Ten Tors is an annual weekend hike organised and run in early May for 2,400 young people by the British Army on Dartmoor.

Teams of six are required to visit ten tors; on the top of each tor is a checkpoint. There are three levels of difficulty, Bronze (35 miles), Silver (45 miles) and Gold (55 miles). Each team has a captain and a navigator and normally train for a few months before the event.

The organisers stress that it is not a race, but a test of endurance and survival skills - not just because of the distances and the challenging terrain, but potentially the weather. Conditions on Dartmoor can vary considerably and change suddenly. In 1996, for example, the event was struck by a heavy snow storm, whereas just two years later, temperatures reached 26ºC.

Participants arrive at Okehampton camp on the Friday afternoon before the hike and are given briefings and their equipment is checked. Teams must carry all their food, tents, stoves, emergency rations and a first aid kit; in the past they would have collected drinking water from the moor and used water purification tablets, but recent problems with cryptosporidium mean water is provided at each checkpoint.

All the teams start on the Saturday from the base at Okehampton. There is 13 hours of walking on the first day, and teams are not allowed to pass the eighth tor until the second day. Those trying for a Bronze medal must camp on one of the tors, Silver and Gold teams can camp anywhere on the moor. The finish line is the same as the starting point, back in Okehampton.

The Army use it as a large scale logistics exercise. Officially the event is not a race, but teams often compete to see who can make it back to the base first.

History of the event

The first Ten Tors Expedition took place in September 1960, with around 200 young people taking part. By 1980 the numbers had grown to more than 2,600. To protect the environment, the numbers are now limited to 2,400 individuals - 400 teams of six teenagers.

Until 1967 the event was organised by the Junior Leaders Regiment, Royal Corps of Signals. This responsibility passed to Headquarters South West District, and in 1986 to Headquarters 43 (Wessex) Brigade.

Since 1977, an additional event has been held for children with physical and learning disabilities, which involves a selection of courses of between 1.7 miles and 15 miles, both on road and cross country.

Ten Tors was cancelled in 2001 because of foot and mouth disease but went ahead in 2003 despite the War in Iraq. In 2004 the event was held on May 15-16.

External links

Ten Tors website at Exeter University http://www.ex.ac.uk/its/tentors/