Winter returned overnight and we woke up to an exceptional amount of snow. The teachers were worried about the visibility as the fog closed in, however, the conditions got better and better as the day went on!
All groups ventured off piste and into the deep snow today. Mr Gaines’ group skied it smoothly and gracefully. Mr Whitfield’s group attacked it at ‘full gas’ and it was funny to watch how many people went splat! At some point in the afternoon, Mr Johnson’s group went jumping and he photographed a number of skiers in mid air – the pictures look great, yet the landings weren’t!
All our groups met after dinner for the final presentations. It was brilliant to see all our groups with their instructors. The instructors praised all HMS pupils for their effort and positive attitude this week. Instructor Alice commented on how polite our pupils have been all week – so great to hear!
We took thank you cards from school to present to the instructors – the card has a picture of our Hydro building on it. Instructor Elana was very interested in the age of the Hydro building as she had researched HMS before we arrived.
This year was Mrs Barnett’s final ski trip, and we all owe her a HUGE thank you for finding The Hotel Skilt. It has been amazing to take groups away with her for the last decade – Mr Gaines has learnt a lot from her about leading trips and she will be so missed! Mrs Barnett officially retired from HMS a number of years ago and we have been so grateful for all of her continued support over the last few years.
The best comment of the week came from some of our girls who are all planning to re-do Year 8 again so they can go on next year’s trip! There were definitely a lot of wobbly lips as we handed in our skis and boots after the last run. It will be great to get home and see our loved ones but a lot of our hearts want to stay and ski! As an instructor in Norway once told me, ‘skiing is white fever – once it gets in your veins, it is very difficult to control!’ I think a lot of people have experienced ‘white fever’ this week!
It has been an amazing adventure this week. It was a pleasure to take HMS to the Alps again. Skiing is definitely life changing education – what an experience!
Respect. Engage. Aspire.
