February 4, 2019, by Sunita Tailor

Swapping Sonnets For Skis

This blog was written by first year English student, Harriet Mills.

After an intense start to University, on the last day of term, I decided to ditch the metaphors for the mountains. I grabbed the essentials, my skis and a warm coat and embraced the 24-hour coach journey to Avoriaz with the snow sports society.

As much as I hate the clichéd ‘if you know, you know’ phrase, Avoriaz essentially mirrored any French ski resort / fairytale. It had Boulangeries, filled with pastries where the smell alone emanating from them transfixed your brain into thinking it was necessary to have one (or four.) Lively, but cosy bars where it was beer o’clock every hour, or a place to get a ‘chocolat chaud’ in the hope of regaining the feeling in your fingers. And interestingly numerous horse and carriages to replace the no car rule, which accommodated the pleasantly archaic nature of Avoriaz.

After doing a ski season, the prospect of getting back on the slopes alongside friends was one I jumped at. Going with the university also turned the trip into a social event. Meeting new people and living in accommodation where privacy was as non-existent as the cars meant we all got to know each other pretty well.

So our ‘clique’ hit the mountains everyday, we glided through the white blankets laid out between trees and caught chair lifts that lent our eyes the most spectacular views of the white peaks.

Like any student, with anything they do, you’re always doing it on a budget and skiing itself isn’t exactly the cheapest hobby. However, on the days when pasta and ketchup (don’t knock it till you’ve tried it), didn’t suffice we treated ourselves to some alpine style pizzas and burgers, which at the time seemed worth the price.

Alongside all the skiing and eating, the ‘dancing on tables’ with anyone and everyone until the early hours was how we all chose to end our day.

In a constant attempt to make sure we took full advantage of our time in the mountains, the week passed by in a matter of moments and before I knew it we were back on the bus home.

But nonetheless it was a week full of sun, snow and sipping on vin chaud.

Well done Avoriaz, you were snow-mazing.

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Google+
• Share on LinkedIn