Mullion School pupils chilled out during half-term, on a skiing trip to the Austrian Alps.
A mixed group of skiers and snowboarders enjoyed the Tyrollean resort of Hochoetz, on a 2,000-mile round trip.
The trip’s leader, and performing arts teacher, Ben Merritt said: “It was a massive success. The experienced skiers and snowboarders knew what they were in for, but I was so impressed by the way our beginners rose to the challenge.
“To learn a new skill you always experience periods of failure and doubt, and when you add the fear factor into the equation, 7,000ft up in the mountains, it makes the final achievement even more special.
They all overcame their anxieties and by the end of the week were flowing around the resort and savouring the regular fresh dumps of snow. Our snowboarders were incredible in the deep powder.”
The school stayed in a traditional Austrian family-run hotel and used the local Skischule Mali for instruction.
The ski school organised a dramatic race on the penultimate morning that gave the youngsters a test of whether their techniques would hold up under pressure. Winner of the beginners’ ski race was Lili Flockhart, and the beginners’ snowboard race winner was Ben Johns. In the giant slalom ski race Greg Bird took gold, Imojen Penry silver and Alice Bowman bronze. Nic Strike won the snowboard elite race.
Mr Merritt added: “Mullion School expects students to be its ambassadors whenever they travel and they once more impressed, as they were declared the top group of the season by ski instructor Larry, an English born but much travelled member of the Skischule Mali team.”
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