Our ski trip this year included Year 8, 9 and 10. All pupils met, full of excitement and enthusiasm, at the School building at 6:00am on Sunday 20th January. A journey through London in complete darkness beckoned before we arrived at the airport and were ready for the real adventure to begin. After a smooth plane journey and a beautifully scenic coach trip to the resort, we finally arrived in Les Deux Alpes!
The whole group were filled with anticipation at the prospect of a holiday with our friends and the opportunity to ski amongst such amazing scenery; we were all desperate to unpack, settle into our new rooms, explore the hotel, visit the town, and most importantly to start skiing.
Our daily routine from then on started with a 7:00am start, a 7:30am breakfast, and then an 8:30am departure from the hotel to begin our journey up the mountain.
The first day was amazing: the weather was beautiful, the snow was glistening in the sunshine and everybody enjoyed making new friends in their ski groups as they familiarised themselves with their surroundings. The majority of students skied for 5-8 hours a day with instructors from the Exploration Society and within each group pupils were tasked with deciding which routes to take up, around and down the mountain range. Luckily, the great weather continued throughout the week and it allowed skiers of all abilities to really make the most of the slopes and the fantastic opportunity to improve their skills. The sense of camaraderie between the pupils was brilliant to see, with pupils looking out for each other and helping those around them, but most importantly, it was great to see everybody having so much fun.
By the fifth day, the whole group settled into the skiing lifestyle and nothing was going to stop everybody’s enthusiasm to ski. After our sessions for the day, we visited a gigantic slide on the side of the mountain where we were we propelled into the air, inside inflatable rings, towards a huge inflatable cushion. It was the perfect end to a great week on the slopes!
In all, it was clear that the group had an amazing experience and would definitely do it all again if they had the chance.
Annaliese, 8E