Ten Tors participants on the Tors during the event.Photo: Corporal Si Longworth/MoD

Ten Tors participants on the Tors during the event.Photo: Corporal Si Longworth/MoD

Thousands of participants in the Ten Tors challenge had to battle strong winds and sub-zero temperatures over the weekend.

But the Army, which organises the annual test of teenagers’ stamina and navigation skills, said more than 80 per cent of youngsters who started completed the course.

The event is open to schools and youth groups in the South-West of England and more than 2,000 14- to 19-year-olds started the trek across Dartmoor, trying to complete 35, 45 or 55 miles of some of the toughest terrain and highest peaks in Southern England relying on their navigational skills and carrying all their food, water, bedding, tents and other essentials as they went.

Brigadier Piers Hankinson, who was in charge of the event, said: “It’s great they do this.”

Speaking at the end of the event, he said: “Last night was really tough: –1C, –2C, with a chill factor. Very strong winds, 40 to 50mph, tough conditions.”

The organisers, who also use the event as a civil contingency exercise, altered the course for the first time in years.

Brigadier Hankinson said: “We have changed the route. We are slightly hostage to weather, necessarily so in certain places, particularly so with rising water levels. If the water rises it actually puts the whole challenge at risk.”

The new route also avoided roads which have become increasingly busy.

Even the military personnel struggled with conditions on the tors.

Major Stuart Keegan, in charge of the ‘fallout cells’ said they had to battle with the elements.

The soldiers deal with competitors who have to drop out of the event.

He said he had troops in three positions on Dartmoor. “The guys at Oakland Hill especially are dealing with some very interesting weather.

“They have only got one Porta Potty still standing. All the others have fallen over and they are hanging on tight to their tent.”

First team across the finish line was from Churchers College in Hampshire.

Staff in the operations room keep track of particpants. Photo: Corporal Si Longworth/MoD

Staff in the operations room keep track of particpants. Photo: Corporal Si Longworth/MoD

Team members said: “It is a bit of a shock really. We woke up hoping to win the school record, and then we came home first.

“We got off to a pretty good start and ever since we started it went pretty well. Luckily our navigators didn’t get us lost.

“The weather was pretty awful. There were points when we were just walking up and suddenly the rain would start and the wind as well.

“It is difficult to keep yourself on the side of a tor when it is really windy. We pretty much walked into the wind the whole thing.”

The Army also used a GPS tracking system to keep tabs on the participants for the first time this year.

Military staff and reservists worked with Devon and Cornwall Police and specialist organisations including Dartmoor Search and Rescue Group and more than 70 West Country-based volunteers from the British Red Cross who provided medical cover for participants and spectators over the Ten Tors weekend.

The organisers also stage the Jubilee Challenge over shorter courses for young people with special physical and educational needs.

The Army, as Ten Tors organisers, said it also worked closely throughout the year and over the weekend with the Dartmoor National Park Authority, landowners and commoners to minimise the environmental impact of the event and the associated training and to maximise the local economic benefits of Ten Tors.

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