2022 Ski Camp 

2022 Ski Camp Diary

Day 1 - Lucas Greuter

Day 1 of ski camp began on the basketball courts, we all had to pack our bags tightly into the bus then board for the long journey ahead. Three whole days of skiing were in front of us all and I think it's safe to say we all felt really excited and thrilled to be on our way to Mt Buller. First, we stopped at Mansfield, where we went to the Ski shop and were all fitted with boots, helmets and of course our skis/snowboards. Once we had our gear, we put it all back onto the bus and then it was back on board for the bendy road up to Mt Buller. As we approached Mt Buller ski resort, we all began to see the snow which looked absolutely unreal. Getting out of the bus we all felt the cold, fresh air touch us for the first time. It was a completely new feeling to most of us. Walking through the snow we all made our way with our gear to the hotel where we received key cards to enter our rooms which were modern and cosy. Personally, my room had this incredible lookout onto the Victorian Alps which was astonishing. After settling down following the long bus ride we all headed up to the restaurant where we were given three choices of what to have for dinner and two choices for dessert. Then it was back to our rooms to get some good sleep for the first day of skiing.

Day 2 - Chloe Shi

Ski camp was an overall wild experience that was worth every minute of everyday. Day 2 began with an early morning to a beautiful sunrise and clear scenes. We put our gear on and carried our equipment to the first lesson of our snow experience. Despite the many bruises and falls, especially for all the snowboarders, we all laughed along with each other. After learning the fundamental skills, we began the challenge to board down the slopes. After many stacks off the chair lift and a few down the slope, most of us had gotten the hang of it and continued snowboarding with fewer falls. As the day had come to an end, we eased down and headed back towards our hotel for a rather quiet evening with dinner and Mr Kennedy announcing awards, as Mr Kennedy does! During the night, a group of us walked down towards the little grocer for snacks and hung out in the community centre, concluding the night with a bunch of snowball fights and photos. To all the teachers and volunteers who put in the time and effort into this trip to make it possible and the best we could've all asked for, we would all like to thank you for everything!

Day 3 - Taneka Huber

Thursday was definitely an interesting day at the ski camp...with a blizzard surrounding us and all the chair lifts closed, the day seemed as though it was sure to be a disappointment. Though, it was far from it.

In an exhausting effort, we hiked up to the magic carpet (the only thing still running) along with the many others following the same idea. Being in the intermediate group, our lesson instructor told us all to take off one ski and go up the magic carpet. I was confused as to what the exercise was, and thought the point was to go up the carpet on one ski and so I probably looked a bit silly trying to balance on one leg as I went up. When we reached the top, our instructor showed us how to ski down on one ski and do a turn as well. The first few tries were a little rocky, with me making it probably less than a metre before stopping. After a few goes, I finally got the hang of it and was skiing all the way down again on one ski and even trying to turn the opposite direction (which is A LOT harder than it looks)...stacked the first few times :). After about an hour we hiked up the mountain even further as the teachers thought it would be fun to do some racing. The snowboarders spent the time practicing their skills and techniques, while most of the skiers raced in a mini course that was set up. I’m not exactly sure where the skiers went after that, as myself, Maya and Will P stayed and built a snowman which we named Bob. We also had a bit of a snowball fight and ate some fluffy snow! (don’t judge until you’ve tried it…it is AMAZING!). Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to get changed before going to lunch to meet up with the rest of the group. When we returned, the chairlifts had opened up again so we were all allowed to go out again, yay! My gear was sopping from having been lying in the snow, which was a tad uncomfortable, but after a while I couldn’t even notice anymore. We did a few runs, the first being a blue run (as there were only 2 chair lifts open)…which would have been fine had it not been all the groups together, including the first timers, who awesomely attempted it. Everyone did super well, and I’m super proud of the effort everyone gave (though I would be lying if I said it wasn’t funny to see about 20 people all stack at once). The groups split and we went for a few more runs before the fog got so bad that you could barely see 5 metres in front of you. So, we went home and relaxed for a while before having dinner and going to see a movie. 

The movie was…interesting, to say the least. A good movie, don’t get me wrong, but probably one I wouldn’t recommend seeing with a group of school kids and teachers…regardless, we all had a lot of fun and it was an experience NONE of us will forget.

Overall, the day was a blast and we all got to ski/board for a bit, hang out with our friends, and go to the movies. So despite how the day appeared it would be, it was not what we expected but was without a doubt a worthwhile experience.

Day 4 - Cora Davis

Ski Camp Day 4 was full of fun memories and expert skiing/boarding, pushing our comfort levels to the limit, all while using the new skills we had learnt over the past couple of days. The day began with breakfast and then straight into our final ski/boarding lessons. My ski instructor was from Austria and had even instructed Chris Hemsworth and his family back in Austria!! So, I had many skills to learn. We all continued to ski/board in the morning and stopped for lunch, only to ski some more in the afternoon. The weather allowed for soft snow and good visibility meaning everyone could speed along the runs (safely), and show off their new skills. Despite having sore, tired bodies, we were all giving it our all, laughing and joking with our friends. Unfortunately, we stopped skiing early in the afternoon to pack the bus with all our belongings and head back home. The bus trip back home was a loud one, with everyone talking about the fun we’d had. We stopped at Mansfield to drop off our ski/boarding equipment and have a pizza dinner together, laughing and having a great time, before driving the rest of the way home; completely exhausted. This ski trip was an amazing experience. At the start of the trip I was a beginner skier, and by the end I could complete many blue (intermediate) runs such as Little Buller, Wombat, Standard and many more. 

I could not recommend this camp more, as it's something I’ll never forget, leaving me with a large sense of community with the school and amazing memories.  

 Amy McLellan

High-ability Practice Leader 

Visual Arts/Technology Teacher

Amy