Ski Trip to Italy, Easter 2016
The Journey
We met at school at about 1:00pm on Friday 25th March. Once we arrived with our families, the driver took our suitcases and loaded them onto the coach. This would be the last time we would see our parents until we had finished a week of adventure and fun! We travelled through two different countries – France and Switzerland – in the space of about 27 hours sitting in the same position on the coach. First, though, we travelled to Northamptonshire so we could collect our partner school group, Kingsthorpe College. They had students ranging in age from Year 8 to Year 12. During the journey we stopped at about 5 service stations where we could go to the toilet and buy food. After about 4 hours of driving we arrived at the Euro Tunnel. Personally, this was the first time I had been on it. The coach drove onto a train that would take us through the Tunnel. We got out and stood in the train since the drivers said it would become stuffy in the coach. When we arrived in France we were faced with another painful journey, about 17 hours!
Final Destination
As we approached our final destination, Aprica in Italy, it was nice to see the impressive mountains and all of the small towns that lay between them. It made me think of the lives people there lived, because you could see the farms that people ran to make a living in contrast to our way of life in Birmingham.
Saturday
When we arrived at our hotel (the Hotel Posta) we were sent with our roommates to take our suitcases and unpack. We had to go up 4 sets of stairs but the most annoying thing was then finding out that there was a lift! My roommates were Nick, Troy and Devjot. I kept everything in my suitcase and just took out what I needed for the next day. After unpacking, we met at Reception and headed to the Ski Hire Centre to have our skis, boots and a helmet fitted for us. After our evening meal (including the first of many pasta dishes) we turned in for an early night.
Sunday
Our first skiing day had arrived! My group’s instructor was a man called Francesco. There was another group; their instructor was called Francesca. Josef, who had skied many times before, was in a separate group with other experienced skiers from Kingsthorpe College. Francesco was a nice person and he was eager to teach us so we could become the best skiers possible. Francesco started us off on the nursery slopes. These were 3 different blue slopes. A blue slope isn’t that steep and is usually for beginners; red slopes slant more and make you go faster and then black slopes are the hardest slopes to handle. First, Francesco taught us how to plough; ploughing is a method used to stop and turn. In our second lesson we went on a conveyer belt and skied down by ploughing and turning. I struggled at the start to learn how to plough but I slowly got the hang of it. I was also a bit nervous going down the slope but again I got used to it. During these two lessons I progressed a lot. After the evening meal we had a quiz, with Mr Campbell as the quizmaster; there were 6 different rounds. Mr Jones said that the winners would receive a ‘substantial prize’ but that ended up being a chocolate bar for each person! My team did quite well in the first couple of rounds but we ended up coming joint second. We had lights out after this and I had a decent sleep.
Monday
When we heard the knock on our door to wake up, Troy opened the door. He and Devjot always had a lie in and I must admit they are very, very lazy; by the time Nick and I had got ready they would just about be getting out of bed! Each morning, we had a buffet breakfast consisting of cereal, juice, bread, fruit, cheese, meats, yoghurt etc. For our morning skiing lesson, we continued on the nursery slopes. I slowly started to develop my turning and our group was learning very fast. After each morning lesson, we headed back to the hotel for lunch. The food was very nice; as a starter we always had pasta but that’s Italy for you! In the afternoon skiing session Francesco showed us how to use the drag lift. A drag lift is a pole that extends; it also has a little seat which you rest between your legs and hold onto. Then you let go when you get to the top. This slope went higher up and we continued to ski down it until we were comfortable with it. For the evening event we headed to a swimming pool. Some of us didn’t go swimming but played cards instead and watched the others swim.
Tuesday
We started off our skiing lesson by skiing down the highest nursery slope but then progressed onto the chair lift up a higher slope. This was really fun because we went slightly faster and that made it even more enjoyable. However, the afternoon was even better still. For the first time on the trip we went on a gondola lift. While we were going up the mountain it was great to see all the mountains and to look down upon the peaceful town of Aprica. The best part about it was when we got off the gondola and skied down the whole mountain because I felt like I had made massive progress from our first day on the slopes. For the evening activity we went bowling, which was about an hour’s journey on the coach. It was funny watching Josef bowl because, even though he was the best skier, every time he threw a ball it just rolled into the side. I was annoyed when I got a strike but the machine didn’t register it!
Wednesday and Thursday
After Mr Jones had knocked on our door and told us to wake up, as always, we got ready for breakfast. Each morning, after breakfast, we had a short ski bus ride. When we arrived in Italy it was coming to the end of the season so the snow was starting to melt away lower down, meaning certain parts of the mountain were being closed off. So for the second half of the week, we had to get off the bus a stop earlier so we could go up a gondola to a different part of the mountain. During one descent I accidentally skied onto a grass patch and ended up doing the splits. It turned out that Mr Campbell had fallen on exactly the same patch whilst wearing the ‘Go Pro’. I wonder if that video footage will be deleted? On Wednesday night, we headed out of our hotel for a ‘Pizza night’ at a restaurant; the pizzas were great, as was the ice cream afterwards! For the evening activity on Thursday we went to an arcade. At first I played a game of pool but ended up potting the black ball half way through the game! Others played table football. Also, there were games machines. On these, depending on how good you are, you win tickets and with the tickets you claim prizes. I exchanged 5 euros for some tokens and played. I won about 300 tickets but really wanted to spend more money.
Friday
This was our last day of skiing. We headed even higher up the mountain onto yet another chair lift and new slopes. Francesco let us go even faster down the slopes. It was a great last day and I felt quite sad when we had to return our skis and boots at the end of our lesson.
Journey Home
Back at the hotel, we showered, finished our packing, put our cases by the coach for loading and sat in the bar playing cards until it was time for our evening meal. Soon it was time to board the coach and it would be another 27 hours until we could lie in our own beds again. We all slept better on the way back; that must have been because we were tired from the skiing. We had plenty of stops for refreshments and also watched a movie.
Summary
Overall, I really enjoyed the Ski Trip; it was a very good experience and it has broadened my knowledge about surviving on your own without your parents telling you to have your shower or brush your teeth. It also enables you to get to know people from different Forms and year groups. I highly recommend the trip and I would definitely love to go again next year. It’s a great experience and you will really enjoy the skiing!
Kylan Sandhu 7G
