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Ski Bound
With excellent weather reports and a great deal of excitement, Hyndland Secondary school set off for their second Ski Trip to Alp D’Huez. The early morning rise and bus trip to Edinburgh offered the first challenge for one of the pupils who was still running on what we like to call “Hyndland Time.” (15 minutes later than the rest of the world) The 1 hour delay at the airport offered us some rest bite and a chance to gather the final provisions- Irn Bru. This was also far better than the 8 hour delay we had last year.
We arrived after a relaxed flight and the pupils gathered their belongings and senses. Emma Cochrane in particular who had to question “is this France?” The bus climb up to the resort offered the students their first taste to the scale and delights of what was to come, and as our resident comedian Mikey noticed, “Wow, that is a big hill!!” We were received with a warm welcome by the friendly staff and an equally warm hotel. The pupils were rushed down to the cellar for the ski fit. This was followed by a well-deserved dinner, change of clothes and the traditional 6pm quiz. The pupils left for bed for an early night, eagerly waiting the first day skiing.
The pupils launched themselves up to the slopes with the full gusto we expected, immediately followed by; “it’s too cold” and “I don’t have my gloves.”- Bruce Caldwell. After quickly ironing out our early problems, the groups were split by level and led up the mountains by their fearless instructors; Martine the expert instructor with Olympic connections, Yves/Eve the intermediate instructor with cracking goggle tan lines and finally Anne, the slalom competitor. They readily assessed the young athletes and quickly found out that;
1. Bruce Walker can grow a wonderful beard
2. Erin McFarlane and Laurie O’Dowd do not have the same size of feet
3. Miss M and Jennifer Lewis needed a quick ski swap
4. During practice fire alarms, it’s important to wear your shoes
After day 1 on the slopes, the pupils caught their breath, adjusted to the altitude and crashed on a pile of bean-bags in the cinema room to end the day.
The following days of Skiing saw an increase in skills, confidence and enjoyment. It did however see a decrease in the weather conditions. Fog and heavy snow put a dampener on some faces. However despite adverse weather conditions the hardy Hyndlanders stepped up and powered through. Two notable skiers, Eric Gibson and Jennifer Lewis concurred their first Black run in tricky and testing climates. Well done! Success did however turn to failure after a number of ski lift shut downs, in particular Ishbel Ross who managed to catch her ski on top of the safety bar and nearly completed a full circle of the chair lift back to where she started. The tumble tally is mounting up and one skier standing out (or sitting down more to the point) has been Jennifer Kennedy who has failed to stay on her skis during most Ski runs. 20 falls and still counting!
The trip has been a spectacular ski success, although not all the activities have been on the slopes. A new game sweeping the Alpe D’Huez resort has been “Bottle Flipping,” providing hours of entertainment and a number of comic videos. The evening Apres events have been a great deal of fun too. The pupils ventured to another part of the resort to experience an alternative way to tumble down the pistes, Bum-bording. The races nearly always ended in a wipe out and a number of laughing kids. Fashion was also important for this event as Laurie paraded across the town to the slopes in his swanky leather Chelsea boots. Not helpful in knee deep snow.
The best of the evening entertainment has been Monday nights Challenge Cup. This has now become the traditional Hyndland competition, but this this year it was bigger and louder than ever. (Bruce Caldwell even lost his voice, much to our dismay he found it again) The four teams took to the challenges with full enthusiasm. The teams; Sherlock’s Babes, Vulga, Apples and Angus’ Team (without Angus) were all picked at random however Laurie in Sherlock’s Babes found him-self surrounded by 6 girls. He must have been so disappointed? Each challenge asked the competitors to be tested in both brain and brawn. There were some surprising winners after Ellecia matched the boys strength for strength and took the arm wrestle trophy home for team Sherlock’s Babes. Emma Cochrane demonstrated great skill in threading a needle beating Caitlin MacLeod by 0.5 seconds. Bruce Caldwell and Justin Geddes proved that boys can also do gymnastics, and showed off their acrobatics in the “Piggy back around the world” challenge for team Vulga. But it was not to be team Vulga’s day as Team Apples took home the top spot and the trophy, joining team Lawson Loyal in the ever growing list of the Hyndland Challenge cup winners.
The trip so far has been a wonderful success and we look forward to more Skiing stories and Hyndland Heroics. Along with the many more laughs and jokes to come.
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New Routes…
1) We have struggled to get onto the bucket lifts, so Miss Lawson and Miss Monaghan (with their new hats) investigated an alternative route to the Instructors meeting point. This meant that the ‘Experienced’ group…to quote Miss Monaghan “Well…that was a VERY civilised way to get to the slopes”, we at Hyndland love a little civilisation from time to time.
