The End - A Lesson in Irony

Don't panic! We did not perish in the harsh Alpine winter, we were just engulfed by February. As schools across the world went on half term, semester break, or just swapped a week of 'formal education' for some of the WAGGGS brand 'non-formal education', visitor numbers to Our Chalet soared and we found ourselves eating, sleeping and breathing Chalet - even more so than usual.

We were out leading all levels of groups on our various activities. The Danish were challenged by our mountains (Seeing as the highest natural point in Denmark is approximately 10 times lower than where Our Chalet is, I can't say I blame them.) The Wimbledon group successfully completed a weeks skiing major injury free. The group from the USA finally saw 3 years of planning and worrying realised and can successfully say they have skied the Alps. The Norwegian groups almost ate us out of house and home. A group of UK leaders proved that you don't have to ski to enjoy the Alps in winter and most of all, that Guiding does not only provide opportunities for young people.

It wasn't just our guests who had a good time though - I too had a great last few weeks. I was out and about with some excellent company, enjoying the beautiful Alps, and developing my Alpine leadership style whilst I still had the chance. From talking to our various visitors I gained an insight in to the finance side of Girlguiding UK, learnt all about the Danish "Fastelavn", and ate dampers for the first time. I also spent half the time being feeling like I should be able to understand what the guests were saying when they were chatting in their own languages but not quite fully understanding.

Fastelavn - Danish Fasching/Karneval which involved hitting a barrel till the sweets fall out!

As the season came to a close, the 'firsts' didn't stop coming. For me, they took a fairly dramatic turn and the definition of "irony" was made exceptionally clear. Eighty thousand odd vertical metres and twenty-something days of skiing in to the season and the slopes got the better of me. The cloud on Luegli was the thickest I'd ever been in and I lost control as the ground seemed to drop from beneath me. Two flips later and I landed off the piste with only one ski on and a stabbing pain in my back. After some discussion with my Swiss colleague and a passer by who stopped to help, I decided that I was unable to ski down and they decided for me that it wasn't a good idea to walk. With that in mind, I was wrapped up in a fluorescent orange sledge on an inflatable back board, taken off the mountain, and popped straight in to the waiting ambulance. All very efficient.

The entire time I was sat in the snow, administering my own first aid to prevent hypothermia and still speaking German, I was convinced that the whole thing would have been a waste of time and actually they would probably just prescribe a dose of "taking it easy". These thoughts lasted until two x-rays, a CT scan and a physical examination later (so roughly two and a half hours after the accident itself) when the doctors confirmed that I had broken my "LWK 4". Shocked barely covers it; I felt absolutely fine, apart from the obvious pain in my back, and thought that a broken back would feel a lot worse. Breaking bones and seriously injuring myself is not my usual style, but I guess if I was going to have an accident, I might as well do it in style.

Anyway, I promised a lesson in irony so here it is.

Shortly before my fall, I had successfully skied the Adelboden World Cup piste. It gets better. I had been so proactive at hunting for my next job before my time at the Chalet was up that on each of the first three days after breaking my back, I received a job offer. Those jobs were all sailing instructor jobs, which I am now not allowed to do. Furthermore, the one thing (apart from seeing loved ones again) that I was looking forward to most about being home was driving. Something else I'm now not allowed to do. I only passed my driving test the day before I flew out to Switzerland. Also, it was the end of my time at Our Chalet - there were only four days left of work and only 6 days left until I was due to fly home - arguably I should have been good at skiing by then.

It's now six weeks later and although half of me is moping round the house for the above stated reasons, the other half is bent double (figuratively speaking - I'm not really allowed to bend) laughing at the irony of the past few weeks. All I've really lost is a couple of statements for the "I have never" game and I have, in fact, gained a beautiful new posture - all thanks to Kevin, my ever supportive "3-Punkt-Korsett". I am now having a rethink in terms of immediate job plans, for which both my bank balance and German skills are grateful. And, I AM STILL ALIVE!

These were not the experiences I expected to have at Our Chalet, and by all means not the usual Chalet experience, but valuable life lessons have been learnt. For the time being I have been forced to take a new career path and one which will be a step away from my sailing comfort zone, but this can only be a good thing. So as one chapter ends...bring on the next!

P.S. Always wear a helmet

You know it's cold when...

...you spend a day skiing with your buff frozen to your face
...you nip outside to get a group photo and your wet hair freezes
...your snot freezes in your nose as you walk between the Chalet buildings
...the sun shines all day yet there is still snow on the trees
...your platypus freezes whilst out hiking
...you hang your rucksack up in the porch to let it defrost and the next morning the ice is still there
...your necker freezes to your bedroom floor*
...food consumption doubles
...hiking in the Chalet fleece becomes a good idea
...you'd rather be washing up because at least then your hands would be warm

*heating problems in the staff house, it's a good job we're used to camping in all weathers!

