Posted April 2025.
Excitement bubbled, despite the antisocial hour of 4am, and tired eyes widened as we were greeted with the blinding lights of Birmingham airport. Two hours later – and one minor hiccough – and we were on the first of two planes to Amsterdam, where we would be met with queues for passport control before a buzz of excitement on the plane to Barcelona.
Hoodies were removed and reconfigured into pillows for the three-hour coach journey into the tiny, but mighty, country of Andorra. A lull in excitement as the hours of missed sleep were caught up on, but as the coach hauled itself through the hilly landscape of Andorra and up into the heart of the Pyrenees Mountains, the buzz returned and a realisation that we had made it – we were here! – was felt throughout the team.
Our first full day in Andorra was just as full on, but the adrenaline and excitement got us through the 7am breakfast time, and, even when the queue to get our boots fitted and our equipment sorted spilled out into the street, there were no complaints; only questions of what will it be like? What if I can’t ski? How do I walk in these boots!? And then, once we were up on the slopes, the questions quickly turned into has anyone got any suncream? And where can I put my baselayers? As we were quick to realise that the Andorran sun was hotter than we were expecting and the layers and layers of thermals were not going to be necessary!
All week the skiing and snowboarding was a blast! From having first day ‘tests’ of skiing in a circle with only one ski on, to flying down the reds and blacks by the end of the final day, our young people made heaps of progress and found they were so much more capable than they first thought. It was an absolute pleasure and a privilege to witness the courage and confidence grow in our young people and, although we were all exhausted by the end, we had definitely made some memories to last a lifetime.
And not only did we have the best time on the slopes, but we also made memories in the town where, for two consecutive evenings, our bowling skills were put to the test, along with some stunning karaoke versions of Time of My Life, Teenage Dirtbag, and, of course, Sweet Caroline. We spent the final evening, after returning all of our equipment and saying a fond farewell to our fabulous instructors, in the town once more, buying last minute gifts for loved ones and filling our stomachs with tapas and smash burgers. It might be fair to say that the evenings spent in town with friends were almost as good as flying down the slopes on two sticks!
Our journey home was much smoother than our journey out – the only challenge being told to run when we landed in Amsterdam – but everyone arrived back in Birmingham with all of their belongings, with no broken bones, and, most importantly, with new friends and new memories of the most exciting adventure!
 |
 |
 |
|
||