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Summary
Antoine Fombonne who pushed me to do this survival course organized by CEETS . I already knew a little about CEETS, founded by David Manise, whose content and forum I really appreciate,But Antoine's energy convinced me, and so it was with him that I took the train to Lure, in Haute-Saône, the starting point for this survival course. The opportunity for me to learn new things, face unexpected events and have a good time with my friend. Enough to satisfy my growing taste for the outdoors.
Antoine made a video of the internship where I make a few cameos, here it is:
INTERNSHIP CONDITIONS
This is an internship in a forest environment, so potentially with small branches that can tear your backpack and fragile clothing. In terms of temperatures, it was between 2-3°C at night and 17-18°C in the afternoon.
It took place over two days on the weekend of March 19, 2022, a mid-season with very variable temperatures.
There was plenty of sunshine, except at night, when there was rain, but it stopped right when I got up!
But if it had rained for a good part of the day, the comfort would have been completely different, hence the importance of having waterproof bags for your belongings, especially for your sleeping bag +.
Indeed, a backpack often has limited resistance to rain, because water ends up seeping through the seams, zips, etc. if not directly through the fabric!
WHO ARE THE INSTRUCTORS?
There were two:
- Guillaume , who at the age of 30, already has impressive outdoor experience, if only through his work for the National Forestry Office, but not only that. Honestly, it could hardly be more warm, passionate, and educational. A true professional.
- Julien , also very experienced, with excellent teaching skills as well, and who has great experience of life in the extreme cold, he even wrote a book with David Manise on the subject . And for the anecdote, it was he who created the CEETS logo!
There were also three instructors in training, so suffice to say that we were very well supervised and with impeccably ensured security.
IS THIS A PHYSICAL EXPERIENCE?
Let us be very clear: this is not a “physical” course, the goal is absolutely not to test one's endurance, perseverance or strength. The CEET philosophy is very well explained in this Instagram post .
I think the first day we must have walked barely two or three km IN ALL in 5-10 min increments.
So physically, as long as you are able to carry a 10 - 15 kg bag, it is accessible to the (very large) majority of you.
In any case, you must complete a short health questionnaire before the course to validate your presence.
There are three “levels of difficulty”, I did the first, N1 , where you use the basic equipment: sleeping bag, shelter, etc.
On the other hand, from level 2 , we learn to sleep without a sleeping bag and without shelter. Maybe I will one day. As for N2 and why not N3 or the winter internship ...
I really recommend it if you plan to spend time in nature, whether for a hike of one or more days, or even a long-distance trip. Besides, I would have liked to have done this internship before doing my road trip to Mongolia, I think the trip could have been more comfortable.
For those who have reached the end of this article, let me thank you with a few little “cheat codes” for this internship:
- always have a lighter and a pack of tissues with you, they can be useful…
- have your tarp/poncho very easily accessible, ideally located on an outside pocket of the bag…
- have four tensioners / bungee cord, it's a game changer for assembling the shelter...
- but also take note of these knots and learn them at home…
- even if it is not on the official list, a thick Grabber survival blanket can be very useful…
- reading David Manise’s book a week before the course could greatly help you…
- it's not on the gear list, but frankly, if you have the space, a small, lightweight, foldable Helinox-type chair to comfortably take your notes during the modules can be a very welcome luxury...
- walking poles are not on the official gear list either, but it may be interesting to bring them to learn how to use them as poles when setting up your shelter.
