Year 10 VET Sport and Recreation students had three wonderful days in the snow at Falls Creek, finishing up their on-mountain activities just as the latest lockdown was announced. Students spent the first day travelling to Falls Creek and snow shoeing with their packs on to their camp in the snow, while the second day was all about hiking and enjoying the views.
With fresh snow falling and perfectly clear skies, the students and staff enjoyed beautiful weather conditions. Their final day was spent on the slopes, with most choosing to go snowboarding while a few did downhill skiing. As the clouds rolled in on the final afternoon, so did the news of lockdown starting. The students made the most of their time on the mountain before heading home the next day.
Here are some student reflections of the experience:
Camping in the snow for the first night of our camp was surprisingly good, besides how cold and wet everything got. It is something most people will never experience in their lives. The big dining table where we all could sit around was such a bonding moment. Waking up in the morning with fresh snow all around us was awesome! The sun was shining and the views were amazing. At the cabins, it was so warm and cosy. In the dining hall, there was polly pong (a really intense game of four-way ping pong). We got to learn new things about each other and make new friends. The best part was Thursday, with everyone just learning to ski and snowboard.
— Olivia Gardeniers (Year 10 Gold)
Despite being in the middle of a global pandemic, we were able to escape to a place where it felt as if there was no pandemic at all. Falls Creek will provide us with many memories for years to come. We had the best time and enjoyed it as much as possible before having to return home and be in lockdown. There were many stacks, games of poly pong and pool and plenty of time spent watching the Olympics and playing tunes. I loved snow camp and I can’t wait for surf camp later this year.
— Sam Wicks (Year 10 White)
Snow camp 2021 was one of the best experiences you could have. It was a long bus ride, leaving at 6.15am. It was chaotic when we got there as everyone rushed to put their waterproof clothes on as well as collect their snowshoes and then we were off hiking a few kilometres to where we camped in the snow. As soon as we got there we put up our tents and started digging out a table for us to cook on. It wasn’t a very comfortable night’s sleep. We went on a hike in the morning where we threw snowballs at each other and made snow angels. The next day we had snowboard lessons. We learnt how to do heel side and some of us learnt toe side. After the lessons, many of us stayed in the same groups and went down the slopes with each other. But it came to an end when the lockdown was announced and we had one last slope before returning to our cabins. It was one of the best experiences of my life and I hope that the Year 11 snow camp will be the same.
— Summer Edyvane (Year 10 Blue)
Snow camp 2021 was by far the best camp I have been on. The camp offered a variety of activities, including hiking with snowshoes, skiing and snowboarding. My highlight would definitely be just hanging out with my friends and skiing all day. Nothing better than that.
— Alice McCormick (Year 10 Bronze)
