Austria- School Ski Trip!!

It had been a very nice feeling. Walking into room number 202 in Birkenhof hotel and feeling the coolness of the mountain air and the warmth of the winter sun all at the same time. I lay myself on a deck chair, on the balcony leading to my room then stretched my legs out so they rested on the rail. I was completely relaxed. I could have been sun bathing and for the first time in what seemed like forever I was wearing only a singlet top! The sensation of the warm sun touching my bare skin was instantly welcomed like an old friend who turned up unexpected on the backdoor step. I flicked through the pages of my book to find the mark I had left and began reading however as deeply intrigued by the content of this book as I was, the most exciting part was when my eyes wondered off the words and pages and found themselves so easily resting upon the snow capped peaks of Austria... If only I had bought my sunnies, I thought, this is what we live for. Swiss slopes Warth-Shroken.
Austria was a lot different Australia despite the obvious similarity in spelling. Being a foreigner I was extremely excited to arrive at the ski hire shop welcomed by a large bottle of snapps, this sort of luxury is not experienced at ski resorts such as Falls Creek in Victoria, Australia. I found the power behind a small shot of snapps exhilarating. It managed to scare away any inkling of chill that may have began to consume the body. We had an awesome group of staff members and parents i.e. fathers on the trip. John Talbot (Head of Geography) the organiser of the trip is a lovely man who bought his family along so luckily for me having his wife there meant there were now 2 females on the staff table. It was also wicked to have Ric and Jason (two young P.E teachers) who are good blokes. There tiny room was next to mine but the ‘shoebox’ was well regarded for getting totally shattered on a few servings of brandy and coke at 6 o’clock on a Tuesday before even reaching the dinner table - being a Aussie it went to my head a lot faster than theirs!! The activity for that night was bowling and it was hilarious I couldn’t see a thing and all the students were saying “Annie’s pissed, Annies pissed!!” so I didn’t live that down for the rest of the week. It was great because the Dads that came on the trip were very up for a laugh and they always made sure I had a drink in my hand. Tribey tended to be an inspirational parent on this trip. On various occasions he was spotted tearing off in his sliver car which was said to be “too high.” This was usually about midday after approximately an hours worth of skiing followed by a very yeasty beer. But I cant talk one afternoon after some late afternoon wine I was wobbling/skiing along and somehow stacked then whacked my jaw on a ski and was stunned for a little while, it was quite funny because I doing one last solo run with no phone and when I got to the bottom the lifts were closed so I had to hitch hike along this road to where the whole group was waiting for me, so again I was paid out!
Ric and Jas.. Livin' the Dream. The 2008 Ski trip to Warth Shrocken in Austria was an event to remember for many reasons. Not only due to the good nature of the staff members present but also due to their smooth organisation, ability to socialise and of course their frequent demonstrations of extreme talent on and off pist. Our hands were put together for the immaculate behaviour of all scholars who represented Bearwood with uttermost pride and diligence. Scholars gained new and exciting skills allowing them to evidently improve on skis and boards as the week progressed. The trip physically wouldn’t have been possible without two faithful bus drivers, Dave and Kevin, who were clearly committed to their bus, allowing us all to share companionship with their most frequent passenger and mascot sooty. Additionally the father figures who came along on the trip were applauded by the hotel managers for their extreme contribution in terms of funds towards the bar as well as allowing the bar staff to feel relaxed and appreciated whilst undertaking their daily job.