2) The same group traversed off-piste to experience a forest trail, knee deep in powder…..although Milo Lockhart (Intermediate) has been doing his own version of off-piste since Monday! This included ten pin style crashing into Gabriel Herlihy-Martin, George Prince, Steven McWilliam and Iain Black….STRIKE!!!!!
Euan Urquhart and Martin Monaghan found their new vocation…..sweeping up the sprawled ski-less bodies strewn across numerous slopes; Mr Elder was particularly thankful!!
The BIGGEST success of the day has to go to the Beginner Group, who are now officially known as ‘INTERMEDIATES’ too! Well done to all, but Rachel Taylor and Katie Brown shone above the rest with their slick parallel glides down a BLUE run. While we are talking about this group, it must also be noted that Mr Morrison has had to do a little thread work on ripped clothing. Although the whole group were aware of this fashion faux pas, it was decided that Mr Morrison would only be informed by the next person to fall. Following an unplanned spin, it looked like Cuinlan had drawn the short straw but by some miracle, and despite a 200 metre backwards slide, he held his nerve and remained standing. Ben McD laughed so hard at Cuinlan’s antics that he lost his footing, stumbled and tumbled and was told by Christian the instructor “Ben, you must now do zour job. Tell heem!”
Back at the ranch the snow was now so heavy that our planned trip to the outdoor ice rink had to be cancelled. After a petit gateaux chocolat for Francesca Macmillan’s birthday, we headed to the in-house cinema for a date with James Bond. Swoon! At least tomorrow night’s entertainment is the disco so hopefully this won’t be snowed off…
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All 3 groups attacked the slopes with their usual gusto today….
The Bold Beginners :- The pupils continued to improve their technique of snowplough turns…sometimes even without poles (and they were asked to bring them with them), Holly Martin put them to good use in her impersonation of a Dutch windmill as she overtook Christian (the instructor) screaming towards the next tow….the screams were of laughter (we hope!!). Fin Rogers turned the slopes into a fashion event whenever possible.
The ‘Immaculate’ Intermediates:- Their day continued much as they had left Monday….Ruben, Ruben, Ruben!!!! Or should we say Ruben (‘I’ve lost ma ….’ you can fill in the blanks – your guess will be correct as he’s lost EVERYTHING!!!)). But things got better as his ski pole lost an argument with a chairlift….he was left with ½ a pole in his hand!!! Anna O’C battled the blizzard with strength and courage to be most improved performer of the day – Well Done Anna!!
The ‘Energetic’ Experts:- They tackled their 1st BLACK run in whiteout conditions, lead by their fearless instructor our (VERY French) Bernard. Although he is becoming confused with Tom Cameron these days, as Tom is ALWAYS 1st behind… Blizzard conditions are always better when attacking black runs for the 1st time…. as Bernard said ‘zumetimes it eez better not to know how zteep a slope eez until you get to zee bottum’. Angus Russell also had an altercation with a chairlift…and yes you guessed right the chairlift now leading 2 nil!!!!
Unfortunately tonight’s trip to the local Amusement Arcade had to be cancelled as we had TOTAL whiteout and the snow was horizontal….so instead we sent a man out to collect our pizza’s for us…mmmmm! Everyone was kept entertained with the countries’ flag quiz….although (Mr Livingstone cover your ears) Alison Ainslie, Sophie Johnson and Emma Barrett got confused with Middle Earth and Europe!! The night entertainments continued with a 4 team Mega Challenge, The Hobbits took on, Mac Blaster 3000, Steven’s Angels and Lawson’s Loyal!!! Euan Urquhart won the ‘Plank’, and although Ben McDonald’s nose isn’t very big, it did prove to be VERY successful in the ‘sniff’ competition where he beat Milena Kotloby into second place … pity she didn’t know what a banana, vinegar or French bread smelt like! The surprise of the night has to be awarded to Euan Anderson who managed to beat Anna O’C, Chloe Crawford and Cuinlan Davidson in a General Knowledge comp….Well Done Euan :) Ultimately Lawson’s Loyal proved to be too much for any other 3 teams and were proudly presented with their 2” Gold Plastic Replica Lightweight ‘Very Cheap’ Trophy!!!
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Everyone now more familiar with the day’s events and timings, we were on the slopes by 9am prompt. The weather turned on the team, and visibility worsened. Determined to battle through, the superb Hyndland Skiers took to the slopes in their teams with ease. Some skiers a little more confident than others (Mr Elder) found themselves in a snowballed heap at the bottom of the run. Luckily a fresh carpet of powdered snow cushioned his fall and his pride. This was not the end of the calamity tumbles. Euan Anderson confidently tackled a tricky Red/Black slope. When he finally dusted himself down he realised he was 100 yards from the rest of his ski equipment and 200 yards from the rest of the group.
The “expert” groups suffered the worst of the wipeouts, Involving over half of the group, a tree, two unnamed (female) members of staff and a confused instructor scratching his head. The beginners proved to be the experts of the day finishing off with a number of high speed moguls and ski jumping. Chloe Crawford, Milo Lockhart and Iain (Styles) Black all improving significantly.
