Ski Trip - By Cadet Louise Thomson

During the 1st to 3rd March 2013 some cadets from our Squadron went to a ski trip along with some cadets from 1089 Squadron up to the Cairngorm mountains in Aviemore. Altogether there were 29 cadets and we all loved it.

On Friday night (1st march), all cadets got issued with skis, ski boots and a helmet. After we all had a relaxed night getting to know each other. Everybody got on well and enjoyed each other's company.

On Saturday, everybody woke up at quarter to 7, got dressed and had breakfast at 8. After breakfast we had roughly an hour's drive up to the Cairngorms. When we got there everybody got separated into groups - the beginners, the intermediates and the experts. I was in the beginners group as I had never skied before. I don't know exactly what the other groups were like but from what I heard they sounded great. I was told that they done a lot of jumps and tricks. The beginners group was excellent, we learned all the basic parts of skiing within two hours. After that our instructor decided that we were ready to go on to a small beginners slope. Skiing down was challenging but exhilarating. There was a lot of falls and mistakes but everybody managed to get down safely. After we went back to the ski lodge and cleared all of our kit away.

On Saturday night again we just relaxed and listened to music. We played a few games such as ice breakers and went to bed at half eleven.

On Sunday we got up at quarter to 7 and had breakfast at 8. We left at 9 and as soon as we got up to the Cairngorms we went straight to a bigger and better slope. There was a few falls and mistakes again but much less than the day before. Half way through the day, most people had learned from their mistakes and had fixed them. We were good enough to move on and try some intermediate slopes. They were difficult but we managed fine. At 4pm we left the mountains and went back to the ski lodge. We returned our kit, cleaned and cleared our rooms and packed up the bus. Then we got on the bus to go home.

Everybody was upset to be leaving as the weekend was very enjoyable. On the busy journey home everybody was exhausted. At 6pm we stopped for a McDonalds and were back on the bus for &pm. We got back to the Squadron at half past 8. We cleaned the bus for half an hour and went home.

Although the ski trip was only two days long, we really loved it. We made new friends and the ski trip also helped us with some skills such as responsibility, concentration and social skills. The trip wouldn't have been possible without the hard work and dedication from our staff. So a massive thanks to all the staff for dedication lots of their time and making the ski trip so enjoyable.

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