Thirty-four Upper School students enjoyed a trip to the Italian Alps in early January for skiing and snowboarding in the popular resort of La Thuile in the Aosta Valley.

The boys enjoyed five hours’ tuition each day in small groups. Most managed to take full advantage of their ski passes and travelled over to the French side of La Rosière to negotiate their way down a number of new runs. Snow conditions were excellent due to extensive snowfall prior to their arrival, which covered all pistes as well as the surrounding areas. Some days the visibility was outstanding, showing off fantastic views of Mont Blanc, and the view from the viewing platform at the top of the ski area of La Rosière was breath-taking. While this was the case for three days, they also had a couple of days where conditions were tough with temperatures dropping to -10 with a wind chill factor of well below -15. This posed quite a challenge, but one that all boys were prepared for and coped with remarkably well.

The boys achieved ski awards ranging from levels two to five, and some of the snowboarders gained level three with distinction. Groups covered a vast amount of piste while on the slopes with the top group managing over 20 kilometres of runs throughout the day – this certainly meant that a rest at the end was deserved. Noticeable improvements could be seen by the end of the week with all ski tutors commenting on how confident and assured everyone’s skiing had become. Pleasingly, the majority of groups managed to progress to black runs comfortably by the last couple of days so they could ski all the way back down to the small town of La Thuile.

Après ski activities were organised every evening with boys enjoying ice skating, indoor football, a local town tour and a shopping evening in the picturesque town of Courmayeur, as well as a keenly awaited, Bedford School quiz.

The week overall brought a fantastic variety of skiing conditions, which everyone adapted to admirably. They will be venturing back soon!

 

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