Greetings from Kitzbuhel, Austria!!

In February 2009, 7 pupils and 4 staff went to Austria for a weeks skiing trip. Skiing as a school group gives tremendous opportunity for children to develop socially, physically and emotionally. The mountains in snow provide a safe, fun and energetic place to explore and have a great adventure.

This was not just a holiday but an opportunity to develop their independent living skills and improve their ability to interact socially. All the pupils made incredible leaps in their abilities to overcome and cope with the exciting changes of going to a new country with different food, culture, sights and sounds. We created a diary of the events of our wonderful trip!!

Well done to all the pupils, parents and staff involved!!

Day 1 - Saturday 7th February

Seven intrepid adventures from Tor Bank and their four trusty staff started out at 4am from the School to head to Dublin Airport for our flight to Salzberg, Austria.

The adventures were Ashleigh, Andrew, David, Jenny, Katie, Lee and Simon, bravely accompanied by Ben, Janette, Stephen and Victoria.

We had enjoyed ski training with Tony at Craigavon Ski Slope but would we be able to conquer the snow??

On arrival we unpacked and went for a walk in to the village and enjoyed out first taste of Austrian food. Afterwards we went to a local ‘Hallenbad’ for swimming. The pool had a slide and an outdoor pool!

Later on we were fitted with out skis and boots, we also met our instructors, Chris and Suzie.

Day 2 – Sunday 8th February

We went to a local small slope and had a go at standing in the snow with skis on, eating al fresco on the mountain side and coping with all the new sights and sounds. We also had a ride on a sleigh train. In the evening we went to a traditional Tirolean evening in St Johann. This involved dancing, thigh slapping and Austrian music. We enjoyed huge ice cream sundaes and milkshakes!

Day 3 – Monday 9th February

We went back to the ski slope and practised controlling our speed through ‘pizza and chips’ actions. We started to use the ‘magic carpet’ for getting back up the slope.

Day 4 – Tuesday 10th February

We got our first gondola ride in Fleckenbahn which was an airy, scary experience and then went for a winter hike down through a forest to some igloos. We had our first chairlift back up the slopes. We lunched at an Austrian McDonalds and then got a horse sleigh ride around Kitzbuhel. We arrived back at our chalet very tired indeed.

Day 5 – Wednesday 11th February

We took our skis and went up the mountain called Kitzbuehler Horn. We rode a very small chairlift and practised our skiing near a wigwam in blizzard conditions! We started to master turning and stopping! We had an afternoon pizza and hot chocolate in the mountain restaurant to warm up.

Day 6 – Thursday 12th February

Another winter hike, we made huge snowman and generally enjoyed fun activities in the snow! There was an awards ceremony that night and we danced our way up for our certificates. We continued dancing at a disco at a local nightclub (reserved for all the school groups).

Day 7 – Friday 13th February

Our last day out on the snow! We went back up to the Kitzbueler Horn, where it was snowing heavily. We saw piste bashers and not much else! We all managed to get down the slope by ourselves and mastered using a ‘magic carpet’ back to the top. We headed back to the ‘Hallenbad’ for some swimming, sliding and watching the snowfall while we lay in the water in the outdoor swimming pool (heated thankfully!!)

Day 8 – Saturday 14th February

We packed up, said out goodbyes to Sebastian and Rosie (who ran the chalet), to Chris and Suzie (our instructors) and got a bus back to the airport. We arrived in Dublin and were eager to get back to school to meet our parents and family who missed us very much. We missed them too.