Apart from the above, a lot has changed in the last month at Our Chalet. Our US volunteer, Brooke, had to fly home at short notice for family reasons. We have also just said farewell to Anna from Finland whose lucky students get her back. On the other hand, we have just gained Sammie (UK) who's helping out for five weeks as the change over of Vollies happens and as we prepare for a busy few weeks when February half term hits.

An Historical Week

In 1930 when Helen Storrow and Falk were searching for the perfect location for a Guide world meeting centre they tried many places in Switzerland. When Helen Storrow thought they’d found the perfect place, Falk disagreed. Helen Storrow thought that one particular place, located in Aeschi, came up to all her expectations and believed one could find “peace for the soul” there. Falk pointed out though, that “the modern youth was no more concerned with the peace of their souls than [she] had been” as a teenager. So, they continued searching for a place that could offer adventure to the youth of the day and eventually found the spot on which Our Chalet now stands.

Former and Current Staff Jan 2012

Returning to the present, it seems Falk was right and indeed the “youth” have been enjoying the adventure that Our Chalet and Adelboden have to offer ever since. We have just come to the end of the staff reunion for 2012 and it has been a great, if not tiring, week. We had guests who were staff in the 1970s, one person from the 80s and one from the 90s. We also had some from 2010 as well as, of course, the current staff. The week was a lot different to normal because unlike most guests, these ones know more about Our Chalet than we do! Instead of them asking questions about the Chalet, we were the ones asking them about how the Chalet had been in their time. One common theme in the stories, however, has been the adventure – even if the adventure has changed over the years.

For the volunteers from the 1990s and earlier, the winter season was all about skiing. They would ski at least five days a week and could ski all the way from Our Chalet to the bottom of the gondola at Oey and back again at the end of the day, something we would struggle to do today due to one of the lifts no longer being there. They also used to make and serve breakfast, then as the guests walked to the gondola, the staff would wash up and then race them there! Today we offer a much wider programme than just skiing, whether you consider that to be a good thing or not. Since I have been here, yes I’ve done a lot of skiing but I have also hiked to the top of Elsighorn (2341m), cross country skied and tobogganed almost everywhere!

Kat, Gaenor, Katie and Emily - Elsighorn

What’s been most impressive about the week is that the adventure still lives on. I had the privilege of skiing with Inge, who was Guider in Charge (now called World Centre Manager) from 1968-75 and still supports Our Chalet and pops in from time to time. Even at over 70 years old she is still incredibly active and out-skies everybody here. In fact, at some point during the week every one of the guests was still skiing, whether that be cross country or downhill. They also went snow tubing and hiking. All I can say is; I hope I am still that active at their age!

With this week over we are now awaiting the arrival of a group from Perth, Australia whose leader is an ex-volunteer. We also have a group of USA Girl Scouts Overseas coming from Saudi Arabia which should be good fun!

Programme!

The past week or so has been very exciting! In the space of about 36 hours we were knee deep in snow which was very good timing because shortly after that, our first guests arrived! A Ranger group of 21 from Hastings, Sussex. Their arrival meant us vollies got to go out on programme with them at the same time in order for us to be trained in that activity. The Rangers got to christen our powder on Baby Chalet Hill using our vast selection of sledges and tobbogans, inlcuding something called a ski-bock which at first I considered to be the most mental invension ever but now I realise it's fun! It's basically a ski with a small chair/bench stuck on top.

We also took our guests on a hike to Engstligen falls, which are slowly but surely freezing, and had a snow bbq in the forrest there. Other highlights of the week include a hike to the woodcarvers shop, with whom the Chalet have been working since seemingly forever. We have also been a part of several evening activities, inculding Swiss night, which includes chocolate fondue, and WAGGGS night, which involve quizzes and activities based around WAGGGS. We also had a camfire under the crystal clear night sky which was full of stars - a scene which I still remember from the first time I came here is just how perfect the night sky is here.

Round all this we have also managed a staff trip to Bern and had time to make this video. So on that note, here's hoping you had a very merry Christmas and einen gute Rutsch ins neues Jahr! (Nappy New Year!)

High up, high on the mountain...

I have now been in Switzerland for a week, I think, maybe…possibly. It’s hard to know what day it is as there’s work to be done at the Chalet 7 days a week and we started training on a Wednesday. There are six ‘Vollies’ or volunteers at the moment, we are expecting our 7^th at the end of next week. There’s Gaenor and I from the UK, Cata from Costa Rica, Mary from Tassie, Anna from Finland and Brooke from the US. Considering we’ve only known each other for about 4 days we seem to be getting on like a house on fire! But then again, that’s hardly surprising seeing as we all come from a Scouting/Guiding background. Most of us have lead units, all of us have been on international trips and like hiking, climbing and being outdoors. There was also a lot of excitement on our first day for the snow that was falling - to the extent that during lunch we took the sledges out in the grounds.

Our training so far has been in house, which is the usual stuff like making beds, cleaning bathrooms, and washing up. We’ve also had the more creative task of making posters about our selves and writing about ourselves for the website, making paper snow flakes…very much like a week at Guide camp! Training continues for another week, (we have catering and programme to learn about!) and then our first Guests start to arrive. We are also having a Christmas party for the locals (and Jon the Scone and LongJon who will be my first visitors) where all the kids get to sleep over in the Main Chalet attic.

