King Edward's Bath

50th Anniversary of Ten Tors

The weather on Dartmoor ensured that the 50^th anniversary Ten Tors Expedition was every bit as tough as the previous 49. The Saturday morning dawned grey and cold, with a strong northerly wind and rain and fog covering the moors as the teams set off from Okehampton on their expeditions. Though the cloud lifted a little, the biting cold wind and rain continued all day, making it a tough day to be out on the hills. After a night out on the moor, teams made their way to the finish. Though still cold, at least now they could see where they were going!

King Edward’s School teams took part at all three distances.

The 45 mile team walked for 13½ hours non-stop on Day 1, going through their 8^th tor a few minutes before it closed at 8:00pm, and continuing on through the dark to their 9^th tor. They set off walking at 6 o’clock on Sunday morning and were one of the first two teams to cross the finishing line at 7:34. Though Ten Tors is not a race, this is one of the fastest completions of the 45 mile expedition ever, and is a testimony to the fitness of the whole team, and their first-rate navigation skills.

The team were :

Robert Wilcox (team leader)

James Plumstead

Jon Tracy

Ben Smith

Mark Humphreys

Edmond Venables

The 35 mile team also had a long day. They navigated their way confidently around a long, tough route on the northern part of the moor to reach their 8^th tor where they had to camp. They set off walking again at 6 o’clock, and were the first team to complete their route.

The team were :

Merlin Hetherington (team leader)

Cameron Davies

George Widdowson

Georgie Phillips

Rebekah Chapman

David Galazin

To complete any of these expeditions requires great determination, but the hardest of the lot must be the 55 mile route. The KES team on this year’s 55 mile route was one of the fittest and most experienced the school has ever put in. They walked well to complete the first third of their route by early afternoon on Saturday, when one member of the team was forced to retire from the expedition due to hypothermia. After being delayed by over an hour, the remaining 5 members of the team continued on to reach the foot of their 7^th tor by nightfall, leaving a massive distance to cover on the Sunday. They were up and walking at 5 o’clock on the Sunday morning, and walked for nearly 12 hours, to complete the 55 miles of their expedition with just 40 minutes to spare.

The team were :

Louis Bougeard (team leader)

Peter Medhurst

Nora Spicer

Conor Sloan

Kier McDonald

Outdoor pursuits and the Ten Tors Expedition

There were five weekend expeditions for Outdoor Pursuits this year. The first, to Snowdonia last October, saw 15 members of the school walking and scrambling over the rocky ridges of the area, taking in the famously narrow Crib Goch arête, the north ridge of Tryfan, and Bristly ridge. Poor weather prevented them from visiting all 14 of Snowdonia’s 3000ft peaks, but they made a good effort.

In February there was an expedition to the Black Mountain, the wildest area of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The aim of the trip was to practice navigation in preparation for Ten Tors.

March saw teams out on Exmoor, gaining experience of camping skills as well as walking long miles across the moor. Temperatures plunged to -4^oC overnight, but the days were clear and sunny. Everyone completed their routes, despite some interesting approaches to route choice.

Teams revisited Dartmoor for the final weekend’s preparation for Ten Tors. Strong wind, rain and hail proved a real test for the teams as they battled their way around their routes, but they all found their way to the overnight campsite near the River Dart.

Teams from King Edward’s School have taken part in the Ten Tors expedition for many years, and have a proud record of completing their expeditions well inside the allocated time.

This year’s Year 10 team were among the first groups to complete the 35 mile expedition. They reached their 8^th tor on Day 1, which is as far as they are allowed to go on the first day, and finished the route just before midday on Sunday. The team was ably led by Rosie Coombe, and confidently navigated around the moor by Helen Bartlett, with help from Nick Green, Jake Oldaker, Alex Hill and Ieuan Tranter.

This year’s Year 12 team missed out on finishing the event two years ago when it was cancelled due to flooding, so they were especially keen to do well. They went past their 8^th tor on the first day, covering over 35 miles in 14 hours of continuous walking – an amazing feat. They were through their 9th tor as soon as it opened at 6:00am on Sunday morning, and walked strongly to finish the expedition shortly before 10am, the first team to complete their particular route. The team was led by Louis Bougeard. Alex Hart did most of the navigation, assisted by Alan Bowman, Nora Spicer, Laurence Baines and Peter Medhurst.

Lastly – but by no means least – Nathan Pictor in Year 12 completed the 55 mile expedition with a team from his previous school.

Next year’s highlights include another visit to Snowdonia, and a longer expedition to the Rocky Mountains.

The Expedition Society

The Expedition Society is a must for anyone who enjoys mountain and hill walking and a chance to visit some of the more remote and spectacular scenery in Great Britain and abroad.

The society regularly visits the national parks of the Brecon Beacons, the Black Mountains, Dartmoor and Snowdonia.

There are also opportunities to go abroad; previous trips have included the GR20 in Corsica, a high level route over the highest ridges and peaks of the island. There are plans to visit the Rocky Mountains in 2010.

If you would like to join or find out more information please see Mr Laney.