest and stopped at the top for another break. It just got boring now because we just kept climbing and taking breaks.
Finally we emerged at the bottom of the valley. We took another break and guess what it started to rain. And rain. And rain. And then there was thunder and lightning which kept getting louder and closer. During this it stopped raining and started hailing. By the time it stopped the ground was soaked and we were too!
A bit later we went onto a road and guess what we found further up...
In front of us was a raging mud slide/river blocking our path ( We are not exaggerating)
we sat there for about an hour, and when we asked our “guide” he told us that he had never seen this before. The first across was Nick after he walked quite a way up stream followed by Mark Kaczmarczyk and Ben. By now we had waited so long that the other hike had caught up with us.
Eventually the river died down so we could cross and we carried on walking for another 2 hours (that was hard).
The hut seemed really old. There was a flushing toilet but it was “out of order”so we had to use a hole in the ground, but at least we had a good nights sleep on the foam mattresses.
The next day we climbed up some rocks and the walls were really hard, but we climbed most of them. The highest rock we climbed was nearly 15 metres high. After we had finished climbing, we started the back and it started to rain again. Just as we were nearly there, Michael McGuigan slipped on a wet rock and rolled down a hill. He could of died! (Edit from Chris: Look, I'm not changing their English but I will point out the errors to them in the morning)
We arrived back at the centre and got some badges. After this we went swimming YEAY!!!
On the 29th of July a group of 12 of us left the main chalet to hike up to the Scout centre's hut which is hard to spell. Our guide was a funny Danish guy called Carston and he couldn't pronounce r's( Wobert and Womain up the fwont pwease) . He made us pack supplies in our bags for dinner like half-defrosted beef, cucumbers, apples and a massive slab of cheese. We then had to split into 2 groups because of stupid UK regulations and then we left.
*(Edit from Chris! Please note our adherence to the rules and regs!)
The first part of the hike was walking across open ground but then we got to the forest and the terrain got really steep but Carston wasn't even out of breath. We climbed through the forest for about a mile. We then got to a road and stopped for a two-minute break. We then carried on walking through a forest and stopped at the top for another break. It just got boring now because we just kept climbing and taking breaks.
Finally we emerged at the bottom of the valley. We took another break and guess what it started to rain. And rain. And rain. And then there was thunder and lightning which kept getting louder and closer. During this it stopped raining and started hailing. By the time it stopped the ground was soaked and we were too!
A bit later we went onto a road and guess what we found further up...
In front of us was a raging mud slide/river blocking our path ( We are not exaggerating)
we sat there for about an hour, and when we asked our “guide” he told us that he had never seen this before. The first across was Nick after he walked quite a way up stream followed by Mark Kaczmarczyk and Ben. By now we had waited so long that the other hike had caught up with us.
Eventually the river died down so we could cross and we carried on walking for another 2 hours (that was hard).
The hut seemed really old. There was a flushing toilet but it was “out of order”so we had to use a hole in the ground, but at least we had a good nights sleep on the foam mattresses.
The next day we climbed up some rocks and the walls were really hard, but we climbed most of them. The highest rock we climbed was nearly 15 metres high. After we had finished climbing, we started the back and it started to rain again. Just as we were nearly there, Michael McGuigan slipped on a wet rock and rolled down a hill. He could of died! (Edit from Chris: Look, I'm not changing their English but I will point out the errors to them in the morning)
We arrived back at the centre and got some badges. After this we went swimming YEAY!!!
The Snow and Ice Combo
By Mark Kelleher, Oliver Colville and Albert Gora
After an early start (6 am), and a sufficient amount of breakfast, the staggering ascent of 1,300 metres was nearly upon us. The group of twelve were split into two teams which set off at a ten minute interval (in line with UK Scout Association regulations). We boarded our chairlift, which assisted us in the shallowest climb towards Lake Oeschinensee.
Ironically, we began our venture with a short downhill stroll; this lured us into a false sense of security. We approached the sign which directed us to our summit, which was at the time out of our view.
