Year 11 & 12 Camping Weekend

Over the weekend of 7^th and 8^th October the intrepid boarders of Years 11 and 12 (plus a couple of enthusiasts from other years) headed out with Ms Rainsley and Mr Hill.  I say intrepid because in the week preceding the trip the weather was severe, with warnings of more rain and even temperatures below zero for the weekend.  After some consideration it was decided that we would go anyway but bring the girls back to sleep in their own beds on Saturday night.

Saturday

In total contrast to the preceding week Saturday dawned with bright crisp air and clear skies.  Full of good cheer we left the bus and set off to enjoy the walk to the Trient Glacier.  After a few comments of, ‘Oh, it’s so cold' from the African contingent bundled in scarves we settled into the walk.  A beautiful hike with spectacular views in the Swiss mountains on a totally unexpectedly sunny autumn day.  What more could you ask for?  Turning a bend in the path to see the Trient Glacier lying ahead and knowing it was the culmination point really did make an impression on all of us.  Some were inspired by the sight of what some cultures believed to be sleeping dragons.  For others the impression was more of a distance-related one… The return journey was a much quieter affair than the outward one.  For just about all of our girls the chatter faded to sleep.

Sunday

Contrary to all predictions the Sunday too dawned to brilliant sunshine.  We headed out from St. George’s, north this time, to the Chateau d’Oex region.  We hired some fantastic bikes, dual suspension but very complicated gears.  It was these gears that brought out the best in some of the girls.  When the inevitable happened and the chains came off the backup posse of Ksenia and Rani leapt to the rescue.  Ksenia spent the whole day with blackened hands and a big smile.

An excellent day’s cycling broken up only by the occasional ‘short cut’ where it really was safer to dismount than to bump down those forest steps!  We even managed to find a lovely riverside spot to have our lunch.  For some the lure of that lovely October mountain water was too great and we did have a few flurries with Iyabode, Yasmina and Mr Hill all ‘taking the waters’ to some degree.  Following an extended lunch break we really did have to fly down the runway at the end to get to the station for our train.

A thoroughly enjoyable day.  In fact, a thoroughly enjoyable weekend.

Well done girls!!

Years 11 & 12 Camping Weekend was a resounding success ... watch out for more camping escapades in Summer 01 News.