Camp Journal

Polar adventures of the green and red groups

2nd July 2013

The green and red groups of international Camp Suisse session one had an epic day in every sense of the word. The schedule was a trip up to Glacier 3000 in the Swiss Alps, followed by an afternoon swimming on the edge of Lake Geneva, the day started with an early wake up at around 6am. Keen for the day’s activities they rushed to the dining hall with enthusiasm, wolfing down a selection of yoghurts, cereals, toast and fruit to fuel them for a long day ahead.

On the bus some campers slept, whilst other campers attempted to adopt the Scottish accent shown by some of the Scottish group leaders. The campers arrived at glacier 3000, eyes beaming and jaws agape. Husky dogs barked in the distance as we piled off the bus, staring at the somewhat long journey upwards via giant cable car onto the glacier.

Once on the cable car, green and red groups spread around the open windowed car, staring at the view as we towered above the lush, green valley below. Group leader Liam even managed to keep a hold on his fear of heights! We then ascended further via a second cable car and then onto the glacier itself, leading to a rolling, silken blanket of snow.

After walking towards the eager husky dogs, in groups of four everyone got a turn riding on the back of a sled driven by the huskies. An array of snow balls then followed, as red and green campers attempted to take down groups leaders. Panoramic views and information on glaciation were also on offer. The glacier trip finished with a ride down the toboggan for all the campers, winding down the side of the glacier, inducing screams of excitement the whole way down.

Following a hearty lunch, the campers showed off their impressive diving skills at the pool side by Lake Geneva. Mark the photographer managed to backwards belly flop from a seven metre diving board, whilst Faisal from the green group displayed a rather streamlined drop into the pool. Alongside this, the youngsters of the red group played games in the small pool beside the lake. The afternoon ended with a mini thunder storm as we all arrived back at camp, tired and eager for dinner.

All in all it was a day full of ice cream, the opposites of mountain glaciers in contrast to sweltering lake sides, but most of all it was abundant with beaming smiles and lots of fun.