In February 2018 I went to Andorra on a school ski trip – and it was a lot. I don’t come from a family where ski trips are a regular getaway, or a school that casually does this sort of thing, so the majority of us on the trip had never skied before. Prior to leaving, several of us had lessons at a mock ski facility. You got certificates for each stage you got through, I was the only one not to get a stage on certificate – at this point I should have known the trip wouldn’t go smoothly. It also wasn’t particularly smart of me to then not get any more lessons.
Arriving to Andorra itself is rather interesting. We flew to Barcelona, then coached to Andorra. Scenic wise, it was pretty, and the views from the ski mountains were mesmerising. But the skiing part… not so much. My biggest nightmare are the ski shoes. The blisters, the aching in my ankles, I would walk on pavements of Lego for the rest of my life rather than put on another pair of ski boots. The actual skiing part itself is outrageously overrated. There were a few fun parts, jumps and going through tunnels, but 90% of time it felt like a 30 second wizz down a hill, 20-minute queue for the lift and 10-minute lift, then repeat.
Now, on the better side those ski lifts were amazing. Seeing the entire mountain landscape from a little ride in the ski was beautiful. And at the top of the main ski path, the hot chocolate served there was on another level. If skiing was just the lifts and relaxing on mountain tops drinking hot chocolate then maybe I wouldn’t mind it.
I would never discourage anyone from going skiing, as long as a traveller is aware it’s not all fun and exciting; there is a lot of stop and starts. In truth, the only thing I came back from Andorra with was a suitcase of the ski resorts carton hot chocolate and ankles so bruised I could barely walk.
