14 Sep 2018
My snow trip experience!
Little did we know that we were in for one exciting and memorable experience when we arrived back at school on Tuesday 21 August at 11pm with eager expectations for a bus trip we hoped would bring sleep! After a long 6 hours, the hiring of all our gear (long live the blue crew) and a much-needed breakfast at Vikas Ski Lodge where we were staying, we were finally off to the snow!
It was hard not to be overwhelmed by the beautiful mountains and prospect of skiing when I had never been on skis before. But after getting to know Zoe, our lovely ski instructor, and hearing about just how much she loved skiing, we all knew it was a matter of pushing through the lessons and trying our best to get the hang of it, however tricky it was at first. Well, that was easier said than done, when I fell for the first time on the magic carpet and lacked self-confidence when learning the techniques. Luckily, I was too tired to be embarrassed!! Snowman building, snow angel making, and snowball fighting was the perfect end to what was an exhausting first day. It was on Thursday and Friday, after an early wake-up call, when we really started to find the rhythm of skiing. I’ll never forget going up the T-bar and the chairlift for the first time, with so much anticipation, and just praying I would make it down alive! Snow trip taught me the power of having courage and trusting and believing in yourself, because at first I was scared, and then ended up doing long courses, jumps and even one leg skiing! It was so amazing and fulfilling to be able to go back on Friday and do the runs and use the skills I thought I couldn't do or that seemed so hard on Wednesday, to see just how far we had come! I was overwhelmed by so much joy and pride; I quickly became known as the girl who said ‘this is soooo much fun’ after literally any time we skied, just ask anyone in my ski group. If there’s such a thing as enjoying yourself too much, I was the real-life representation of it – huge smile and all!
On behalf of year 10, I would like to say a huge thank you to Mr Laurendet and all the teachers who organised the week and made sure that everyone was safe and happy. We all appreciate you and are very grateful! An enormous thank you also to our kind and persistent ski instructor Zoe, who literally picked us up when we were down. She brought us from zero experience to confident skiers who couldn't stop talking about how much fun we were having, and for that I’m very thankful. I can’t wait to go back to the snow, I’m sure you’ll hear all about how fun it is!!
Sophie Y10
My snow trip experience!
The build-up was never ending to the first time I would see that white sand we call snow, and after we survived the bus ride it was only uphill from there. The emotions and adrenaline were kicking in as the surroundings became picturesque and once we picked up our gear from the hire shop it was time to embrace the sport of skiing.
After splitting into the groups and meeting our instructors the first and most basic but important step to skiing was putting the boots and skis on and the fact that I struggle at this part drove me insane. Once I finally had them on we raced to the magic carpet at Smiggins. Being in the beginner (never seen snow group) we were blessed with the teaching of Zoe as we learnt the very basics of how to get down a slope and control where you are going and how fast. But the fun really began on the second day, when we progressed to the T bar, and all the real steep slopes, the trip got 100 x better. I finally got what all the fuss about skiing and every time we would learn something new, go a little extra further and faster, it just broadened our smiles. This was proved when literally every second we stopped Sophie would exclaim; “That was so fun!” For me it was honestly sick to go from not being able to step on skis to speeding down this easy run. I would be lying if I said I looked good the whole time, after successfully getting to the top I stacked it straight away, everyone learned that I could kind of ski but couldn’t walk in skis to save my life. Well-deserved lunches and free times just topped the experience off, especially when you tried to fit in with your experience friends going on T Bars, Chairlifts, and blue runs that I was no way near good enough for. By the time we got back to the lodge on the second night it had felt like the two days had just flown by us, and even with our swollen ankles and aching bodies we were more pumped for day 3. Catching a chair lift with my best friend Mr Cantor, falling into deep chats with sir about life and success had to be a peak moment of my skiing career. But the 3rd day was when Zoe didn’t hold back, she took us through jumps, harder runs, steeper slopes, and faster routes. Leading the pack full of confidence from the day before, I decided it would be a good idea to not only go for our small jump but add my own pizzazz. Too everyone’s amusement bar mine my face ate the snow and my legs dug into the ground. But the recovery lead to awesome snow ball wars on the top of the slopes as well as great picture moments and view intakes.
I had never even touched snow before this trip, but after the last day I felt so much more confident in my ability to learn a new skill, but more importantly had an unforgettable time at the snow. Massive thanks to Mr Laurendet for organising the whole trip, I’m sure all our year are so grateful for the effort you put to make our snow trip the best. As well as all the teachers involved, waking us up every day, and Perisher for having us. Can’t wait to go back! Three cheers 😉
Billy Y10