Our other sessions of the week have been WAGGGS (the structure of which still baffles me) based. The most eye opening thing I’ve learnt is about just how influential they are. WAGGGS sit in on UN meetings and WAGGGS representatives are currently at COP17 where all countries who signed the Kyoto Protocol will be discussing their progress. WAGGGS's involvement in all this is focused on how climate change affects girls and young women. In developing nations, global warming means that the land is getting drier meaning water sources are becoming more scarce. This means not only having to walk further to find a clean water source, but also that simple things like fire wood and crops are harder to find and farm. For girls and young women in these countries they then spend more time collecting water, for example, and less time in school. For people like this, WAGGGS provides a platform for their voices to be heard. (Yes, Guiding is pretty big in Africa)


In developed nations, WAGGGS provides non-formal education of global issues such as climate change. Guiding provides the opportunity to learn things that aren't taught in school and for Guides to be pro-active and take an interest in the world around them. One of our activities along those lines ('cos lets be honest, we're hardly walking miles for fire wood!) was to make a video sending a message of support to those at COP17. I still don't know enough about climate change to be able to form my own opinions, or to know if I really 'believe' in climate change, however these past few days at this WAGGGS World Centre have definitely brought the matter to my attention.

Apart from the sessions on WAGGGS, one of ways in which Our Chalet is taking action against climate change is with its recycling. The Chalet has an extensive recycling programme including a large compost pile for all raw foods and a heating system which burns wood pellets that produce about a bucket of waste product a year. On a very basic level, for example, this means that the bin men have to drive up to the Chalet less often equalling fewer carbon emissions. Our lights can hardly ever be left on, too, because they're all on timers thus saving electricity when the forgetful Guide doesn't turn the light off!


In summary, that's what we've done this week! Oh, and the skiing -  just one of the highlights of living in a world class ski resort...it's a hard life! 
Bis zum nächsten Mal :-)

Not Quite at the Chalet

I realise I’m getting a little ahead of myself with the title of my blog however I have been waiting for this moment for about 6 years. I first went to Our Chalet, the WAGGGS (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) world centre in Adelboden, Switzerland, in 2005 as a Young Leader with my Guide unit. We arrived in cloud (and left in cloud, but that’s another story!) and I distinctly remember going to the bathroom just after waking up on our first morning and my jaw dropping as a casual glance out the window revealed the most stunning mountains I had ever seen – the type I had seen in pictures but didn’t realise actually existed. Needless to say we had a week I haven’t yet forgotten, a real eye opener and a week of firsts. We swam in a glacial lake, we hiked up to the summit of the Bundesspitz in time to watch the sunrise (my first proper peak!), we went horse riding, I turned 16 and we visited the Cailler chocolate factory which had an all you can eat tasting room at the end. However, the one thing that stands out to me the most is a comment one of my leaders made to me: “I could imagine you working here…” At that age I had hardly given a thought about what A-levels I wanted to take, let alone what career took my fancy or whether I would ever work abroad.

Which ever leader it was who made that passing comment to me has a lot to answer for. Since that trip I have grabbed every opportunity to climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every byway…errm hang on, so yeah since then the idea of working at the Chalet has always been at the back of my mind. Their summer season runs from too early in May to be compatible with the British school and university systems which is the only reason I haven’t done it yet. In the meantime though I discovered SSAGO (the Student Scout and Guide Organisation) and have been camping up and down the country with them. The Yorkshire branch made their first international trip this year. We spent a week in Slovakia and did some incredible hiking in the High Tatras. We also took my Leeds unit on the Girlguiding UK’s centenary trip to Our Chalet in February 2010.

International trips aside, my Guiding ‘career’ has gone from strength to strength since that first morning at Our Chalet. I became a qualified leader just after my 18^th birthday and have been an assistant leader with a Guide and a Brownie unit in Leeds and whilst I was in Austria I did my best to help with the Wichtel and Wölflinge (8-10 years) group in Zell am See – leading in German is tough, leading in Pinzgauerisch (the local dialect) resulted more to the WiWö leading me! The Cheshire Border ‘Get Wet Team’ have also successfully taught me to sail and thanks to them I got my Royal Yachting Association Dinghy Instructor qualification in 2009. Since leaving university I became Guider in Charge for a unit briefly which has been a pretty big learning curve, too – and, involves far more paperwork than I imagined!

I see my time at Our Chalet as my next Guiding adventure and although I’m still not entirely sure what it will involve, I am very much looking forward to Guiding on an international level and being a Waggg. I can’t wait for the snow to arrive and to spend my days off skiing, sledging or discovering the rest of Switzerland and particularly ‘Schwytzerteutsch’ a.k.a. Swiss German, but what I think will be the best part is the unknown – I’m almost certain that the long term staff and the guests will provide many unexpected challenges for us short term staff.