VCE Outdoor & Environmental Studies

Cross Country Ski Camp 

Last week our Outdoor & Environmental Studies students carved their way through the trails of Mt Stirling, soaking in the breathtaking alpine beauty. This served as a golden opportunity for them to delve into various environments through the lenses of scientific inquiry and land management. Drawing parallels between the landscapes of Mt Stirling and Mt Buller, they also analysed how different uses and technologies leave their mark on the environment.

Student Reflection

For our Outdoor & Environmental Studies camp, we travelled to Mt Stirling for cross-country skiing. We arrived at the base of Stirling on Monday 21 August and jumped on the massive Mt Stirling bus, which took us to collect our skis. From there, we went on a tractor with a trailer that took us to the starting point of the hike. We hiked up a rocky, steep, foggy 3 and a half kilometers to the alpine camp.

We camped in triple-layered tents that shielded us from the wind. The camp also had a large communal tent where we cooked and dried our wet clothes, as well as a building with a small kitchen and a bathroom. We had a lesson with our instructor, Eric, who taught us how to ski on cross-country skis.

On the first night, we had chorizo gnocchi and slept with the rain and wind howling all night. Due to the overnight rain, the snow became icy, but we still made the most of the snow we had and travelled to the summit and the Geelong Grammar Hut. Skiing down was one of my favourite parts of the camp because it was similar to downhill skiing.

Later in the day, the weather cleared up, and we saw the view for the first time, which was nice. On the second night, we had burritos and played some fun games of hide and seek, as well as engaging in a big snowball fight. On the final day, the weather was clear and sunny, which was great for the hike down after we packed up. On the way home, we went past Mansfield and chilled out.

Overall, the camp was a lot of fun and provided us with a good understanding of what cross-country skiing is like.

Mr Eddie Gillespie (Teacher) & Ms Zuzana Gower (Education Support)