Ski Trip 2019

After a year’s wait, Wallace Hall’s much anticipated ski trip set off at 03:00 on Saturday 2nd March. We flew from Glasgow to Grenoble before boarding our coach for Hotel Olympic, Serre Chevalier.

Upon our arrival, having settled into our rooms, we began the long process of trying on boots and having our skis fitted.

The next morning our teachers dragged us out of bed and we changed into our boots and clothes. Now fully awake, we were excited about our first day on the slopes. We made our way to the cable car where we were introduced to our wonderful instructors: Clementine, Baptiste (Big Bap), Luca, Olivier and Phillipe. We were split into groups of ten and set off skiing. By lunchtime we were exhausted but after a short break we headed back up to finish our day. Thankfully we made it through day one without injury - although I can’t say there weren’t a few near misses. After evening dinner, we prepared ourselves for our first whole group activity, a scavenger hunt around town to familiarise ourselves with our surroundings. In the following days we took part in quizzes, a movie night and bowling.

As the week went on, we gained in confidence and with everyone improving we just enjoyed skiing more and more. Sadly, the teachers did not seem to be making similar progress! We started to travel further away from the easy slopes and move higher up where we got to see the picturesque views of the high mountains. Along with our confidence came a few more ‘tumbles’, although incredibly nobody broke a bone in the entire week.

By the time the last day rolled round we were each working towards a goal level that led to a small test in the afternoon. These might involve different requirements such as parallel turns or a demonstration on the slalom. Amazingly, some pupils who had not skied before this week achieved bronze, silver and gold awards as did the more experienced skiers. We should be proud of ourselves. Our instructors presented us with our badges and then unfortunately it was time to say goodbye.

We packed our bags. It had been a wonderful week but we were looking forward to getting home. I’m sure all of us on the trip will agree, putting boots on, taking them off, and carrying skis was a harder workout than skiing itself.

Overall the trip was amazing. We are very thankful to the teachers who ran the trip. I am sure the pupils who sign up for the next trip will have an equally amazing time and will look forward to their turn on the mountains.