Unable to guarantee a suitable volume of the white stuff in England, two of our intrepid outdoor education team led a snowshoeing adventure in the French Alps from Friday 12th to Tuesday 16th December. 10 boys from Year 10 to Upper Sixth were delighted to begin their Christmas holidays in such snowy surroundings, testing out this popular new activity.
Snowshoeing is essentially hiking in the snow wearing special snowshoes that clip over walking boots to increase the surface and distribute weight more evenly. This enables hikers to reach beautiful, undisturbed landscapes and less accessible routes without sinking into the snow.
The group flew from Heathrow to Geneva on the last day of term and were based in Sallanches, a year-round mountain activity hub in the Southeast of France, close to the Mont Blanc and gateway to famous resorts like Megève and Chamonix. Their initial orientation and snowshoe fitting was at the gorgeous Plaine Joux. The itinerary was fairly flexible due to the need to alter plans around the weather and conditions on the mountains. Six pre-planned options had been thoroughly researched in advance and over the course of the trip the walkers tackled some gorgeous routes. Saturday saw the group digging snow shelters and exploring on snowshoes at Les Houches with stunning views of Mont Blanc.
Describing the day’s activities Charlie (Year 10) explained: “Today we’ve done about 4km trail through the snow and through a really, really pretty forest and about 500 metres upwards, then we’ve had a spot of lunch with that view over there.” Luca (Year 10) added: “We’re going up to the second summit after doing some really fun snow avalanche training then we’re going come slowly back down the mountain to take the minibus back to the hotel and have some pizza!”
All of the hikers enjoyed the incredible views and physical activities of the trip. Head Boy, Oscar (Upper Sixth) shared: “I came on this trip because I wanted to clear my mind a bit and do something new. My highlight has definitely been the views and being with others and just relaxing a bit.” “I thought it would be awesome to just walk through the mountains and my highlight has definitely been the igloo building.” commented Ethan (Lower Sixth). Charlie (Upper Sixth) noted: “I’ve never done snowshowing before so I thought it would be something a bit different and it’s the Christmas season with snow and all that. It is quite nice with all the views and different culture and just having fun outside. My favourite bit has been building the igloo and then building my throne! It’s pretty cool!”
See the photos in our online gallery!
Take the next step by selecting an option below, or if you want to drop us a quick message, you can do so with the form.
Δ