Alps Ski Trip: April 2023

By Sebastian J, Year 9 College House

On Saturday 8th April, 42 students and 5 teachers arrived at MGS for our skiing trip. We subsequently boarded the coach and left for Italy. When we reached Dover, there was still time to stop off at a service station on the docks. The whole journey took around 16 hours, and we stopped for breakfast on the way there, at about 8am on Easter Sunday!

We arrived in Aosta Valley at about lunchtime and went to our rooms to get unpacked. There were four people to a room, and the hotel was nice. We then went out to rent the skis, boots, and poles before returning to the hotel for dinner and bed.

The next day, we were up at 7am, and got dressed and had breakfast, then left for the ski hire at 8:30am. We collected our equipment before going up the mountain in a gondola. There were five groups. On the mountain for the first two days, it was warmer than back in England! After 5 hours of skiing and a bite of lunch, we returned to the accommodation, having returned our equipment. We showered and ate dinner, then went bowling. There was also an arcade, which was in popular use among all the students. We returned to the hotel, and most of us went to sleep quickly.

The following day, we had another 5 hours of skiing, and in the evening, we went to a nice restaurant in the centre of Aosta, where we had plenty of delicious pizza.

The day after, we skied once more for 5 hours, and, in the evening, we had dinner in the hotel as usual, then had a quiz in the breakfast room, which was great fun, featuring several rounds, one of which concerned Italy. I learnt that the start of a Marvel film was filmed in Aosta valley!

The next day was our last full day skiing, and there was an awards ceremony at the end. The ski instructors came down to give certificates based on skill level and achievements, once more from 1 to 5, each level having merit or distinction available as well. This was followed by awards from teachers, for each group, in addition to awards such as “best bowler”, reminiscent of the bowling that we had done on Monday. In the evening, we packed all our bags ready for the trip back, and went to the supermarket to stock up on supplies (i.e. water and an inordinate quantity of sugary snacks).

On the last day, we had between 3-4 hours of skiing, and then went to the hotel and had an early dinner at 3:30pm, having loaded up the coach with our bags and hand luggage. Straight after dinner, we were back on the coach, on our way out of the Alps, with an incredible view of Mont Blanc. The next morning, we had a (very) early breakfast on the ferry, with bacon rolls and croissants, and orange juice. At about 8am that morning, we arrived back at MGS, after an incredible, rewarding experience skiing in Italy.