The cadets give a local youth the adventures of a lifetime, time and time again.
Johnathon Klassen's most recent adventure landed him in Canmore during the last week of February, climbing ice and sleeping outside. That's where he feels most at home.
The 17-year-old is off again this weekend to Edmonton where he will be looking to qualify for a six-week parachute training course this summer in the Alberta capital.
From Feb. 21 to 28, Johnathon was with a group of 10 other cadets from across the country taking part in the army cadets' Wild Winter 2012 expedition. It was a week of ice climbing and cross-country skiing. For Johnathon, it's more than just the adventure that makes these outings so worthwhile, it's also the friendships he builds with his fellow cadets, as well as the instructors.
"I've been basically all over Canada," he said. "I have friends, and I've met people from all over Canada. A lot people (I know) here in Estevan will sit around play their X-Box, I'm just like 'Well, I'm going to go ice climbing for a week, I'll see you later.' You just meet a lot more people at cadet camps."
He said those friendships are often stronger than those he has with people he meets at school because they have the cadets in common, and cadets is very important to Johnathon.
He's been a cadet since he was 12 years old, joining at the earliest possible chance. Every summer he's off to cadet training camps and now that he's reached the required fitness level, he is able to take part in the adventure camps, like the summer's Rocky Mountain camp. After going through some of those camps, expeditions like Wild Winter are now available to him.
"You kind of work up to it," he said. "I try to jump at every opportunity, but sometimes, I know I'm signed up for three different things right now that are taking place at the same time, so it's like, whatever I get, I take."
Johnathon is a determined teenager and has his sights set on a career in the army. All these adventures will be an advantage for him when he takes the step out of cadets. If he does go to Edmonton this summer for parachute training, that will be a certification he will have if he joins the army. He's also very happy to be paid to get the training.
It may not serve him well in the Prairies, but he is now avalanche certified, as they underwent training while cross-country skiing.
"We got avalanche certified and did an overnight camp for the cross-country skiing. We drove to a campsite and skied all day. We just found a spot and set up our tents," he said. "The next morning, we picked up our campsite and skied back."
The Estevan (Elks) PPCLI Army Cadet Corps, of which Johnathon is a member, does a winter exercise each year, so he is used to the cold weather.
"A few other people were from the big cities, so they weren't used to stepping off your skis and sinking to your waist."
He said they spent time with Yamnuska, a civilian group that teaches about the outdoors, and they ran the expedition, organizing the ice climbing and skiing.
"We'd go out to a certain spot and ice climb all day, but we'd also help each other with the crampons- those are the spikes for the bottom of your shoe. You'd also have a day leader, and that person would be in charge of your group, to get everything done and get everyone fed."
The cadets were split into two groups, and Johnathon was a group leader for both skiing and ice climbing.
He had done rock climbing last summer at an adventure camp, so that helped when it came to ice climbing, but he said it's still a very different game.
"With ice climbing, you can put your ice picks anywhere, because you don't have to look for a hand hold that's three feet out of your reach. I like ice climbing because it's easier, but the ice tends to fall on you, and that's not fun."
