This was our second ski trip. We started from Spicheren and walked into Jegersberg until the snow was good enough to do some cross country skiing.

We were skiing for about an hour. After that little trip we had a break to recover for the exercises. In the end we could decide weather to train on our downhill skills our go for little trip around the area.

Area

The little skiing trip made us passing many of different types of ground. Flat ground, uphill, downhill and some difficult bridges and ways. Unfortunatly at some points the snow wouldn’t be enough to cover all the ground so we had to pass stones and mud.

Our training floor has been a little hill on an open spot between the trees. It was not too steep and fully covered with snow. Jegersberg being right around the corner makes it a perfect training spot. You can get there in less than 20 minutes and if the snow is good enough you can start right away on skis. But even if the snow is not so good, you can reach a skiing are in about 30 minutes by foot as we did.

The area allows you to stay in flat ground most of the time if you wish so. But it offers also steep hills and slopes. The terrain is rich on variety and is attractive for beginners as well as for advanced skiers. Moreover there is a cross country ski trail prepared. The suboptimal conditions made us going through different and difficult areas. This was sometimes challenging and exhausting as we didn’t train the techniques very well before. The little hill gave us the chance to train our balance on skis.

The role of the (vei)leader

Len, our Veileader, went out with us on that trip. He organized where to go and what to bring. He went with us on the little trip around the area, but he did not just go in front and make the whole group following. It was more like an excursion for us all together as one big group. The size of the group made it furthermore complicated for Len to observe everybody and help. But whenever something occurred in his field of view he would give helpful advice and suggestions.

The exercises on the little hill were perfect for Len to observe the students in detail. One after an other came down the hill and tried to follow the instructions. In this case Len was able to give advice directly to each person and to overview our performances.

Len didn’t spend too much time on talking and showing us the best way. He preferred to let us try and just sent us out to play. To motivate everyone going downhill he gave us little tasks and watched us trying. For those tasks he could easily use the given equipment and material as ski poles and hats.

The role of the students

We as students had a great day out in the snow. As many of us didn’t ski a lot before, we are still in the trying out and testing stage. So our main role was to find and keep our balance and enjoy the cross country skiing. Everyone was able to go in his own speed and decide weather to try steep hills on skies or walk instead. So the motivation was big and we all had a lot of fun. The open situation helped to motivate people as well. There was no pressure and the whole excursion was based on having fun and getting along with the skis. The activities were not too complicated so everybody felt nearly comfortable and able to do or even try it. While skiing down the little hill we had to go down and touch our heels, stepping sideways, skiing trough a pole goal and throwing our hats to Len and catch them when he threw them back. I doubt that there is somebody who did not work on their balance skills at this day and advanced skiers also had the chance to improve their techniques. Everybody got at least a bit more comfortable and confident.

Evaluation

I really liked the day, as we were all waiting to go out and try the cross country skis again. Sometimes it was a bit sad, that not everybody had the time to figure out how to pass difficult areas. Concerning the time some people were asked to put their skis off to be quicker. Sometimes figuring it out by yourself can motivate you even more. I enjoyed the little exercises on the hill and had a lot of fun. I also liked the part where we were free to do whatever we liked. Our tour was a bit too far for me but even though worth it. Some more advices for the techniques would have been nice but I figure we are going to learn those on our ski trip. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the fun we were all having together.