Charlotte Pass Cross Country Camp Wrap Up

The Charlotte Pass Camp concluded on Saturday, 12 October. 40 well-exercised and socialised children (and 10 exhausted adult minders) are now back in their real lives, anywhere between Melbourne and Sydney.

With not a groomed track to be had, they skied every day to Kosciuszko, Stillwell, Club Lake and elsewhere (ski-orienteering added an extra dimension). They tried to cross the village creek on a slack line and mostly ended in the creek (accidentally on-purpose). The Charlotte Pass version of Pond-Skim-on-a-Surfboard offered more opportunities to get wet. They successfully crossed the Snowy River steppingstones without getting wet (no ski boots lost this year). They snow-camped (in sleeping bags in tents, not necessarily sleeping). They surfed the slopes (on the finless surf board) and built jumps that were well used (no skis broken as far as we know). They started the days with yoga or a run and finished them with talent shows, trivia nights and night orienteering. Some practiced their Finnish.

They cleaned the lodge on the last day (some more effectively than others) and then took off on the annual Death March (a two hour run, no skis, up the slope, across to Stillwell and back again) to be collected by parents and whisked away. The lost-and-found pile is something to behold. The weather was unexpectedly kind and the snow abundant (red with dust). The food was extraordinary, even for the fussy eaters. 

It was quite the week. And can these kids ski !!!

Many thanks to the grown-ups who kept things on a relatively even keel all week.  Also, thanks to St Andrews Cathedral School for the loan of the beautiful yellow tents, to Anticorp and the Ciganas from Your Workwear for the design and production of the Camp T-Shirts. 

Stephan and Jules can’t be thanked enough for their care and feeding and to KAC for generously subsidizing the accommodation – well-fed and comfortable all!

Special thanks to the Rob Kneller Youth Foundation for supporting camp attendance for Jindabyne school students.

Happy campers

The beautiful Yellow Tents

And the view from the tents

Crossing the Snowy River

The daily plunge