by The students of the Gordonstoun have rebuilt the king’s 28-mile cingles 60 years later.
In October 1965, the teen prince of Wales was a three-day hike through “Rain and Stormy Wind” for his Silver Duke of Edinburgh (Dofe).
This year, students from the king’s old school tracked down the archived records of his route before they set off to reproduce the challenge and to reproduce the king’s footsteps in the highlands from June 19 to 21.
While it is stated that Charles has risen to 2788 -foot summit to find a look at fog, the students chose a warmer season for their hike. Temperatures reached up to 27 ° C.
They followed Charles’ Route from Balachroich to Kingussie to the Rothiemurchus Lodge in Aviemore, Glenfeshie Forest took up and past Ben Macdui on the way upwards. Another group followed the same course.
With the help of the handwritten notes and accompanying map, a team of seven – five girls and two young Charles’ route scored to get their own silver prices.
The cohort included five girls and two boys – Ryan Balharry/Gordonstoun/Pa
The 16 -year -old hiker William Griffin said: “The most outstanding for me on the expedition was how diverse the entire landscape was.
“We started in dense forests and went on the banks of a dried river that led into a wide valley with a thick Heather.
“We then went through the mountains into a massive open level where the river hung through it. It was so impressive.”
The records show that Charles was a member of the second group under his student leader Michael Fabianski. The group was found in a good mood when a “Mr. Varney” checked with them on Saturday, according to the notes.
Prince Charles with his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, arrives on his first day in Gordonstoun in 1962 – Pa
Mr. Fabianski said: “My memory of the expedition was the first night on the banks of the Feshie River and waded over the River Dee, while he went up to Corour Bothy, where we stored for the second night.
“It is very atmospheric to go to Glen Dee, with Cairn Toul on the one hand and Ben Macdui on the other.
However, Mr. Varney’s written account talks of “cloudy sky” and “Stormy Wind” suggests that Sunday is “a good day” and the prince’s group reached their final goal shortly after the first group at 3:20 p.m.
“When we thought we couldn’t do it, we could continue,” said India Lewis – Ryan Balharry/Gordonstoun/PA
India Lewis, 16, one of the students who went to the expedition, said it was cool to step into the king’s footsteps, and she really enjoyed the challenge.
Miss Lewis said: “In the back of everyone, we remembered our motto” Plus Est en vous “, and we remembered that they have more in them.
“We have more in ourselves, because even in times when we thought we couldn’t do it, we were still able to continue and in the end we all arrived there. It is really important.”
The Dofe Award has its roots at Gordonstoun, where it was known as the Moray badge until Prince Philip campaigned for experience. It developed into a national program in 1956.
In the 12 months to March, 572,802 students took part in the program in bronze, silver and gold levels.
Peter Green, the headmaster of Gordonstoun, said: “In the spirit of our founder Kurt Hahn, I am firmly convinced that the students have to be challenged regularly into that inside and outside the classroom.
“The latest expedition by the Cairngorms, which covered the king’s footsteps, was a strong illustration of this philosophy in action.
“They spend four days in one of the most remote regions of Great Britain showed a real test of the resistance and teamwork of the students and reacted with remarkable perseverance and character strength.”
