Ski Camp

There are many wonderful things about working at my school: small class sizes, sweet children, wonderful colleagues, good vacation time, and SKI CAMP! For the last 2 years I have stayed on campus at Champittet during ski camp because I taught a lot of younger children. This year, however, my older and younger children classes were about even. With a shortage of teachers willing to go (due to small children at home, work situations, etc.), I was given the opportunity! I was over the moon excited, and I had the right to be.

On Monday, I met the children and the busses in a parking lot right near my apartment. We checked all the kids in and hopped on for the 2ish hour journey to Fiesch resort, near the Aletsch glacier in the German speaking part of Switzerland.

We were on a comfy bus with TVs and the kids got to watch a movie (while I regaled the children near me about how when I was a kid we sat on uncomfortable bus benches squishing 3 into a seat made for 2, with no seat belts and certainly no TVs!).

We arrived, dropped our bags and headed straight up to the slopes! I had a wonderful group of girls with me - intermediate skiiers who were all much better that I was. The first day was certainly not the easiest. There was thick fog and we couldn't see anything. I fell off the piste once (caught myself before falling to the bottom which I could not see!), and face planted once as I hit a mound of snow while turning (again, could barely even see my board). We called it early for lunch, then braved the fog again in the afternoon. Somehow I managed not to lose a single child (hurrah!) and I escorted my kids back for showers, dinner, and ping pong.



Day 2 we had a later start (due to more fog!). By the time we got on the slopes, the fog was clearing. It was a beautiful day and me and my little team ventured to a different part of the mountain. We found some lovely little blue runs and had a great time. Then came the dreaded 48 piste. I had been warned there was one run that should be avoided at all costs. Unfortunately, the person giving me advice couldn't remember which run it was. Well, we found out the hard way. The fog had crept back in, and my poor girls on skis had to walk their way up a rather long and uncomfortable hill, before ending on a very narrow, icy, only slightly downhill path. Then, a very steep (even icier!) path, and another long uphill. Then a fast, miserable drag lift. By the end the girls were begging to never do that run again. You sure don't have to tell me twice! I told them it would be a fun story to tell later, even thought it wasn't the most fun then. And we all survived another day. Hurray!


Day 3 passed without any events - it was a gorgeous, blue sky day and the girls were excited and ready to ski. We ventured to a few new pistes and revisited a few we had done before. It was a fantastic day, but by the end I was dying with exhaustion. I could barely move my arms, legs, back, or neck. Somehow I kept managing to snowboard. I need to get in better shape for our ski week in February! 

Our last day we got the kids packed in the morning, and headed out for our last half day on the piste. Some of the girls weren't feeling great, so they did a run with us then headed to the cafeteria like place where teachers supervised hurt/tired/punished students. I continued on with just 4 enthusiastic girls. We did a bunch of runs and got back just in time for lunch. We shoveled down the food in order to catch the gondola to the very top of one of the mountains. From there, you can see all of Aletsch glacier, and I'd heard the view was beautiful. I was not disappointed! A gorgeous view, nice hot chocolate, and sweet girls. What more could a teacher ask for?

The glacier from the restaurant at the top

I'm not the only one tired by Day 4! The kiddos take a nap in the snow at the top of the mountain.

We grabbed the gondola down, picked up our ski gear, and headed to the bus. 2 hours and another 1.5 movies later we arrived back in Lausanne. I had no school on Friday (another perk!) and I was ready for a long bath and an even longer sleep. I feel so lucky to have had such a great experience!