b'Ski tripto Folgarida-Marilleva, ItalyOn January 18th 2025, 28 students from Years 8 and 9, and three staff, headed off to the Dolomites in Italy for five days on the piste.Hashir Sohail, Year 8, writes: I understood it was necessary to build afun. Tuesday evening was a quiz night strong foundation. Fortunately, after the firstbefore bed, while Wednesday was pizza Our ski trip to Folgaria was an incredibleday, we had a designated spot at the basenighta much-needed break from our experience filled with adventure, challengesof the mountain to store our skis, whichusual meals. Thursday was one of the and unforgettable moments. After anmeant we no longer had to carry them upmost exciting nights, as we had a karaoke exhausting 12-hour journey, including aeach morning. evening at a restaurant, followed by arcade one-and-a-half-hour drive to ManchesterFrom the second day onwards, we begangames like air hockey and pool. All these Airport, a two-and-a-quarter-hour Ryanairusing ski lifts (chair and drag) to reachlocations were conveniently situated near flight to Milan, and a further three-hourhigher slopes and worked on improvingour hotel, making them easily accessible. coach ride, we finally arrived at the resortour technique. We learned how to executeThese activities provided a great way on Saturday evening. The coach, althoughsnowplough turns, which allowed us toto unwind after a long day of skiing and comfortable, lacked sufficient legroom,navigate slopes more effectively. As weadded to the overall enjoyment of the trip.making the long journey quite tiring. Uponprogressed, we moved on to blue slopes,On Thursday evening, we packed our arrival, we were assigned rooms of two,where we practised parallel turns, skiingbags in preparation for our departure the which provided plenty of space. Afterin a controlled zigzag motion by turningnext morning. Friday marked our final day settling in, we collected our ski equipment,across the slope before repeating thein Italy. After breakfast, we loaded our had dinner, and prepared for the daysprocess. The resort itself was enormous,luggage onto the coach and set off for a ahead. Personally, as I eat halal, I foundwith some lifts featuring heated seats,three-hour drive to the airport. Before our 9 the vegetarian meal options were not verytaking us even highersometimesp.m. flight, we spent two hours exploring a varied; we had been warned to expectabove the clouds. By the fourth day, wehuge shopping mall just a short walk from plenty of pasta since we were in Italy!had advanced to red slopes and beganthe airport. This gave us time to eat, shop Overall, the hotel and the resort providedpractising on race tracks, increasing ourand relax before the journey home. The everything we needed. speed and control. Day five was particularlyflight back was smooth, but unfortunately, exciting as we continued racing butas it was dark, we were unable to see also embarked on a thrilling 45-minutethe views of the Alps. Upon landing at continuous descent from the top of theManchester Airport, we took our coach mountain to the base. This was by far oneback to school, arriving at approximately of the most memorable moments of the1 a.m.trip, as it tested our endurance, fitness andOverall, the trip was an incredible skills while allowing us to fully appreciateexperience. From learning new skills and the breathtaking scenery. tackling challenging slopes to enjoying the In the evenings, we took part in a varietyscenic beauty and evening activities, every of activities, which made the trip evenaspect of the journey was memorable. The more enjoyable. On Monday, we travelledcombination of thrilling skiing, breathtaking Each morning, we were woken at around20 minutes by coach to a swimming pool,views and great company made this an 7 a.m. by a knock on the door from ourwhere we spent around two hours havingunforgettable adventure.teacher. We then got ready, carried our skis and boots to the base of the mountain, and took a gondola lift to the top, where we were greeted with stunning, snow-covered landscapes. The first day was mainly focused on getting our equipment sorted and being placed into ability groups. While the more advanced skiers set off immediately, beginners, including myself, were split into two groups to allow for better instruction. At first, we practised basic snowplough technique, skiing only short distances, which felt repetitive, but 43'