Page 87 - Wish Stream Year of 2019

surprisingly competent! The
track in Planica offered much
more complexity, some added
risk, and a long downhill which
featured a swooping right-hand
bend. Despite our bravery, it was
safe to say that the majority of us
weren’t quite up to the ‘turning around corners’ standard and as we whizzed down the track at what felt like 100mph, we were rewarded with a sore bum, and more often than not a pile-up of OCdts at the bottom of the track. We continued to develop our skating skills and spent an hour on cross-country skis learning a different tech- nique. Although we had to travel an hour to the location, the day was a real success and raised the morale of the team, who were eager to get more practice in.
Once again on the boundless search for snow, we extended our searches into Austria landing in a small town surrounding a lake in Turracher Höhe. Finding ourselves snowless, we decided to make the most of the opportunities of the local area, with two members of the trip paying to go downhill skiing and the rest enjoying the cuisine and culture. The evening was finished off with a traditional Slovenian dinner at a restau- rant just down the road from our accommoda- tion. Although none of us were daring enough to try the ‘bear paw’ main course option, the meal beat the classic potato and pork combina- tion that we had got far too familiar with at our accommodation over the course of the week.
The 20th of December marked the day we were to leave the accommodation and head to Lju- bljana for a final night out together. During the morning, after handing over the accommoda-
...the day was a real success and raised the morale of the team...
tion, we attended a lecture on avalanches and the use of the probe with both practical and classroom elements. After much deliberation, we all decided that the best option for the night was to stay in a hostel in Ljubljana and make the most of the culture and nightlife that it had to offer. Ljubljana itself is characterised by the work of the world-renowned architect Jože Plečnik and is certainly worth checking out for those who are looking for a relatively undiscovered city. The head of AT had also arranged for us to have a lecture with a SME in the British Embassy in Ljubljana. It was incredibly engaging and a great opportunity for the OCdts to learn about Slove- nian history.
After the lecture we made the most of being in the big city and were able to let our hair down in a pirate-themed cocktail bar (2 for 1 cocktails defi- nitely helping to fuel the fun). Despite some sore heads in the morning, the week ended on a high and after a final breakfast together, we were ready to
catch our flight back to Stansted.
Overall the trip proved a great team building experience, with the composite group made up from the two opposing companies bonding well over the week.
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