Back in Doha at last!

Here is some of the early video footage.

More will follow once we have caught up on sleep, admin and a bit of teaching....

No children or animals were harmed in the production of this unedited video. The children all performed their own stunts. 

Press from the Piste 6

I counted them out and I counted them back in and the number was the same. A bus full of children left the Hotel Kleon determined to make the most of their last day on snow. Most of them are now independently sorting themselves out and don’t need too many reminders to do up their boots and jackets. Similarly they are all much better at not walking off without their gloves and hats. Although a select few are still out to test their teachers’ powers of observation by forgetting the odd glove here and there.

Low cloud and gentle snow greeted us as we stepped out of the cable car this morning. Thankfully this blew away by lunch time to ensure our final afternoon was spent carving turns in the snow under glorious sunshine. The sun brought out the best in our skiers. The afternoon saw them racing down pistes that they were previously frightened of, pulling jumps and stunts as they went. They were nearly all filmed on piste today with ever present smiles keen to show off their progress.

One lucky group made it to the fun park to show off their ‘Eddy the Eagle’ skills; taking jumps one after the other and practising their ‘180s’ with whoops of excitement. The children rivalled a group of local children, showing immense skill and enthusiasm around the jumps and through the trees.

Oisin: I landed a 180!!!

Alex: I’m more of a land freestyler, but I love landing 180s!!

As the day draws to a close and the children pack their bags they are looking forward to a last sumptuous feast before a long journey home to the waiting arms of mum and dad….

Footnote: please accept our apologies for all grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, this blog has been written in snatched moments… how many mistakes can you find?? A free semi-colon to the winner!

P.S. No, we’re not tired, we’re exhausted!! But smiling :oD

P.P.S. See you all at the airport tomorrow night at 11PM sharp (18 Feb)!

Press from the Piste 5

 

Thursday 16 February  - saw us wake up to lots of fresh snow and clearing skies.  After a large breakfast we discovered  that the wind had dropped so we headed out to the slopes with eager anticipation. The excellent conditions saw the children pushing the limits of their capabilities much more. The day saw the children excel on the slopes. All the children were now on the mountain with several of the groups now tackling black runs (the hardest) without thinking twice… Today there were a few more face plants and a few more crashes from the children. However, all of them returned safely back to the hotel.

Today in their words went as follows:

Aisling – falling over is the best, but flipping is even better.

Tara – I cannot see out my goggles – Miss Craker, it might be better if you take the plastic cover off them….

Bethany..helmets are too hard to crash into it’s better to sumersault over them instead.

Tida – don’t play football with icebergs while you are skiing– it hurts.

Neasa – Tomorrow I will try not to knock over the old people when they get in the way.

 Sophie – Avoid the mad people who are out to get you on the slopes.

Hala – I have improved sooo much.

Isiah – Skiing backwards rocks.

Akil – I fell a lot but I’m still smiling.

Mr Hayward – I need some new legs.

Alberto – I jumped, I fell, I hurt, I smiled.

Daniel – I can ski backwards and land head first now.

Jan – I did my first 360.

James – I fell over and everyone went flying.

Soeffiah – go round wipe outs not through them.

Kiara – Try not to go too fast or else you do a face plant and lose both your skis.

Marco & Mohammed – Put your weight forward when going down hill otherwise you crash.

Imani – When you fly don’t catch the tips of your skis or you do a flip like me.

Hamad & Mohammed – we are stunt men specialising in amazing crashes!

Jassim – Bumps and black runs are cool.

Ahmed – I can turn better than a land cruiser.

Abdullah – Jumping is cool.

Oisin & Alex – we are wicked free stylers….

After a full day on the piste – we went out for pizza at a local hotel. We all ate giant pizza’s and the children were given certificates from their skiing instructors for their exploits on the snow. Tomorrow we are looking forward to a final day on the snow before heading home.  The forecast is for sun and not a lot of wind. It should be an epic day…

More news from the piste will be uploaded tomorrow. Once back in Qatar we will add lots of the video that we have taken too.

Press  from the Piste 4

A snowy wind driven day greeted us when we woke up on Wednesday morning. The temperatures had risen to a mere minus 4 but the wind made for a torrid time. We wrapped up super warm and headed out for a few ski runs in the morning. The children are now acting like veterans dealing with the conditions that would send others running for home.  Even though we were wrapped up like arctic explorers, we were all very glad to go in for lunch. Never was a hot meal more appreciated.  After lunch we decided to ski down the mountain and go shopping which would be more fun than skiing given the conditions.

In Solden we split up into small groups and checked out the shopping – would we find a mall to rival Villagio? Instead we opted for snowball fights, finding cool ski gear and the odd hot chocolate.

 All groups are now skiing down the mountain comfortably and using lifts. The beginners group saw some of the biggest improvers of the day with James, Ahmed, Marco, Isabelle and Katie showing some of the best form. The intermediate group was so inspired by the improvement in their skiing that some of them decided that they would rather do the 1000m descent to the resort after lunch twice! Imani, Alberto, Jan,  David and Tara were the intrepid five.

Last night saw certificates being awarded after dinner to some of the children for their exploits. Who knows who will be tonight’s winners.  The Hotel has commented on how well the children are eating with Sherborne Qatar comfortably out eating any of their previous schools…. Perhaps this is due to the children’s efforts on the piste. We had a concert in the hotel yesterday evening when three sisters played traditional Austrian music on their harp and zithers.

We sit here with snow falling around us – tomorrow’s forecast is for less snow, less wind and better visibility. The children are eager to head out for tonight’s karaoke session but are already champing at the bit to get on the slopes again tomorrow….. More news to come tomorrow night.

Press from the Piste 3

Top tips from Day 3

Soeffiah - do not fall off the T Bar halfway up as you have to climb all the way up!
Kiara - do not pour juice all over your face...
Neasa - Try and ski on the snow instead of the fences.....
Beth - remember to get off the chairlift at the top rather than trying to go back down again.
Marco - don't cross your skis or you are guaranteed to eat snow.
Mrs Ayling - if all else fails have a hot chocolate....
Aisling - black runs are epic.
Emma - Ski on the snow rather than eat it.
Isaiah - If have not fallen over at least 20 times a day you are not trying...
Hammad (Al B) do not put your skis on pointing up hill or you go down hill.
Imani - Dont try to catch a lift on Miss Craker's skis or you will fall over...
Tida - try not to ski backwards or you loose your skis.
Mrs Ayling - avoid skiing into rivers ...
Sophie - If you are going to fall do it big....


More pearls of wisdom will follow...

Press from the Piste part 2

Here are more pictures of the action so far....

Press from the Piste

From Qatar to Monday Night.

After a marathon trip we arrived safely at our destination the hotel Kleon in the village of Vent. Austria. The temperature guage on the bus steadily dropped as we got closer to our destination. It was -20 outside when we arrived.

We have now had two successful days on the snow. Everyone has managed to ski without incident. The equipment is excellent. It has so far been the coldest ski trip that any of the staff have been on. The children are coping really well with the conditions wearing multiple layers to keep warm. However, we have also discovered that it is easy to warm up once you get going.

Sunday's evening entertainment was a film night which was followed by a great night's sleep for all. Everyone even managed to sleep beyond their normal Qatar wake up times. Tonight's entertainment is a quiz.

Our hotel

More video and photos of the action will be posted over the coming days.