Ski Ya Later! Moville Community College students take to slopes of Northern Italy

January 31st marked a first for Moville Community College, flying out of City of Derry Airport rather than enduring the long journey to Dublin Airport, for a memorable ski trip to Italy.

Moville Community College and Carndonagh Community School joined forces to charter a direct flight to Verona airport, before splitting off for their respective destinations on the slopes of northern Italy.

The Inishowen group had a slightly earlier departure due to an air traffic control strike on the other side, but thankfully, it was only a one-hour difference.

Students and staff touched down in Verona and had their first taste of Italian cuisine in the form of splendidos (which were really fancy cheese and ham sandwiches) before filing into the buses after wrestling a few suitcases into the luggage compartment.

For the Moville group, the journey to the resort at Polsa was almost as pretty as the resort itself. The snow-topped mountains, occasional deer, colourful villages, and traditional cathedrals entertained the eager visitors thoroughly.

After many winding roads, they finally checked into Hotel Bellavista, ready for the week ahead.

They were doubtful at first whether there would be enough snow, but when they began the steep ascent to Polsa, it became clear there was no shortage of it!

On the first night's agenda was a ski boot fitting and a year-wide snowball fight. The next day, everyone trekked down to the bottom of the hill to collect their skis and begin lessons.

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For the first couple of days, most of them resembled Bambi-on-ice (including the author of this article), but eventually everyone got the hang of it! They were lucky that instructor Anna was patient and helpful.

The foggy weather conditions, combined with the snowfall, made it particularly challenging on some days, but they always had great fun. Students were impressed by some of the MCC teachers' skiing abilities, but others not so much [without naming any names].

They would ski for two hours in the morning, then return to the hotel for lunch, before another two hours of skiing that evening.

The hotel staff were also extremely hospitable. Bruno ensured that tables always had plenty of water and kept the group entertained during meals despite the language barrier.

The MCC students were even able to take advantage of the hotel's pool and sauna; very relaxing after the freezing mountains.

The trip was made unforgettable thanks to all the wonderful teachers and hotel staff who ensured everything ran smoothly during the holiday of-a-lifetime.