Tignes 2012 GoPro photos

Some of the pupils hired a GoPro 2 HD camera and chest mount from Matt the ski tech at the Hotel Curling, and shot stills and video.  I've uploaded an album of all the still photos (in reduced size).

Click the photo below to see the album

or click here for a slideshow.

Latest ETA

Just leaving Gatwick in the coach. Expected to arrive at school at about 2.15pm.

Update

Currently at baggage reclaim.  There will be a slight delay. Will update when on coach.

Everyone back intact.

I'm sure that parents will be almost as relieved as I am to learn that all skiers have returned intact from the last ski session.

Another sunny day

Friday and the sun is shining to give a bright end to the week.  Staff have taken quite a few photos, mostly with their phones, and I am trying to collect them together so that I can put up a gallery of shots when we get back.  In the meantime, I'll see if I can post two or three from here.

Back to normal

After yesterday's sunshine, it was back to a bit of falling snow today with the interesting addition of the tops of many pistes hidden in thick cloud.  However, the skiing was excellent and all returned intact.

Sunshine!

We awoke to clear air and sunshine this morning.  The pistes had been properly prepared and we could properly see where we were going.  I think everyone particularly enjoyed the skiing this morning.

Guess what ... it's snowing.

The snow continued to fall all day once again, but our skiers were undaunted and had another very successful day on the pistes.  We re-organised the groups this morning, moving several of the more confident beginners up a group and bumping up a few from each of the intermediate groups as well, and this was a successful move.  I am delighted to report that every one of the beginners has now successfully negotiated the chairlift and the blue piste several times. Mrs Liley and I were particularly impressed with Lauren this afternoon as it took quite a bit of persuading to get her to try it and she did so very well and even said afterwards that she had enjoyed it.  This is really what it's all about and we look forward to further progress tomorrow.

A snowy second day

All have returned safe and happy after a successful second day on the piste.  Snow conditions were excellent although the falling snow limited visibility somewhat.  Almost all the beginners made it up a big chairlift (or "stairlift" as one of them called it) and completed several runs on a nice blue piste.

A successful first day

This is Jack after he and the rest of the beginners' group made fantastic progress on their first day on the piste.  All were taking a button lift to the top of a proper piste on their first afternoon and most were able to string together a controlled sequence of snowplough turns.  The instructor is hoping to take most of the group to a different piste on a chairlift tomorrow whilst anyone needing some more practice first will be coached a bit more on their snowplough technique.

First day's skiing

All groups had a great first day on the piste in excellent snow conditions and everyone returned tired but intact. I will try to post a photo.

Thick snow in Tignes.

More snow expected overnight.

Arrived

All safely installed in the hotel.

Geneva

Safely arrived in Switzerland and en route to France and Tignes.

Travel update

Boarded plane, all running to time so far.

Tignes 2012: Travelling groups

I have split the pupils into groups to facilitate checking that we are all present at the various stages of the journey when we will need to do this.  It also helps when we have to present our passports as the groups are  based (where possible) on the order in which the pupils appear on the e-ticket list.  There is no need to stay in these groups most of the time, but these are the staff to report to when told to do so.

Mrs J Liley Mr J Court
Amelia Leclercq Tom Edwards
Alex Marinko Maechler Riki Elderfield
Chris Martin Sam Elson
Reba McDowall George Fletcher
James Monaghan James Godfray
Dan Paton Tomo Green
Will Pope Tom Halmos
George Prosser Jack Harper

Mr J Shelley Mr O Edlin
Ben Silver Lauren Haviland Webster
Lewis Sloggett Sam Hotston-Tiné
Jamie Smith Ben Knee
Max Spicer Zach Knee
Lloyd Suggett Elliott Le Warde
Seb Warner Nick Bandar
Olivia Watts Louis Bates
Ollie Webb

Ms R Story
Jake Wiseman-Lovett
Lucas Wright
James Ballard
Harrison Blair
Robert Currey
Daniel Mugridge
Jasmine Dean-Milward
Roseanne Dean-Milward

Please remember to check this blog on Saturday 22nd for details of any delays or alterations to the currently anticipated arrival time at the College of 1.30pm.

The College mobile phone will be live for the duration of the trip: 07854 983257.

Tignes 2012: The final countdown

We have now received details of the sizes of the rooms (which are all 4s and 5s) and the staff have had a meeting in which Mr Edlin sorted people out, doing his very best to accommodate the requests we have received from pupils and parents.  He is the man to see if you have any concerns.

