Calne soldier makes his mark in the snow

10:02am Monday 11th February 2008

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Calne soldier, Rifleman Robert Merritt was testing his nerve and fitness to the limit during the Army's UK divisional ski championships in France last week. He was one of over 145 soldiers taking part in the Alpine section of Exercise Spartan Hike in the ski resort of Serre Chevalier.

Robert, 23, an infantryman serving with 1st Battalion The Rifles (1 REFLES), based in Chepstow, is about to have a year of contrasts. In February he will be exercising with his Battalion in Belize working up towards joining the 3rd Commando Brigade and later in the year, preparing for an operational tour in Afghanistan.

But over the ten-day ski championships he was standing on top of a snow-covered mountain and pointing his skis downhill to compete in the formidable Slalom, Grand Slalom, Super-G and Downhill races.

Robert finished every race, vital when you are skiing as a team, finishing the heart-stopping Downhill race, which involved skiing at speed down a course of nearly 2,000 metres with a 502 metre drop, in just 1 minute 48.48 seconds, never having skied competitively before.

"I only started skiing in December," said Robert. "I saw something about it on orders, so I put my name forward, this is the first time that I have ever put on skis.

"We went to the Infantry training camp where we did four weeks training and then a week of competition. I was coming fourth on most races, but on the Downhill I managed to come third and won a bronze medal.

"It was not too bad for a first attempt, apart from a few injuries where I came off, nothing serious.

It is the speed and the adrenelin rush that I really enjoy, it's awesome. When I am standing at the starting gate, I am a nervous wreck, and at the bottom a great feeling of relief that I have finished the course in one piece.

"There is a lot of strong competition here, but I am better than halfway up the field, not too bad for a novice. There is a lot of powdery snow up there, it's very hard on the legs, trying to fight with the ruts, just trying to stay up. It's a real feeling of relief at the bottom.

Robert, whose parents Desmond and Carol Merritt still live in Calne, was educated at George Ward School, Melksham, and worked Romarsh Engineering before joining the Army in 2005.