Ten Tors

Ten Tors is an annual weekend hike organised and run in early May for 2,400 young people by the British Army on Dartmoor. The majority of entrants are schools, colleges, Scout groups and Cadet squadrons from South West England, though groups from across the UK have regularly taken part, as have teams from Australia and New Zealand. However, from 2012 only teams from the South West of England were eligible to take part, due to the large numbers of entrants. Teams normally train for a few months before the event.

Teams of six are required to visit ten specified tors; on the top of each tor is a checkpoint. Up to two members per team may fall out during the Challenge; if a team drops below four members they may 'join' with another team walking that route. As of 2017, this rule no longer applies. If your team falls below four members, You have to forfeit the event. Ten Tors Charter 2012, Annex E, para 25

There are 26 different routes over three different distances, lettered from A to Z, using a total of 19 different manned tors: 12 Bronze routes of 35 miles (56 km) for those aged 14 to 15 years; 10 Silver routes of 45 miles (72 km) for those aged 16 to 17 years; and 4 Gold routes of 55 miles (89 km) for those aged 18 to 19 years, or 17-year-olds who completed a Silver or Bronze route previously.

The organisers stress that the event is not a race – although teams often compete to see who can finish first – but a test of endurance, navigation and survival skills, because of not just the distances and the challenging terrain, but potentially also the weather: conditions on Dartmoor can vary considerably and change suddenly. In 1996, for example, the event was struck by a heavy snow storm, leading to some teams still being out on the moor a day after the event was due to have finished; while in 1998 temperatures reached 26 °C (79 °F).

Participants arrive at Okehampton Camp on the Thursday or Friday before the hike, watch a safety briefing video and have their equipment checked, a thorough process known as scrutineering. Teams must carry all their food, clothing, tents, stoves, fuel, navigation equipment, maps, emergency rations and a first aid kit; they also collect drinking water from the moor and use water purification tablets. Each team has a nominated team leader, who is responsible for ensuring that the team's route card is stamped at each tor.

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Wikipedia