A School Ski Trip From A Teacher's Perspective
Day 1: Arrival & First Steps
After more than 36 hours of travel and excitement, our group of eager young skiers surprised us by unanimously choosing an early night over recreation time! Nothing like the promise of hitting the slopes to motivate even the most energetic teenagers to prioritise rest.
The students experienced their first taste of authentic Italian cuisine - delighting some palates while challenging others. Our attentive staff quickly liaised with the restaurant team to accommodate our Darlington teenagers' preferences, ensuring everyone would be well-fed throughout the trip.
The afternoon was dedicated to the all-important boot fitting session, followed by an equally memorable (if somewhat chaotic) journey back to the boot room. Despite our carefully organised storage system, creative interpretations of "where my boots go" prevailed!
By dinner time, exhaustion had claimed four students who slept through repeated knocks and subsequently dozed at the dinner table. Everyone retired early, ready for an early start and first lifts the next morning - the alpine adventure had officially begun!
Day 2: First Tracks
Food quickly became a highlight! Breakfast brought the delighted exclamation: "What?! I can have cake for breakfast?" alongside more traditional options of fruit, yogurt, croissants, and bread. Lunch featured pasta and cheese, while après-ski treats included crepes and fizzy drinks - the perfect end to a day on the slopes.
The morning began with sorting out the previous day's boot room chaos - a situation our seasoned staff described as "quite ridiculous," with five people wearing someone else's boots! Thankfully, helpful students stepped up to assist with sorting skis, finding codes, and helping others with their boots.
On the slopes, some students experienced their first chairlift ride, with nervous questions like "it won't get any higher, will it?" echoing as they ascended (spoiler: it does!). After a few entertaining dismounts (staff included!), everyone was ready to ski.
The advanced groups wasted no time hitting the red runs, including an exciting ten-minute journey from France - a true highlight for many. Meanwhile, beginners mastered fundamentals like putting on skis, sliding on one foot, and the invaluable skill of standing back up after falls - which proved extremely useful throughout the day!
The day ended with everyone relaxing in the communal room before retiring to bed. Another early start and more skiing awaited tomorrow!
Day 3: Finding Our Ski Legs
The day began with cake for breakfast (again), though healthy options of yogurt and fruit were also available. Students were thrilled to find pizza and chips for lunch, followed by fish and croquettes for dinner and incredible tiramisu - which truly does taste better in Italy!
An early start and innovative boot-fitting system involving a human chain and a large black bin bag of shoes resulted in a remarkably smooth process, with not a single student putting on the wrong boots. The extra time allowed everyone to enjoy the scenery before hitting the slopes.
Skiing began brilliantly with all students efficiently putting on skis and lining up. Advanced and intermediate groups disappeared quickly while beginners showed instructors what they remembered from the previous day - including some unintentional backward skiing that took out anyone in their path!
The instructors taught crucial turning and stopping skills before splitting students into two groups. Some found the separation frustrating, seeing it as a badge of honour, but this only motivated them to try harder. Others were content to keep getting up after falls, with one student declaring: "this is chaos but it's the best day ever!"
Staff channelled their combined skills as parents, teachers, and skiers, offering a mix of tough love, sympathy, and encouragement to help students realise their potential. As the advanced group zoomed past at impressive speeds, staff reminded tired beginners that even the most skilled skiers started with the same learning process.
The day ended with an impromptu snowball fight that evolved from harmless fun into all-out war with a battle cry of "get Mr. Wood!" - and they did!
Day 4: Breaking Through
Fresh snow overnight and brilliant sunshine created perfect skiing conditions, though some interesting "skiers tan" lines were beginning to appear around the hotel!
As predicted, the third day brought muscle aches, requiring some judgment calls between those truly needing a day of rest and those who just needed encouragement to "pull on their salopettes and crack on." The progress made was incredible to witness.
The first beginners group advanced to their first real run - a lovely blue winding down the mountain. Staff captured their initial attempt, where everyone looked remarkably relaxed (honestly!). The joy was palpable, with students exclaiming "this is the best thing I have done in my life" and "I keep thinking I am dreaming." Even those who needed extra encouragement the previous day admitted, "I am actually enjoying this, can we just keep doing it all day?"
The advanced group continued to impress, while the second beginners group worked twice as hard with fewer numbers and rose magnificently to the occasion. By day's end, everyone could snowplough and was beginning to make turns.
