All in all, the ski week from 11th to 14th February 2020 was a great experience. It got off to a slow start due to the storm “Sabine“. We had to start a day later, but when we got to Laterns in Austria on Tuesday we were welcomed with open arms. The chair lift was still closed, though, so we had a snowball fight in our ski boots instead. The music blared and we had fun – a great way to get used to the ski boots. Afterwards we all put on our skis. The beginners learned how to stop, and the others walked up part of the mountain and skied back down. At first lots of people fell down often, but by the end, we all improved! In the evening we held our first team competition: with the game called Pictionary. There was a one-minute time limit and if your team guessed the answer within thirty seconds you would get two points. It was quite competitive, but very enjoyable.

Getting more confident on the skis

Wednesday was our first day to go up with the chairlift. My group got to ski off-piste with our teacher, Mr. Readford, which we all enjoyed a lot. We got the chance to speak with the people outside of our ski group during lunch and share funny stories. In the afternoon we skied again, then got some free time. The competition that night was to force a horizontal stick to the floor whilst everyone in the group was balancing it on one finger. Thursday was our last full day in Laterns and we got lucky with the weather – the sun was shining! We spent the morning skiing but with more confidence than the day before. In the afternoon, we teamed up into pairs:  one was the instructor, the other the pupil. It was a great experience and the beginners improved so much! On Friday, we skied through the snow and fog, with plenty of time to practice the skills we’d learnt throughout the week. Overall, it was a fantastic experience both on the slopes and socially – maybe because mobile phones were not allowed!

Nathalie B., 8E1