The Total wipeouts continued as the troops were taken to an aerial assault course. Francesca MacMillan impressed us all with great gymnastic, speed and strength skills. Rosie Slater, on the other hand, struggled with a number of the tricky obstacles as she commented “I didn’t know that giant, stationary, bright yellow ring was there.” The activity centre offered a number of activities including Table Tennis. Matthew “ping pong champion of the world” Beckett took on Mr Elder in a heated grudge match. The game resulted in a specular 2 set 11-3, 11-5 trashing and Mr Elder lifting the Victors trophy. The kids returned to the hotel for some well-deserved grub and some hasty repairs to ripped trousers (Mrs McIlroy will be impressed!!). Tonight’s challenge was Red or Black which was won by Martin Monaghan, last seen waving his 2 inch gold plastic cup high above his head!! The pupils then headed to the in-hotel cinema for a date with the ‘Dark Knight’…albeit some didn’t even see the opening credits before seeing the inside of their eyelids.
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The long journey was behind us and the kids were keen to hit the slopes. Quickly up for breakfast at 7:30 sharp, down to the boot room to gather the vital equipment, then on to the rather unusual “bucket” ski lift to the foot of the resort. When we departed the lift the reality of our adventure hit home; blue sky, fresh carpet of snow and mountains as far as the eye could see. The resort proved to be everything and more, as Lauren Elliot commented “that is one snowy mountain.”
The groups were divided into their abilities and led away by our instructors for the week. Christian with the bold beginners, Bridget with the inquisitive intermediates and Bernard (pronounced with a thick French accent) with the excellent experts. It was clear there were some nervous kids, even in the expert group who were in awe of the vast Alpes. Spurred on by some confident skiing by Miss (The Eagle) Lawson and Miss (bob-sleigh) Monaghan the groups were led up the mountain.
Within moments the fall count was building up, but to quote Euan Urquhart “it’s the ones who fall over the most that are the best skiers.” Guess who was falling over the most then? The Prize of best fall of the day will have to go to Ruben Taylor, who during his own dramatic tumble was able to knock over three others from his group. We all know that on the slopes in France it is not who is the best skier, it is who looks like the best skier. This award will have to go to Heidi Gruber, who sporting an all in white number looked En-Vogue all day. Our final first day award is the most improved. This award was given to Liam Weir who skied superbly well with the experts despite believing himself he was only an intermediate.
At lunch time on day one, we came in and were called to dinner, hearing some unusual loud “BANGS.” These echoed throughout the mountain and came from the highest peek at just over 3000 meters. The instructors informed us that there was nothing to worry about “the demolition experts are just doing some avalanche testing on the black slopes in the other ski village.” Feeling hungry we hastily departed the slopes for a tasty lunch!
The afternoon skiing was as adventurous as the morning. The beginners continued to improve with every woosh down the slopes, the intermediates were tackling ever more challenging runs and the experts, well, they were doing what they do best. We returned back to the hotel tired and worn out ready for supper.
After dinner, the staff: Miss Lawson, Miss Monaghan, Mr Morrison and Mr Elder created a number of après challenges. Tonight was the Crisp and Sweets quiz won by a very knowledgeable girl’s squad from room …(…). The teams were then issued maps and given an orienteering adventure about the town. And finally if the day was not long enough we still had time to celebrate three Birthdays with a delightful rendition of “happy birthday”. Steven McWilliam, Lauren Elliot and Cuinlain Davidson were given giant cakes, hugs and high fives.
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3am meet at the school and all seemed to be going well, but it did not take too long for things to change. All 40 Hyndland Heroes boarded the plane expecting to fly out to our Alpe destination (after Gabriel relocated his passport). After two hours of waiting in the plane before take-off, all 40 were promptly ushered off. The captain announced that due to a “small” engineering fault there will be a slight delay. 7 hours later and a number of athletic, card playing, gym and time passing games we boarded with delight back onto the plane. Despite the problems and difficulties everyone remained in high spirits and the cabin crew commented on how great we all were.
It wasn’t long before another problem occurred. To the sound of umms, errs and groans the captain informed the passengers that we were unable to land in our destination for a further 45 minutes. Finally landed in France to face the chaos of the baggage reclaim. Two hours on a bus and some slightly queasy travellers we arrived at out ski hotel the “Vallee Blanche.”
The team was greeted with smiles from our holiday hosts and welcomed in with a healthy dinner. The resort looks fantastic, the snow picturesque and we can wait to start skiing tomorrow!
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Apologies for late updates, there has been technical trouble.
Arrived Saturday after a lengthy delay in departing at the airport.
Mr Elder will be updating this blog from the slopes, hoepfully with some pictures!
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