rabthecairnterrier wrote:I've been assessing Duke of Edinburgh groups north of the Great Glen for over 20 years and it's
the first time I've heard of a group having to be "supplied" with water. Maybe you need to rethink
and revise your training regime. As for vehicular access, I think it's bad practice for a group operating
in supposedly "wild country" to have supervisors or assessors appear by car as it compromises an essential component of that challenge and experience. When assessing, if there is a suitable track and I have the estates permission I may drive part of the way in, but will stop well short (ie several km) from the campsite and cycle or walk the rest of the way.
Thanks for this. In many ways, I agree with you 100%. However, the training regime is not mine. It is predicated on our Health & Safety culture where expedition plans are subject to review by a faceless person sitting in a comfy office in the Home Counties with numerous copies of "Things to insist on before approving anything more than a walk around the local bowling green" sitting in front of him, and to whom the phrase "wild country" signifies the pub on the local sink estate. Insistable things include the ability to supply water and, believe it or not for Bronze Expeditions, the supply of flushing toilets. But this may well be apocryphal. Or not.
So far as the vehicle is concerned, it is not there to surprise the participants by showing up unannounced; rather there as a safety measure in the event of a non serious casualty. The amount of paperwork involved if we were to call out MRT or the friendly helicopter has to be seen to be believed.
My original query is based on the "What if someone cuts their finger at point X ? How would you evacuate them?" question. It is not based on running pizza deliveries, although I am sure that some of my boys and girls would be delighted if it were.