Voss Ski Venture 2018

2018

Sunday 25 February 2018

We arrived at the hostel earlier this evening, unpacked and prepared our beds. Following our first evening meal everyone was fitted with a pair of ski boots and a helmet in preparation for our first day of skiing tomorrow. It's been a long day after our very early start and everyone has gone to bed in preparation for an early start tomorrow. Phones are safely stored and will be distributed after skiing tomorrow.

Monday 26th February 2018

Everyone was still fast asleep this morning during the morning wake-up round. A good nights sleep was had by all and this morning there was excitement in the breakfast room. Everyone is looking forward to our first day of skiing. Conditions look very good!

First day on the slopes ....

It's been a really good first day of skiing - the children have made good progress in all three of the beginners groups and although it proved challenging at first for some, we are delighted with them all. The conditions were superb for learning to ski as you can see from the photographs and the video below. One experienced group made it higher up the mountain and progress was good in this group too although was less favorable at times.

Tuesday 27th February 2018

There was a nervous excitement in the breakfast room this morning but the children have had a fantastic day of skiing! Everyone has progressed really well with their skiing. Two more groups made it further up the windy mountain today and what a first experience it was for them as they travelled up the very long chair lift to the next level.

On our return to the hostel today, we were presented with the one piece of lost baggage which we have so eagerly awaited. It was reunited with an applaud from the group!

"Skiiing is really, really fun - I have done really well today" Peter C

"It was really good fun" Laura G

" I have really enjoyed myself and I have been resilient!" Scarlett C

"Exciting because it was very windy today" Tilly W

"Skiing was fun and I felt so proud of myself" Matai W

"Pretty views from the top of the mountain" Libby W

Our 'Crazy Ski Hat' awards have started. Today they were awarded to Scarlett & Jessica. One for resilience and one for progress! Well done girls. Tee hee ....they now have to wear these as often as they can until tomorrow evening!

We are preparing for our evening visit to the cinema ... a small change to our planned itinerary, this is due to the Folk Museum partly undergoing renovation ... the part which is all in English ... and indoor in the warmth! We are going to watch Black Panther (in English) - currently showing at cinemas in the UK too.

Wednesday 28th February 2018

Today, as the forecast predicted, has been a very cold day up the mountain. Extra layers were worn to ensure that we all remained warm whilst skiing, although we still insisted on regular stops in the nearest restaurant for a quick warm-up before continuing on our next piste. We are delighted to inform everyone that ALL groups made it higher up the mountain today and successfully handled the four-man chair lift which stretches quite a distance!

"Skiing is really good fun and better as you progress" Lucas F
"There were steep slopes but I felt I did quite well on them" Libby W
" I successfully completed blue run 6 today from the top of Slettajffel" Jessica R

Video highlights which we have been showing the children this evening.

This evening, the Crazy Ski Hat's were awarded to Libby for being a great team player and relishing the challenge of skiing & Peter for perseverance.

Our 'Highlights of Voss 2018 ... so far' has concluded. The children have prepared their ski gear for tomorrow and are all settled for the night.

Thursday 1st March 2018

It was great to see the children sleep right through the night - everyone needed a morning wake-up call; just goes to show how demanding skiing can be, after an early...ish night, everyone has had a good sleep! A hearty breakfast will help us prepare for the slopes again this morning. Forecasts suggest another cold day but hopefully not as cold as yesterday! Once again, we will ensure they are all wrapped up warm before we head out.

This evening was quiz night and teams were competing to win awards from the prize table tomorrow. We have also celebrated Ella's 12th birthday and shared her birthday cake among the group.

The Crazy Ski Hats were awarded to Christina for perseverance and Scarlett for a caring & positive attitude.

There was a buzz in the games room this evening with children from Corbridge Middle School making friends with a group from a Norwegian school.

Friday 02 March 2018

The final day of skiing was great! The children were keen to show their skills during the test sessions and there has been a wonderful sense of achievement within the group about the overall progress made.

Our final bus journey down the mountain ...

The Crazy Hat Ski awards were presented to Connor for his caring attitude on the slopes and Olivia for her perseverance throughout the week.

This evening was our ski awards presentation. The ski instructors joined us for dinner along with the director of Voss Ski School. They each presented the children in their group with a Norwegian ski award.

The hostel made us a farewell cake - this went down very well!

We are busy packing now and preparing for our early morning departure. We have been informed that our coach will be picking us up as planned at Manchester Airport and that the route has been checked and there should be no disruption (due to recent weather conditions) to our journey home. We will keep you informed via your child or the school mobile. We look forward to seeing you all again.

There will be no further updates to this Voss blog - see you all soon!