Cadet Training Safety Precautions 1999 Pamphlet (Army Code No 70768)
Definitions of Wild & Normal Country
0208. Definitions.
a. “Wild Country’.
(1) ‘Wild Country’ is defined in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE)
as being areas remote from habitation in which all ventures, for reasons of
safety, must be completely self-sufficient. For cadet force training, ‘Wild
Country’ is defined by any one of the following criteria:
(a) Above the snowline.
(b) Over 2000 feet (600 metres) above sea level.
(c) Where gradients exceed 1:1.
(d) Where crags or cliffs are in the immediate area of a route.
(e) Over 5 km from habitation, public telephone or a regularly used road.
When undertaking activities in such terrain, cadet groups must be completely
self-sufficient.
(2) Often parts of an area involved in adventurous training will fall within the
criteria in sub-paragraph a. above and other parts will not. Common sense must
always prevail and the question asked “Can my cadets reach shelter should an
accident occur when bad weather is approaching?” Clearly, training should not
be planned in such an area if the answer to this question is “No”.
b. ‘Normal Country’
Areas which fulfil none of the criteria in sub-paragraph a. even if they are
within a remote and/or mountainous area, can be regarded as ‘Normal Country’.
c. Expeditions. An expedition can be defined as a journey across country with a
specific aim involving overnight camping, carried out by a self-contained
group.
It may be an AT expedition, be part of the ACF (APC) Expedition Training Syllabus or be for the DofE. Any of these may, sometimes, be combined in part with either or both of the other two.