Getting ready for your first ski trip

Elements to prepare

For those new to skiing, it will be their first time getting ready for a multi-day ski trip. There are lots of elements to getting ready but we will look only at the big 3: Safety, fitness and packing the right stuff into the suitcase for a multi-day ski trip.

Every school provides detailed safety briefings and gets the kids, and probably the parents too, to sign a waiver of some sort against the possibility of suing if young Joe or Jo hurts themselves.

Getting fit for the slopes will also be discussed but in a little less detail. We are talking about secondary school pupils—generally fit and healthy young people who may be slightly unfit when they start the holiday but can, because of their age, turn into fit and healthy skiers over 10 days.

The school will also provide a kit/packing list and some strict instructions about must-haves and must-not-haves.

Safety first!

As with all school trips, whether day-trip or residential, safety comes first. No one; not the school, the teachers, the parents/carers, or the pupils wants anyone to get hurt. The first three groups put a lot of effort into making sure that doesn’t happen. Mostly, the pupils, as with all young people whatever they are doing, assume that nothing bad will happen and focus less on the safety briefings than maybe they ought.

The safety briefings are provided first by the school and then, once they hit the slopes, by the ski instructors. These briefings cover everything:

• starting with the journey to the resort
• the safety around the resort
• the use of ski lifts etc and finally
• the fun bits about safety while skiing

Fitness required for a ski trip:

It might have made sense to talk about the fitness issues before the safety elements above. But then we couldn’t have written Safety first!

Most schools don’t mandate very strict training regimes for the kids before they reach the resort. The underlying assumption seems to be that the group of pupils who want to ski are likely to be moderately fit and healthy before they sign-up in the first place. Generally, there are efforts made to stop someone travelling with pre-existing injuries which could be exacerbated by skiing. Common sense stuff.

But, many schools do provide training plans for how the kids can maximise their enjoyment of the trip and minimise their chances of injury by preparing well, in advance. Many also offer extra-curricular sessions to encourage the growth of team spirit by training together.

The two things which seem to have the biggest impact on the attitude of the pupils to the training sessions are:

• First, the issue of altitude. The idea of 5 to 7 hours doing even light exercise at some altitude is enough to scare most kids into putting the effort into their training.
• Second, the threat or worry that they might be too tired after a day on the slopes to enjoy the après ski activities they are most looking forward to.

The prime targets of the training provided are: building overall stamina and strengthening specific muscle groups especially the legs and core. The exercises are often grouped by: stamina workouts, circuit and strength workouts, stretching sessions and core stability sessions. Amazing what a few weeks of preparation can do, both for the fitness levels and the team spirit.

What to take:

Based on previous years’ experience, and/or advice from the resort, the school will provide each pupil with a comprehensive packing list. There will be things that have to go, optional items and things that must not be taken. Often there is some sort of sign-off process by the students/parents to confirm that Jo/Joe has everything they should have and nothing they should not have.

When the packing list was ignored!

Ski equipment itself is usually hired for the whole group when at the resort. For those pupils who already have skis and boots etc arrangements can generally be made to take those.

Below are a couple of example packing lists to give some idea of what is usually included:

Packing List – 2

Essentials

Passports
Currency
Prescription medication

Ski Gear

Ski jacket – to wear skiing and if you go out in the evening
Ski trousers (salopettes/ski pants)
Several pairs of ski socks
Ski gloves
Hat/scarf/neck warmer/balaclava
Goggles
Thermal trousers and top if it is really cold
Back pack

Basics (for when you aren’t skiing)

Sunglasses
Ski hoodie
Trousers
Tops and jumpers
Walking/outdoor shoes
Slippers.indoor footwear
Underwear and socks
Sleepwear
Hat, scarf and gloves
Swimwear
Travel adaptors
Travel pillow

Toiletries

Toothbrush and toothpaste
Hair stuff
Deodorant
Shampoo, conditioner, and body wash
Shaving kit
Wipes
Face wash
Hand sanitiser
Sun cream and lip block

Preparation pays dividends

A few weeks ago we wrote about What makes for a great school ski trip? There is no doubt that getting the preparation right beforehand is a key consideration. Schools make massive efforts to ensure that the kids who are going are well prepared. That they:

• know the issues affecting their safety and what to do in all circumstances
• have prepared mentally and physically for the trip
• have packed the right stuff into their luggage

Messing-up on any of the major issues can wreck the trip and not just for the individual concerned but for everyone. So, it is in everyone’s best interests to ensure that the preparation is well thought out and thorough.