A parent pointed out that 'swimming gear' did not appear on the kit list, so it has now been added.  We can never be absolutely sure whether we will be able to arrange a visit to the local pool, since it depends on the adequate provision of lifeguards and other factors, but we think it quite likely this year.  Some French swimming pools do not permit loose swimming shorts (something to do with fibres in their filters, apparently), so bring proper trunks if you can (boys!).

Could I stress once again that there are very tight restrictions on liquids and creams/pastes in hand luggage, so please pack any such items into the suitcase and also make sure that there are no scissors or pointed objects in the hand luggage or pockets.  It is a good idea to put one pair of ski socks into the hand luggage as sometimes we have to put them on and get to the ski fit very quickly on arrival before we get a chance to unpack suitcases.

Skibound have informed me that pupils are permitted one medium sized case and one item of hand luggage with a combined maximum weight of 20kg, and excess baggage charges are very high, so please be careful.

Please also remember that we expect to have to collect 5 euros from each skier as soon as we arrive as a deposit for their electronic ski pass, and this will be returned when the ski pass is handed in at the end.  It is often a good idea to get staff to look after pupils' euros and issue them as required (many pupils will lose the money straight away!), and we are happy to do this.  Please give the money to one of us in a named envelope (not a bulky wallet) if you want us to do this.

We recommend wearing the ski coat and suitable footwear for snow on the outward journey as the resort is very snowy.  The skiing, incidentally, is reported as excellent and the resort is up and running with a very good depth of snow at all levels.
Please see webcams here.

Just to remind you, the College mobile phone will be with one of us at all times should you wish to contact staff during the trip, and the number is 07854 983257.

We will see you all at 04:10 on Saturday morning.

Tignes 2012: Travel Itinerary

We have now received all the details about the travel arrangements.  Any updates will be posted here.  Please watch this blog for any delays or alterations to return times.

Saturday 15th December 2012   Outward journey
04:10   Arrive at Shoreham College to register and load the coach to leave by 04:30
05:35   Check-in at Gatwick North Terminal
07:35   Depart from Gatwick, flight BA2736 for Geneva
10:10   Arrive at Geneva, collect luggage, board coach and depart for Tignes
14:55   (approx) Arrive at Tignes

Please note that a packed lunch will be required, as the first meal provided is in the evening, although there will be a breakfast of some sort on the plane.  We suggest buying a bottle of water at the airport after passing through security checks.

Saturday 22nd December 2012   Return journey
05:05   Depart from Tignes
09:05   Check in at Geneva airport
11:05   Depart from Geneva, flight BA2737 for Gatwick
11:40   Arrive at Gatwick, collect luggage, board coach and depart for Shoreham
13:30   Arrive back at Shoreham College

All times quoted are local times, i.e. times in France are an hour ahead.
Hotel Address: Clubhotel Curling, Val Claret, Tignes 73220, France.

I will be able to update this blog via smartphone during the journey if there are any alterations to the expected return time, so it would be a good idea to watch out for updates on the Saturday.

Tignes Ski Trip 2012: Kit List

This is the basic list that has been emailed to parents.  We are expecting the resort to be snowy and the weather when skiing to be very cold, so the thermal base layers and really good gloves will be important.

We don't recommend taking mobile phones and other expensive electronic paraphernalia as some of it always gets lost.  The staff will not have time to look for lost gadgets, so please only bring things that are heavily insured or that you are prepared to risk losing.  If pupils do bring mobile phones, we will be asking for their numbers.  If parents want to speak to a member of staff during the trip, one of us will have the College mobile phone, the number of which is 07854 983257.

General:

Normal everyday clothes for wearing around the hotel
Normal washing equipment for use in the hotel
Nightwear
Towel
Swimming kit (in case a visit to the local pool is arranged)
Outdoor clothes and suitable footwear for use in snowy conditions

For the skiing:

Thermal base layers
T-shirts, sweatshirts
Salopettes or ski trousers
Ski socks (several pairs)
Ski coat
Ski gloves
Ski goggles
Balaclava or thermal face protection would be useful
(We will be wearing helmets, so most hats will not fit inside)
Ski goggles (normal sunglasses are not appropriate)
Sun cream, lip balm

Equipment provided at Tignes:

Ski boots
Ski poles
Skis
Helmet