Student Exchange Ski Trip

2008 Rotary Youth Exchange Ski Trip to Jasper The third annual ski trip for the Rotary Exchange Students showed our international guest another aspect of living in Alberta, some of the best skiing in the world. Reasonable temperatures, fresh snow and majestic scenery were just the beginning. The weekend started with journeys from places as far away as Yellowknife to the Anglican church in Jasper town site. Here students spread out their sleeping mats and got ready for a long day of skiing by talking most of the night! Saturday morning we were greeted at the ski hill with snow and even more snow. While it was a bit cold and some suffered the consequences of not having proper warm clothing, we got through the day without any incidents and just a few cold fingers. More importantly everyone from first-time snowboarders to expert skiers had a great time in some of the best snow they had ever seen. Apres ski started with a drive back into town. A herd of elk were enjoying a buffet of shrubs and some of us were enjoying watching the park warden chasing them back into the trees. Hopefully everyone got a chance to see them. If not there they can usually be seen along the highway. Here we have one of those highway shots of a group of mountain goats: We headed for the swimming pool to burn off even more energy, have showers and work up an appetite for a pizza dinner and some games of pool! The group headed back to the church in blistering mountain winds with full stomachs. All seemed to be quite content if not a bit tired. And still one more day of skiing. Sunday turned out to be one of those idyllic days in the mountains. It was cold enough to feel the bite on the cheeks, but the sun was shinning in all its glory and the snow was sparkling. I was glad our guests could see the mountains at their best. The beginners were much more confident and were really starting to enjoy moving down the mountain on a board. Friendships were solidified and the instructors seemed to have a lot of fun with a group of enthusiastic and adventurous teenagers. It doesn't get any better and as I watched and skied with these exchange students I'm very confident that our world is in good hands.