Last week Class 9 were away on a Ski Camp at Whakapapa, Mt Ruapehu.

This only became possible due to the delay of the start of year EOTC programs and that the Class is small in number, and have Kaiarataki who can ski and have knowledge of Mt Ruapehu.

We were away for 5 days which included 3 days skiing, and with most of the students never having skied before there was much anticipation about what was to come. We stayed at the Manawatu Tramping and Ski Club (MTSC) Lodge, which is a 25 minute walk from the top of Mt Ruapehu carpark. It is close to the ski field but isolated and gives a sense of the rare beauty and magnificence of the Maunga.    

The weather was mostly kind to us with a bit of windy cold rainy/snowy conditions on the Tuesday (a little cold and wet but still OK for skiing), improving on Wednesday, and finishing with a SunShiny day on Thursday. The students accepted the challenges on offer to varying degrees with many being able to progress to having a good degree of control on the gentle slopes of the beginner area and some exploring the possibilities higher up the mountain. And we all visited the upper mountain environment on the Sky Waka Gondola. 

We stayed at MTSC Lodge, which is at or above the snowline and were able to walk back and forth from the lodge to the ski field. And this allowed all of us, students and adults, to become immersed in our experience and the remarkable landscape surrounding us. A landscape formed by volcanic eruption, wind, snow, and ice.  Fire and Ice: often an apt reflection of the Class 9 year.

With gratitude to all who made this possible and especially the young people of Class 9.