After walking for half an hour we thought we were now starting to see the worst of our journey; boy, were we wrong?!
Finally, we reached the half way rock where the two teams stopped to mingle with one another and where each individual refueled for the hard part of the journey- a steep climb of nearly 1 km (far worse than that of Westerham Hill!)
The hike only got harder on the way to the summit. The path that we took was treacherous and was constantly zig-zagging. If anyone had put one foot wrong they would have fallen to certain death.
Finally, the hut was in sight; we only had an enormous cliff to conquer. The team of leaders and explorers were now knackered and having to stop for frequent water breaks (at 11am!).
The teams reached the summit, welcomed by bottles of water costing £6 each. If one was to drink the gallons of water surrounding the hut they would have had the pleasure of their esophagus shredded apart by tiny fragments of rock particulate.
After a very rewarding sleep, we woke up the following morning 'full of life' – so to speak. But to our surprise, we opened the curtains and discovered the horrendous weather that was upon us. At first, we figured the fun morning activities were to be postponed until the bad weather had passed. Fortunately we were incorrect. The bad weather ceased and we proceeded onto the glacier as scheduled. The morning activities began with us learning how to execute rescue procedures in the event of someone falling down a wet glacier. In order to do so, we needed to harness up and attach crampons to our feet.
We were also provided with ice axes, which we were taught how use in the event of an emergency.
During our two sessions on the glacier we climbed up ice walls, climbed down crevasses and performed a series of emergency rescue drills.
The only item that ended up having to be rescued was a camera dropped by a scout group in the previous week (besides a team member who fell through insecure snow and fell head first down a crevasse whilst distracted).
After a lunch break we headed back down the mountain at a faster pace than that of which we ascended. On the way down a team member fell and sprained his ankle, a helicopter was not required on this occasion and he managed to carry on.
On the descent the heavens opened and we were caught in an enormous electrical storm; we narrowly avoided a huge rock fall. The storm was over before long and we headed back down the cable car to the village of Kandersteg.
All who were on the trip believe that they have had an absolutely brilliant experience and most people are now looking forward to the next opportunity to partake in such an expedition.
All who were on the expedition send their thanks to Andrew and Jasper, the two very knowledgeable mountain leaders.
After an early start (6 am), and a sufficient amount of breakfast, the staggering ascent of 1,300 metres was nearly upon us. The group of twelve were split into two teams which set off at a ten minute interval (in line with UK Scout Association regulations). We boarded our chairlift, which assisted us in the shallowest climb towards Lake Oeschinensee.
Ironically, we began our venture with a short downhill stroll; this lured us into a false sense of security. We approached the sign which directed us to our summit, which was at the time out of our view.
After walking for half an hour we thought we were now starting to see the worst of our journey; boy, were we wrong?!
Finally, we reached the half way rock where the two teams stopped to mingle with one another and where each individual refueled for the hard part of the journey- a steep climb of nearly 1 km (far worse than that of Westerham Hill!)
The hike only got harder on the way to the summit. The path that we took was treacherous and was constantly zig-zagging. If anyone had put one foot wrong they would have fallen to certain death.
Finally, the hut was in sight; we only had an enormous cliff to conquer. The team of leaders and explorers were now knackered and having to stop for frequent water breaks (at 11am!).
The teams reached the summit, welcomed by bottles of water costing £6 each. If one was to drink the gallons of water surrounding the hut they would have had the pleasure of their esophagus shredded apart by tiny fragments of rock particulate.
After a very rewarding sleep, we woke up the following morning 'full of life' – so to speak. But to our surprise, we opened the curtains and discovered the horrendous weather that was upon us. At first, we figured the fun morning activities were to be postponed until the bad weather had passed. Fortunately we were incorrect. The bad weather ceased and we proceeded onto the glacier as scheduled. The morning activities began with us learning how to execute rescue procedures in the event of someone falling down a wet glacier. In order to do so, we needed to harness up and attach crampons to our feet.
We were also provided with ice axes, which we were taught how use in the event of an emergency.
