Ski Trip 4th February to 12th February 2012

The ski trip this year is to the northern Italian resort of Pila located in the Aosta Valley. We will be staying in the Hotel Casale near Aosta.

Pila offers a number of ski runs suitable for beginners, intermediate and experienced skiers. The snow forecast for Pila is reporting "Powder Snow" with more snow forecast in the next 48 hours (as at 30th January 2012).

Departure
We will be meeting at 3pm on Saturday 4th February 2012 at the front of Kingsdown School for departure to Italy.

Return
We will be getting the morning ferry crossing on Sunday 12th February and aim to be back at Kingsdown School by 1pm

4/5th February

We have safely arrived at our resort which took a total time of 20 hours 48 minutes and 7 seconds. All of the students behaved in a very positive way and were a credit to Kingsdown School.

All are excited to hit the slopes tomorrow. Food and accommodation are excellent. Temperature is expected to be -16 degrees today which will certainly give everyone an appetite for the Pizza night tonight. A presto!

6th February

7.15 wake up call for the troops! After a good hearty breakfast, we all got kitted up and headed off on the coach to the slopes for our first day skiing. There were 5 groups and the abilities ranged from beginner to intermediate. There were some spectacular skills demonstrated and a few spectacular falls (3 of the staff made up some of the most spectacular falls!). Ski lessons continued throughout the morning and then again after a spot of lunch at the Jeti Restaurant. Mrs Spence then took a group out on to the slopes for an extra hour so that they could practise their newly acquired skills!

We are now back at the hotel, all washed and changed. We will shortly be heading off for our pizza night to help Ciara celebrate her 14th Birthday.

7th February

All were a lot quicker this morning and were awake showered and up on the mountain for their 10am ski lesson. All groups continued working hard on the nursery slopes and the intermediate group explored a lot more of the mountain. Tonight we all went to the local disco with our glow sticks in hand and all the aches and pains of the day seemed to disappear.

8th February

Day 3 of Skiing in Italy. Everyone is making great progress. The different groups are now competing against each other to see who can go the highest and fastest (with the instructor of course!). Mrs Spence is continuing to take each group out on the slopes for their extra hour session after the formal training has finished. Mr Amey decided to take a few tumbles today and had to walk / slide part of the way back to the Gondola (only because of the dangerous ice on the high parts of the mountain!) We are all now safely back at the hotel and everyone is getting themselves ready for tonights meal, Karaoke and an early night in preparation for our fourth day up the mountain with the white stuff!

9th February

Just over half way through the trip. All very tired this morning but still up and ready to go. The groups are now skiing all blue slopes with the intermediate group starting to tackle the black runs! Mr Smith is continuing to get lost around the mountain and Mr Hampshire decided to try out the safety netting.

The day finished with ice creams and shopping in Aosta town. The quiz night went down well and many students requested an early night!

10th February

Up on the slopes 40 minutes earlier today. Plenty of time for a hot chocolate before ski school. Some impressive falls today especially by Max, Hannah, Mr Lawson and Mr Smith.

All the instructors arrived at our hotel this evening to present certificates to all students based on their skiing performance. Fancy dress prizes were awarded to Lyle and Jake G for their effort. All looked fantastic. The remainder of the evening was spent packing and tidying rooms!

11th February

All groups had a fantastic last day skiing around the mountain. The temperature is a lot colder today compared to the start of the week. Students said their final good byes to their ski instructors before they took their last gondola ride down from the top of the mountain. Back at the hotel all rooms were tidy and bags were packed. After a nice evening meal we were all ready for the long drive home.

Throughout the week students have been a credit to Kingsdown School. They all received some fantastic praise from not only their ski instructors but from the hotelier, ski rep and Interski resort staff. All should be so proud of what they have achieved this week.