Day One

The boys woke up with a 7:30am wake up call and ate breakfast before setting off for the Mountain. After a 20 minute drive we arrived at Golm and met our ski instructors. Verner (one of the instructors) won a silver medal in giant slalom skiing (a few decades ago). All the beginners made excellent progress and moved up the mountain in the afternoon. The intermediate and advanced groups covered a lot of the mountain as their ski instructors assessed their abilities today.   The evening entertainment was Austrian bowling. The group broke up into teams of 5 and played a number of games against each other. The sixth form team "purple cobras" won every game, eventually winning the prize of playing the celebrity teachers team. It was a close fought match with the teachers eventually being humiliated by a 114 - 56 defeat.   It has been snowing through the afternoon and evening on the mountain which should mean brilliant conditions at the top of ski resort tomorrow.

Day Two

The boys were excited to awake Monday morning in a winter wonderland. It had snowed all through night and the resort had taken on a whole new character. The boys filled their faces at breakfast, eager to get on the slopes and ski in the fresh, powdery snow.

The beginner groups were practicing their snow ploughs and beginning to put in a few snow plough turns. The intermediate were flying with their instructor Heather, and the advanced group had a new member, Paolo, who had moved up from the intermediate group after only one day.

We all took an alternative route down the mountain at the end of the day via the infamous 'Alpine Coaster'. We are told that Austrians come from miles around to experience this ride. The boys cheered and whooped all the way down this awesome ride through the tree lined mountains. What a fabulous way to end a great day on the mountains.

In the evening the boys explored the delightful town of Feldkirch, with its typically Austrian architecture and an array of shops and food stores. The snow was still falling so another day with fabulous conditions to look forward to.

Day Three

The snow kept falling leaving the slopes in perfect conditions for our now proficient St. Joseph's skiers. Now fully up to speed the boys managed to gather themselves quickly in the morning and we had no more cases of two left gloves and forgotten ski socks again!

The beginner groups finished off the practise runs in the morning and were progressed up the mountain for the afternoon on a red run. The advance group were slowly polishing off the remaining runs of the mountain whilst the intermediates were ripping up blue and red runs throughout the day. Another successful days skiing before the boys enjoyed time exploring the town and enjoying regional specialities.

After dinner we quickly regrouped ready for swimming. Mr. Mills kindly checked the depth of pool with his head. Fortunately no tiles were cracked in the process but a little DIY was still needed to fix his forehead. All the boys were nice and worn out after the fun of the water slides and student teacher races, of which the teachers were victorious on all.

Following strict orders from the ski instructors, all the boys were put to bed nice and early ready for another day ripping up the mountain.

Day Four

Day four saw the advanced group visit the nearby resort of Hochjoch, cloudy skies and heavy snow had at last given way to sunshine and great visibility. All groups progressed hugely on this day largely due to the great skiing conditions that the previous days snow had left behind.

The beginner groups are now exploring all the resort has to offer and enjoying the stunning scenery as well as their great packed lunches. The intermediate group again spent the day enjoying all the runs that the resort had to offer as well as the great tuition (and free sweets) that their instructor Heather was giving out. Tomorrow is race day and all students will be competing for the honour of fastest downhill slalom skier in their particular group.

In the evening the boys went to a local pizza parlour for an evening of food and fun. The pizza's arrived and many of the boys were amazed at the size of them, most managed to finish theirs but some had to admit defeat and leave their crusts. The evening was finished off with bowls of ice cream and a game of sport charades. The boys then got an early night with their tummies full and thoughts of being the slalom champion in the forefront of their minds!!!

Day Five

We all woke up this morning to clear blue skies again. All the groups were skiing back in Gölm. You could sense the anticipation as we rode the gondola to the top station. What would the race course look like and who would win the title of fastest skier of each group.

The beginners group 1 started the racing with some good quality turns and nobody missed a gate on the course. The intermediate group was next on the course; you could see the progress the lads had made over the week, with smooth parallel turns. Beginner group 2 were third on the course and again they looked brilliant compared to their first day. Nobody could believe the progress they had all made. Finally the advanced group took to the race course after a couple of warm up runs down the mountain. Some of the boys were looking like they might make a place on the GB ski team in a few years. All the races looked close but the results wouldn't be announced until the end of the day.

The rest of the day was fantastic skiing making the most of the superb conditions. One of the beginners groups made it to the first gondola station for the first time this week! Late into the afternoon the snow started falling again and the clouds started to cover the valley again. Hopefully there will be a night of snow and then a clear morning.

Tonight was Ice Hockey. Feldkirch were in a national play-off final against Zell-am-Zee. It was a fast and manic match; you could sense the atmosphere in the arena. The noise was unbelievable and gloves came off a few times. A deafening cheer went up after the final whistle as Feldkirch were victorious with a score line of 6-0. What a great way to end the week of evening entertainment.