3 October 2006

Exercise Frosty Boy was conducted in July, in and around the Queenstown area. The nine-day exercise is conducted by the Army Adventurous Training Centre (AATC) for first-year officer cadets of the Kippenberger Class, OCS (NZ). It is designed to help officer cadets find where their comfort zone lies and then challenge them to push through it.

The overall aim is to develop cadets’ individual skills, particularly adaptability, drive and stress tolerance. They are also taught to maintain a positive outlook, maintain work and safety standards, and manage their own learning and development.

Whether it was learning how to stop while going downhill in cross-country skis, or, at three in the morning, deciding what to do after realising the snow cave entrances had been filled in with falling snow, everyone’s comfort zone was pushed.

On the first day, everyone had an hour to learn how to cross-country ski before the packs went on and they set off for the night location.

Then came the first hurdle: night navigation. Being out past midnight as the temperature fell to minus 15 degrees, it soon became evident why the alpine environment is considered a good medium to challenge everyone. Some keen individuals finished the course in less than an hour, while others were out for much longer, with only one checkpoint to show for their trouble!

The next morning everyone’s spirits rose with the sun. The cadets cross-country skied some more challenging terrain, and then returned to base camp in Queenstown. 

The next day was spent downhill skiing on the Remarkables ski field. The day aimed to give everyone the basic skills required for the following days’ ski-touring phase, while still challenging experienced skiers. After a two-hour lesson with civilian instructors in the morning, the afternoon lesson was led by AATC staff, who challenged everyone – no matter what level of skiing ability they already had. Keeping on their feet was challenging enough for some, while the experienced skiers were sent down some very hairy black slopes – wishing they had pretended be a learner and able to stick to the groomed slopes!

The last two days were spent ski-touring and snow-caving. Skiing uphill, when everyone else on the slopes was going up by lift, or skiing down, was an odd feeling.

The weather started closing in just as the group left the campsite for some more touring. Having to call on skills only learned a day before, on some steeper terrain, continued to push the officer cadets out of their comfort zone, especially as darkness and snow fell. The group made their way back to the snow caves for the night.

After about three hours, the snow caves started to close in from snow and wind. At 3.00am, a small group decided to start digging their way out and then went to help others. After an amusing hour or two, everyone had been found. About this time, the sun appeared through a thick veil of cloud, and it was time for a warm brew or breakfast (for some), followed by a hasty pack-up and return to the van, en route to the Queenstown base for the debrief.

During the debrief it became clear that the exercise had achieved all its aims. The officer cadets were able to identify areas they performed well or poorly in, and had learnt how to deal with unfamiliar situations in the future. Taking them outside their comfort zone showed them what they needed to modify about their behaviour, and although the exercise is designed to target individual development, they also found it assisted in creating a tight team bond. Overall, the exercise was a complete success, with the adventure training medium proving to be an excellent and inspiring way of delivering this training. Thanks must go to the AATC staff for running such a great exercise and making sure everyone got the most out of the experience.

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