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!