60th Dartmoor Ten Tors Challenge a Success

Tuesday, 31 May 2011

Thousands of youngsters from across the south west enjoyed near perfect conditions to take on the Army's annual Ten Tors Challenge on Dartmoor in May. The event - organised by 43 (Wessex) Brigade - starts and finishes at Okehampton Camp and is now in its 51st year. It is one of the biggest adventure challenges for young people in Britain. 2,400 youngsters set-off on routes of either 35, 45 or 55 miles at 0700 hrs on Saturday morning. After tackling some of the toughest terrain in England, and expertly navigating one of Britain’s last remaining areas of true wilderness, 28th Kingswood Scouts from Downend in Bristol were first to cross the finish line. They arrived back at Okehampton camp at 0834 hrs on Sunday morning, having walked 45 miles. Although it's not a race, 16-year-old Jacob Cooke from the team was surprised and delighted to be home before anyone else. He said: "It feels very good, because we came down the hill and we just realised there were no teams in front of us and no one had seen any other teams. We didn't think we were coming in first up until just then, it's really good." Just 156 individuals pulled out of the event, suffering from a mixture of cuts, bruises or the affects of the elements. This is much lower than last year and well below the usual 10 percent mark. All of the rescues were coordinated by the multi agency Ten Tors Operations Room at Okehampton Camp, which is run by the Army but also staffed by Dartmoor Search and Rescue Group, the emergency services and St John Ambulance. Some of those rescued were picked up by 4x4 vehicle (either Army, DSRG or Devon and Cornwall 4x4 Response) or by one of the two Sea King Mark 4 helicopters from 848 Naval Air Squadron, Commando Helicopter Force based at RNAS Yeovilton. In all, these aircraft notched up 45 flying hours. "It has all gone very smoothly" said Lieutenant Sam Hodgkinson from 848 Royal Naval Air Squadron, based at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset. "We've aided in the safe evacuation of a number of children from the moor and transported a lot of personnel and equipment to and from the tors. It's our bread-and-butter work. We all volunteer to do it at the weekend because it's great flying, in a great environment and we're delighted to be part of Ten Tors." As with every Ten Tors, the Army works closely with the Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA), landowners and commoners to minimise the environmental impact of the event and the associated training, to maximise the local economic benefits of Ten Tors, and to help those taking part to appreciate and understand Dartmoor’s special qualities. This year is a special year for Dartmoor National Park, which is celebrating its 60th Anniversary. The Ten Tors organisers were delighted to celebrate this occasion during this year's event and all finishers were given a special certificate to mark it. Bookmark this item