During our two sessions on the glacier we climbed up ice walls, climbed down crevasses and performed a series of emergency rescue drills.
The only item that ended up having to be rescued was a camera dropped by a scout group in the previous week (besides a team member who fell through insecure snow and fell head first down a crevasse whilst distracted).
After a lunch break we headed back down the mountain at a faster pace than that of which we ascended. On the way down a team member fell and sprained his ankle, a helicopter was not required on this occasion and he managed to carry on.
On the descent the heavens opened and we were caught in an enormous electrical storm; we narrowly avoided a huge rock fall. The storm was over before long and we headed back down the cable car to the village of Kandersteg.
All who were on the trip believe that they have had an absolutely brilliant experience and most people are now looking forward to the next opportunity to partake in such an expedition.
All who were on the expedition send their thanks to Andrew and Jasper, the two very knowledgeable mountain leaders.
Hospital trip number two!
Yes. You may laugh.
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
No blog today.
Thre's v little signal up here. So just to say all well. We'll blog tmrw evening with lots of hike reports.
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
End of the night. And poss no blogging tomorrow.
2 groups are up in the mountains tonight. The snow and icers came back safe and sound and with LOADS of stories. Mostly involving chris lambeth slipping, tripping and falling.
Tomorrow two more go up to the huts for a night. Despite downpours, our timetable has remained solid and we've yet to rearrange a day (as we'd expected).
Tom King's chin is fine and he's had a chat with his mum and dad. It hurts to talk but tom seems to be a trooper and is not letting that stop him.
To parents: Messages about rabbits, dogs and all sorts have all been passed on.
TMRW i'm up in the mountains and we will not do a day blog until Thursday. I hope I'll keep you updated on our trip but it is dependant on a signal. Don't panic if you don't hear from us.
Our first trip to hospital!
Day 3
CHOC AND CHEESE
chocolate tour written by Tom Armstrong
we had to get up at about 6:00
so so tired.
but the good thing was we didn't have to wait for breakfast.
coco pops and hot chocolate before the chocolate tour wasn't the best idea
it went down well though,
until we had the samples but I will get to that bit later.
we got on the coach about 8:00 but only left at 8:30
(I slept all the way, Tom.)
for everyone else it was a long and boring journey.
we finally got to the factory at about 10:30 to 11:00.
the first thing you smelt was the best smell in the world ever
chocolate loverly loverly chocolate.
the first room was like a cinema with really old chocolate ad's,
the seats were really comfy though.
the next room had all the ingredients and a woman told us how the chocolate was made
it was interesting but the smell sort of put me off thinking.
we got to try coco beans, coco butter, almonds and hazelnuts.
The next room was small but you got to smell different types of chocolate ingredients and the chocolate itself.
the next room was full of little videos on the floor and walls
it also had lots of CCTV videos of people making the chocolate in the factory.
Now to the sampling
there were so many samples
as much as you wanted, so me being me I had 2 of every one
a lot of the scouts after that room felt ill and 1 scout was sick later
back to the samples
it went from milk chocolate to fancy mixes of chocolate to white chocolate to dark chocolate to nutty chocolate
even chocolate with honey in it.
Then we watch them actually make it, there were a lot of different machines and gizmos
like churners, mixers and many more.
The next room and the second to last room was full of old machines and mechanisms
there were mixers made from stone and copper,
a wrapping machine,
a machine that I think chopped up the chocolate
and some more little machines
the final and second best room was the shop
just chocolate
it was cheapish
still quite a lot of money
but it was better priced than in england
tom was here 2008
cheese tour (Sean Hubbard's bit)
we left the chocolate factory and got on the coach we went to the French part of Switzerland and stopped in a village for an hour. That was where the scout was sick. Anyway onto the cheese tour. We walked down to the factory and went in. We were given a voice guide(like a headset without the headphones). We had to press buttons from 1-16 depending on where we were. On one part we could smell different types of grass that the cows ate. In one section we looked down on the people making the cheese. In that same bit there was a question and answer quiz. We walked out and handed in our voice guides. Some people went into the shop. I went and saw the cellar and then I went to the cafe and got a lemonade, I drunk it and then it was time to go and that brings us up to now.