The afternoon brought plenty of falls as the first beginners group tackled their next chairlift. Staff watched with a mixture of empathy and amusement as students tumbled off the chair lift, creating a pile-up that the lift operator struggled to untangle. Staff reminded students that all five teachers had experienced falls during the week - one not even while skiing (picture Aragog from Harry Potter on roller skates)!
Evening brought a trip to the "spa" - which turned out to be the local supermarket (Spar), much to the disappointment of one student. Everyone returned with armfuls of goodies, with one student spending more than double their promised budget on sweets!
Room inspections at 6:30 PM prompted gentle suggestions to open windows, or as one staff member put it in his best Scottish accent: "dear god boys you stink, open a window will you!"
The evening's entertainment featured DJ Willy, coinciding with the arrival of Italian teenage downhill skiers at the hotel. Some students were definitely hoping to meet them - presumably to "discuss the finer points of downhill technique and aerodynamics."
Day 5: Everyone's Skiing!
"Success!!! Today marks the day we can officially say 'EVERY SINGLE STUDENT HAS COMPLETED A SKI RUN.'"
After days of encouragement - "come on you can do it," "no I won't pick you up, you do know how to stand up," "I know it hurts, but it will be worth it," "yes your boots are tight," "PIZZZZZZZAAAAAAA, do a Pizza!!" - every student was skiing independently down the mountain.
The beginners set off with a mixture of nerves and excitement for their first blue run, with reactions ranging from "this is amazing" and "this is the best thing I have done in my life" to "this is the worst thing I have ever done, but I want to do it again."
The previous night's disco with DJ Willy had been a roaring success, described as "Klute in Durham mixed with Euro pop at the hacienda." Students and staff threw themselves into the dancing with gusto, including teachers "busting out the moves to Macarena." The night ended around 10:20 PM, though DJ Willy continued playing to an empty room for at least another 45 minutes, judging by the bass permeating through the floor.
The beginner groups continued to progress, though two students caused chaos by enjoying the scenery so much they forgot to get off the chairlift - requiring rescue by an irate Italian lift operator.
The afternoon saw the advanced group head over the mountains into France - an unforgettable experience, though one teacher will remember it for 3-4 weeks thanks to the bruises inflicted when a student accidentally wiped him out. The student made amends by telling jokes all the way down the lift.
The group also experienced their first proper lift queue of the trip. Staff advised that being "British" and polite would result in very long delays - sometimes you need to "get your elbows out and keep moving."
Day 6: Adventures Continue
Staff powered through sore throats, aches, and bruises, finding contentment in watching the students have a blast. Unfortunately, a two-day streak was broken when two students wore the wrong boots.
The advanced group had another later start for their France trip, hopefully with more successful French language skills than the previous day's accidental wine-ordering incident! While waiting, they explored town, showing a teacher the mountain spring water fountain. However, the teacher became more interested in the ski shop and butchers, leading to a prank where students hid around a corner while he panicked momentarily about their disappearance.
Meanwhile, beginners accompanied by staff tackled higher runs after filming their progress on the blue slope. One teacher took an unexpected detour, attempting to ski up a grassy bank while exclaiming "I skied a mogul!" (which was actually just running over ice chunks). The students skied confidently, waving as they passed on what staff described as a proper "thigh burner" route.
After lunch, beginners moved to more challenging runs, working up the mountain to a red that becomes a blue. These beautiful runs allowed practice of big turns with amazing views - fulfilling promises made on the first day.
Chairlift rides provided wonderful opportunities for conversations with students. The enthusiastic lift operators insisted on "TWO BY TWO" seating, allowing staff to learn about students' aspirations to become marine biologists, actors, authors, oncologists, marine photographers, dancers, engineers, and more - memories the teachers would truly miss.
Dinner featured pizza at a local restaurant, which was delicious. The walk through town on Friday night revealed that while the students were wonderful individuals, their group awareness resembled "herding screaming velociraptors with zero road sense."
The ski trip provided unforgettable experiences, remarkable progress, and lifelong memories for all involved. From first-time skiers mastering the slopes to advanced students skiing internationally, every participant faced challenges, celebrated achievements, and contributed to an incredible week of alpine adventure. A huge thank you to Stu at GBST and Tamryn for helping plan and organise an incredible opportunity. I can't recommend them enough.
Opmerkingen