Group Assessment Report

Monkton Coombe School Gold DofE Assessed Expedition in the Lake District
Date 8th 11th July 2012

Group:

Team Alpha

Notification number The Participants

Konstantin Goncharov, Adam Grimes, George Reeves, Max Bulmann, Michael Duppa-Miller, John Farley, Johannes Marais

The conditions. The weather was varied with rain, heavy at times, and persistent drizzle. Occasional low cloud and poor visibility offered an additional challenge for the group and the mild temperatures and low winds provided perfect conditions for midges which often made for difficult conditions in camp. On day 4 the group were finally rewarded with some fine weather and stunning views from the Fairfield Horseshoe. The exceptionally wet ground and conditions challenged the group and their personal preparation, as should be the case on a gold expedition. The route The group had chosen a particularly challenging route which took in classic Lakeland peaks, ridges and fells and journeyed from Braithwaite in the northwest to Ambleside in the south. The route choice covered a variety of terrain and included tough ascents and descents each day. Camping was at quiet farm sites with one night wild camping at Easedale Tarn. The Group This group was formed from two groups both of which had lost team members to ill-health in the early stages of the expedition. The members from both groups had to deal separately with an emergency situation demonstrating an excellent awareness of emergency procedures and calmly and efficiently organising the evacuation of their respective team mates. Once merged as a team of seven they adapted well to the new dynamic and actually thrived in each-others company demonstrating throughout the expedition a very high standard of camp craft, teamwork and navigation. This was a challenging and adventurous gold qualifying expedition epitomising the spirit of D of E and completed in good style; well done to you all. Assessors Jenny Smith (HO2777A) Dave O Brien (HO15695A )