That's what happened today!!
gruyere
(he's better now and no, I won't tell you who it was... You'll only worry!)
Hard hard work.
Free chocolate room!
Monday, 28 July 2008
Sorry. No kid blog tonight.
We packed them off to bed early and to v little protest. They were all dead tired. The English stall was a succes. And we have lots of pimms left over.
Liz, jan and helen say this was an accident. They also want to know where to buy ice for their new tipple.
This is similar to the sweet stall where an innocent looking set of explorers seemed amazed that there were sweets left over and wondered how to get rid of them.
All is going very well. While the snow n ice people do another day up on the glacier tmrw before coming down in the evening, 2 groups will be setting off on their overnight hikes tmrw afternoon. The rest of us will be doing the chocolate and cheese tour to broc and gruyere. Mmmmmmmmm. (you can see what your kids are up to day by day on the kandersteg site we set up)
Visiting town.
Peace.
Don't panic. Please. We have highly qualified guides and excellent leaders. (and it's only for the older ones!)
This is the thrill seeking that alton towers can only wish for.. But for now... They're asleep. I've got a coffee and the sun is rising gradually and sunning the far peaks. We won't feel its warmth for a few hours yet in the bottom of the valley.
The rest of the sleepy scouts will be crate stacking, playing on jacobs ladder and taking part in a service project for the site.
Oh. And nipping into town for a swiss army knife. The deal there is that they learn to use them properl in a lesson delivered by our leaders. They make excelent souvenirs and they all seem to want one. MUCH better than 50 quids worth of chocolate.
Sunday, 27 July 2008
First Day
by David Cole, Sean Cole and Andrew Yiu
After our first night at Kandersteg, we were ready for the fun ahead. The first thing we had to get stuck into was the Kandersteg hike to explore the village and see all the shops. We spent 2 hours walking around the village. Some of the things that we saw were; the train that is very loud and wakes us up (a lot!), the river and the cable car. We also saw a vertical water fountain running off the mountain. Towards the end of the hike when we were walking back through the village, we saw some typical swiss chalets – some of them were made in 1552! Overall The hike was very enjoyable and everyone had a good time.
In the afternoon, we had the international sports festival. We entered 2 teams into the football, one coming second after a very tight match and the other reaching the quarter finals but losing on penalties. The 5th also entered a volleyball team, they did just as well as they narrowly lost in the quarters. Whilst some were at the at the international sports festival, other people went on the zip wire.
Overall the first day has been a success and we hope the rest of the camp will be just as good. :-)
After our first night at Kandersteg, we were ready for the fun ahead. The first thing we had to get stuck into was the Kandersteg hike to explore the village and see all the shops. We spent 2 hours walking around the village. Some of the things that we saw were; the train that is very loud and wakes us up (a lot!), the river and the cable car. We also saw a vertical water fountain running off the mountain. Towards the end of the hike when we were walking back through the village, we saw some typical swiss chalets – some of them were made in 1552! Overall The hike was very enjoyable and everyone had a good time.
In the afternoon, we had the international sports festival. We entered 2 teams into the football, one coming second after a very tight match and the other reaching the quarter finals but losing on penalties. The 5th also entered a volleyball team, they did just as well as they narrowly lost in the quarters. Whilst some were at the at the international sports festival, other people went on the zip wire.
Overall the first day has been a success and we hope the rest of the camp will be just as good. :-)
International sports.
Lunch time
Lunch is self made sandwiches of cheese and ham, fruit, a chocolate bar and a pack of crisps.
I'l get the kids to write a report of today hopefuly but so far they've visited town, played in some lakes and spent some money in the shop. Thisafternon is zipw wire for some and international football n volleyball competition for the rest.
Saturday, 26 July 2008
First night.
We've got all the tents up. The kids fed. Kit in tents. Washing up done.
Now they're milling and chatting.
