Instead of having lectures this day, because the weather was so nice and there was plenty of snow. We organised a trip into the local forest Jegersberg where there was cross country ski tracks pressed into the snow. We met outside Spicheren at 10:30 am and then proceeded to head into the forest. We had to wait till we got up there to decide what type of wax we would use and we needed to test the snow first before making our decision otherwise you could use the wrong wax and this can either cause too much friction or not enough. We started off round the 700 meters track as we were still beginners at this point so we did route a couple times until we felt warmed up enough to take on the 4km track. When we felt we were ready we headed out, not knowing what to expect as this was my first proper circuit doing cross-country. At first, a lot of us were falling, although as a lot of people in Outdoor Education like to say… Learning by failing! This trip is also the one that made Jill famous, as we recorded her falling over and Marek then edited this, racking up more than 4000 views on Facebook. Although we were over taken several times by Julian and Martin, this did not bother me as I knew it was a learning process that I was going through and I would soon improve, as I could already see it happening. After going round the track, which took maybe 2 hours maximum, we headed back to the main area and we decided that for lunch we would make a fire ourselves and cook some hot dogs. This for me was the first time that I had actually tried to start one using a flint. There is something strangely satisfying about making a fire for the first time. I was very proud of myself as it is a good skill to have and if you are put in a bad position, it can save you. After eating lunch and putting the fire out, we went back out again on the track. This time Jill did not join us as she had hurt herself when falling over going down one of the hills. So it was just us boys and Saedis. This time we felt more confident and we knew what was coming round each corner so it seemed to go in half the time although by which time we were pretty tired so we decided to call it a day and head home. This trip was good for me as it showed what the different layers of laying did. I had to change half way round as the thermals were too warm for me.