Learning to ski in Austria

The more ambitious of our teaching staff took a group of 48 students skiing in Austria after the end of the autumn term, with 30 of those being complete beginners! 

Mr Kimmins, Head of Third Year and Teacher of Physical Education, led the trip and reports back: 

“The Trinity ski trip this year once again was an outstanding trip for students to take part in. Forty-eight students headed out to Kaprun and Zel Am See in the Austrian Alps, 30 of whom were complete beginners. The snow conditions were excellent throughout the week and the boys were treated to a few days of blue skies and beaming sunshine.  

“The beginner groups started lower down and on the magic carpet and quickly found their feet to move on to a blue slope in the first few days. The boys showed great resilience to keep getting up when falling over, and I was so impressed with how they listened and engaged with the instructors. 

“The advanced groups also progressed very quickly, focusing on the finer details of their technique, covering a lot of ground across the mountain. Within the first few days they were tackling black runs and their technique had improved a lot. They were a pleasure to ski with and great company throughout. 

“In the evenings, we were treated to some in-house entertainment by the staff, whilst also going swimming, attending an ice hockey match and relaxing in the spa. The ice hockey match was the highlight of the après activities, as the boys were perplexed by the speed of the game and the atmosphere with the local fans in the ice rink. They were also extremely excited to see some of the other very physical elements of the game! 

“Overall, the trip was a great success, and I loved how much the boys took to skiing, which beginners can often find very difficult. It was most pleasing to hear how much the instructors enjoyed our boys’ company, and it was particularly pleasing to have 3-4 members of the public stop and let us know how polite our boys were. Many thanks to the staff who gave up their holiday to go on the trip: Miss Webber, Miss Beaumont, Mrs Prestney, Mr Ruck and Mr Biggs.” 

Third Year Jack said, “Having the opportunity to go on the ski trip was an amazing experience. It was my first time skiing, and the instructors did a brilliant job at encouraging us to do things we didn’t think we could do. A bonus was going to watch a local ice hockey game. By the end of the trip, I was able to ski confidently and from never being able to ski before at the start, I was able to ski down a red slope and do a few jumps at the end of the trip.” 

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Each year, the ski trip encourages students to take themselves out of their comfort zones and enhance their skills on and off the slopes.