Snow Camp

On Tuesday the 21st  of July, our Year 11 Outdoor Education class left Beaufort, heading towards Mount Beauty. On the way we made a brief stop at Ballarat High School, as their Year 12 Outdoor Education class were joining us on our Falls Creek adventure. With Miss Hughes in the driver’s seat, all 5 BSC students, along with one of the Ballarat High students, crammed into the bus next to the piles of food and luggage, which took up most of the space. 

During the long drive, we played multiple games to entertain ourselves until we arrived at our destination, The Park at Mount Beauty. We settled into our cabins and collected our rented snow gear, before ending the evening with fish and chips, followed by card games.

The next two mornings we had to rise early. We made breakfast in our cabins before both schools loaded onto the bus for the winding, 40-minute drive to the top of Falls Creek Mountain. We dropped our bags, separated from the skiers, then rode the ski-lift further up the mountain, where we met two instructors for our lessons.

For two hours each morning, we learnt and practiced heel and toe slides, as well as basic skills for snowboarding. Once our lessons were complete, we hit the slopes for the next six hours. After many falls, we made lots of adjustments, with some picking it up faster than others. Then, with a few hours of practice on Mousetrap, the beginners ski-run, Miss Hughes nervously took us down Drover’s Dream, for our first run together. Despite the conditions and extremely low visibility, we all made it down (some faster than others). Nonetheless, our skills had improved drastically.

Along with our skills and confidence, the conditions had improved considerably for our second day on the mountain. Squeezing the most out of our trip, we spent as much time as we could on the runs, even experiencing snow falling as we were snow boarding.

After our final run, we took our last photos and headed down the mountain, back to our cabins. From there, we returned our ski gear and got ready for dinner at the local hotel. Early the next morning we boarded the bus for the long drive home.

-Emma-Jane Wilson