does it get any better?

Over the years, taking into account my scouting, outdoor instructing and teaching, I would've organised and led close to 100 trips into the outdoors with youth. Having reflected overnight, I can earnestly say that our 3 day tramping and skiing adventure at Temple Basin was the best trip I've ever done with youth in the outdoors. That's a significant call to make so in this post I hope to articulate why I can make such a call. 

We've worked incredibly hard this year as a group to build resilience, self-confidence, trust, respect and camaraderie. I'll be frank, at times it's been a tough road. Like any group of learners, we've had a fair share of both highs and lows. Sometimes growth is difficult to gauge - especially when it hasn't been tested out of context, e.g. out of the school environment. Temple Basin is as out of context as you get! A club ski field requiring a 1 1/2 hour steep mountain climb to access not to mention all the challenges an un-groomed, rugged, untamed ski area poses! 20 out of 22 students had never done any real skiing and they were learning to ski on one of the toughest ski areas in the country. Our instructor kicked off her lesson with "Welcome to Temple Basin, this is not the best place to learn to ski but if you can learn to ski here, you can ski anywhere!"

As a class, we did a lot of mental preparation for this adventure. I didn't want to disguise how much of a challenge this was going to be so was brutally open in terms of what students could expect of such a challenge. I think this 'no surprises' approach really paid dividends. 

Learning to ski at Temple Basin is a lot different to learning at some of our larger commercial ski fields. When learning, you do your best to stay on your skis but fall or crash more times than you can count. There is no travelator or chair lift available to transport you back to the top of the slope. You have to kick out of your skis and walk back up! Every time. When learning at Temple Basin, you also have to avoid rocks, ice, un-groomed snow mounds and terrain traps. Our students got knocked down time and time and again but got up again time and time again. They were positive, resilient and confident. On day two, we got the higher ability skiers to pear up with the lower ability skiers and the result was simply magic. In fact, it gave me goosebumps. The trust, support, respect and camaraderie I witnessed was breathtaking. 

By day three, due to their attitudes and mental and physical resilience almost all students were skiing with confidence and most were turning on intermediate slopes. Almost all had mastered the rope tow and the formidable, infamous nutcracker. Many are now 'talking up' more trips with their families and friends before the season ends. 

When skiing at Temple Basin, you're part of a larger club family. You're sharing the lodge and all its facilities with other skiers. This means you have responsibilities. I was incredibly proud of how our students behaved in and around the lodge. They turned up for their duties, which included clearing plates, washing dishes and wiping down tables and did these without complaint. Their behaviour in the lodge was exceptional. They went to bed on time, got big sleeps and kept quiet in their bunkrooms in the morning out of respect of the parents, each other and other club members. I got two of the best sleeps I've had in years! The feedback I received from the Temple Basin staff as a result was overwhelmingly positive and inspiring. 

I need to thank our incredibly helpful and proactive parents that came. Our trip wouldn't have been anywhere near as successful without your positive guidance and sense of fun. Sarah, Steve, Rob, Warren and John, you helped make the experience very memorable.

So far this year, we've been caving, rafting, sea kayaking, abseiling and rock climbing. We're going for an overnight tramp next term, a day's mountain biking and possibly some sailing. So many more outdoor experiences to look forward to. Most importantly, from a teaching perspective (and this is the best part about education outside the classroom for a teacher), I'm looking forward to transferring our experiences at Temple Basin and all our prior adventures to their academic, social and behavioural achievement at school. 

Powerful real-life wilderness experiences like this, without the distraction of devices, the internet or T.V can make a real difference to learning. Bring it on.