Ripcord Adventure Journal 2.2
Our sixth issue of Ripcord Adventure Journal is a very different beast to its five earlier siblings, whose articles and images were, in the main, submitted by adventurous travel writers and photographers; in this issue however, we have brought together 11 accomplished explorers and adventurers who write about their unique experience of life, lived to the maximum and danced to a different beat.
Our sixth issue of Ripcord Adventure Journal is a very different beast to its five earlier siblings, whose articles and images were, in the main, submitted by adventurous travel writers and photographers; in this issue however, we have brought together 11 accomplished explorers and adventurers who write about their unique experience of life, lived to the maximum and danced to a different beat.
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52<br />
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA<br />
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA<br />
Around the World with 80 Kids<br />
Kev Sidford<br />
leading elements of military adventure training expeditions in<br />
Canada, Sardinia and 3 Himalayan expeditions already in the bag.<br />
It was about 2007 that I applied for a yet another Himalayan<br />
Expedition, this time to the big one, Sagamartha, but the overall<br />
expedition leader politely told me to get lost and organise my own<br />
expedition – this was to be a pivotal moment. So I did.<br />
The planning began, to take a group on my very own expedition,<br />
but I needed something different to really get my teeth into, not just<br />
a jaunt over to the Alps. At about this time I was concurrently<br />
getting involved with the commercial expedition sector. With an<br />
expedition to Kyrgyzstan on the books, I needed to remain focussed<br />
on my own endeavours. A chance meeting with Pat Parsons, a<br />
fellow International Mountain Leader, an incredibly experienced<br />
expedition specialist and all round good guy, had suggested the<br />
Fagaras Ridge in Romania. Being geographically ignorant of the<br />
region, it was time to do some research.<br />
Initially, I thought that it would be an excellent venture to a new<br />
destination, then I dug a little deeper to find it was 70 kilometres<br />
long, 8 peaks with elevations over 2500m, 42 peaks with elevations<br />
over 2400m and other 150 peaks over 2300m. Now that’s a<br />
challenge, I thought to myself and one that could be completed in a<br />
tight but achievable 7-day window.<br />
Taking a group of adults would be difficult enough but I was<br />
planning on taking cadets whose age ranged 15-18 years old,<br />
carrying tents and negotiating razor sharp peaks. With the planning<br />
and logistics sorted for the Fagaras Ridge it was time to deploy to<br />
Kyrgyzstan for a non-military youth group expedition. With echoes<br />
of James Herriot’s, “It shouldn’t happen to a vet,” it totally slipped<br />
my mind that I had left myself just two days between returning to<br />
the UK and flying back out to Romania. “Good Skills Kev, Good<br />
Skills!”<br />
So the journey begins with a jaunt out to the fascinating country of<br />
Kyrgyzstan, with a group of young ladies from Oxford, who were a<br />
powerhouse. Our journey took us to the Ala Archa National Park
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