Mountain warfare requires specialist tactical and technical training. A physically fit soldier does not necessarily mean they will perform adequately at high altitude. The body must adjust to thinner mountain air and needs to develop climbing muscles. The NATO Mountain Warfare Centre of Excellence in Slovenia runs courses for NATO Allies and partners to help their armed forces prepare for mountainous environments. To be able to operate in the mountains, soldiers need to be able to carry a lot of kit. In this piece, First Warrant Officer Sebastian Silar from the NATO Mountain Warfare Centre of Excellence explains what a soldier deployed to the mountains usually carries in their backpacks.
TRANSCRIPT (AUDIO AND TEXT ON SCREEN)
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH
Sebastian Silar, Slovenian Armed Forces
GRAPHIC: Sebastian Silar, Slovenian Armed Forces
‘Hello, my name is Sebastian Silar.
I am an instructor in the NATO
Mountain Warfare Center of Excellence.
And today I will present to you
how to pack the backpack
for the mountains.’
—TEXT ON SCREEN-
WHAT’S IN THE KIT?
‘The preparations for the
mountains are starting at home.
So you need to be well prepared.
So you need to do a route plan in the map.
—TEXT ON SCREEN-
#1 MAP
Orientate yourself with a compass or G.P.S.
—TEXT ON SCREEN-
#2 COMPASS OR GPS
You need extra gloves and cap and sunglasses.
—TEXT ON SCREEN-
#3 GLOVES AND CAP
#4 SUNGLASSES
Rain cover for the backpack.
—TEXT ON SCREEN-
#5 RAIN COVER
Headlamp.
—TEXT ON SCREEN-
#6 HEADLAMP
And something to write.
—TEXT ON SCREEN-
#7 NOTEBOOK
So first, when we come below the wall,
you need to put the helmet on your head.
—TEXT ON SCREEN-
#8 HELMET
If you go via ferrata, you will need a ferrata set.
—TEXT ON SCREEN-
#9 FERRATA SET
Harness.
—TEXT ON SCREEN-
#10 HARNESS
Gloves.
—TEXT ON SCREEN-
#11 GLOVES
Some carabiners for belaying.
And loops for doing some manoeuvres.
#12 CARABINERS AND LOOPS
You need also the rope.
#13 ROPE
What is also in the backpack, so it's a
Gore-Tex raincoat.
#14 RAINCOAT
Spare clothes.
#15 SPARE CLOTHES
So this is a long sleeve, long pants, socks.
And first aid.
#16 FIRST AID
So all this stuff is for the summer, hiking or climbing in the mountains.
For winter equipment, what do we need?
We will start with the poles.
#17 POLES
This we can also use for ski poles or just walking poles.
When we have snow, we need to have these three pieces.
This is an avalanche beacon.
#18 AVALANCHE BEACON
Avalanche probe.
#19 AVALANCHE PROBE
And avalanche shovel.
#20 AVALANCHE SHOVEL
Ice axe.
#21 ICE AXE
And crampons.
#22 CRAMPONS
And we have also here for skiing.
We use the foldable skis.
#23 FOLDING SKIS
They are very good for when we go from skiing to climbing.
So it's like this. Turn around. Just clip here and here. And there are our skis.
So the skin works in one direction.
So it's slide down.
Because of this hair you can easily go uphill.
Even in the summertime when we go to the mountains, we can find some snow.
So for that we need the ice axe or crampons.
And we have also the big slopes like glaciers and
we can also go to ski in summer time.
BACKPACK WEIGHT
SUMMER: - 20KG
WINTER: - 30KG
+ WEAPONS, FOOD AND WATER
END
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