It's all gone rather swimingly. The alps managed to shut up even the gobbiest scout and tmrw they get to visit the village before an international sports afternoon.
Oh... And forecast for next 5 days?
THUNDER AND BLINKING RAIN... ANOTHER BL@@%Y wet camp. Check the webcams for what we're getting.
Hanging around...
People are very early.
Friday, 25 July 2008
Day 2 St Quinten to Sochaux approx 350 miles beautiful scenery and even better weather. Sunny and 30 deg heat.
Several tips for long distance car travel get the biggest iPod you can buy, get a sat nav (with European maps Rob !!!!!) get a sense of humour.
Picture the scene
Stop for lunch.
Ask the kids if they need toilet get told No.
8mins down the road “I need a Poo” (Max)
Stop for poo
Stop for lunch.
Ask the kids if they need toilet get told No.
8mins down the road “I need a Poo” (Max)
Stop for poo
Can’t go now (grrrrrrrrrrr)
The basic plan was to steer clear of Toll roads due to the speed that the Land Rovers and trailers travel at. However Pierre’ and his tractor appeared at every new road dropping the cruising (snail) speed. To catch up on lost time we used the Peage which allowed us to maintain a heady 60mph. Until that is a hill or gradient appears. The tip is to hit it at 65 so that you can reach the top at 50+ If you don’t then you are looking at the wrong side of 40mph.
The Land Rovers are performing well. When you consider the shear weight that is being towed.
But fuel consumption has been reduced to 18mpg.
But fuel consumption has been reduced to 18mpg.
We are now approx 150 miles from Kandersteg.
We hope to have the kettle on and at least the Mess tent up...
See you soon
Andy Rob Keeley Emily Kai Max.
Thursday, 24 July 2008
5th take over the car park.
Trailers at dover
I'm also having a play at sending stuff from my phone. Which is, I realise, ubergeekiness.
Kit packed
Tonight we loaded up the trailers and we might have chosen rather too large ones. But hey ho... we have all the kit we need and it's all off to Switzerland tomorrow. Andy and Rob are towing them and will be there Saturday afternoon if all goes to plan. So... all we are relying on is 2 land rovers to work flawlessly and not to break down...
gulp...
I suspect we'll be in bivvies.
...
we are traveling from T5...
...
hey! what can go wrong??
Anyway... our kit and shopping list has included the following:
10 litres Pimms. (all will become clear later in the blog)
2 new mess tents
9 new Vango 8-man tents.
2 new gas fridges
4 new petrol lanterns
£2,500 worth of fleeces, t-shirts, scarves and hoodies
£120 worth of old english sweets (see pimms reference... all to be explained)
2 shove ha'penny boards (ditto)
prawn crackers (ditto)
1,000 glow sticks
Wool for milkmaid plaits... (it all gets a bit surreal after a while)
circus equipment, bibs for sports, flag pole, bog roll, stuff for swaps, the list goes on and on...
2 days left... it's v weird seeing the kit packed up... it focuses the mind somewhat... normally i can panic the night before and do a new kit list... too late now...
---
so there you go, first post. Fingers crossed we'll add a few more...
gulp...
I suspect we'll be in bivvies.
...
we are traveling from T5...
...
hey! what can go wrong??
Anyway... our kit and shopping list has included the following:
10 litres Pimms. (all will become clear later in the blog)
2 new mess tents
9 new Vango 8-man tents.
2 new gas fridges
4 new petrol lanterns
£2,500 worth of fleeces, t-shirts, scarves and hoodies
£120 worth of old english sweets (see pimms reference... all to be explained)
2 shove ha'penny boards (ditto)
prawn crackers (ditto)
1,000 glow sticks
Wool for milkmaid plaits... (it all gets a bit surreal after a while)
circus equipment, bibs for sports, flag pole, bog roll, stuff for swaps, the list goes on and on...
2 days left... it's v weird seeing the kit packed up... it focuses the mind somewhat... normally i can panic the night before and do a new kit list... too late now...
---
so there you go, first post. Fingers crossed we'll add a few more...
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