A group of fifteen Carthusians successfully competed in the Independent Ski and Snowboard Championships in Les Deux Alpes over six days from 14th – 20th December.
As many of the team had never skied competitively before, weekly training sessions were held during the few weeks before the races at Aldershot Ski Centre, as well as two days’ of practice with ESF instructors in the mountains at the start of the trip.
The Charterhouse team were delighted to take the bronze medal position in both the Slalom and Giant Slalom. Overall Charterhouse took third place in the Championships, which was a very impressive performance for a relatively novice team which was up against more experienced schools such as Wycombe Abbey and Hurst.
Several pupils also gave very impressive individual performances:
Max Fairfull, the youngest but most experienced racer on the team came first in the Junior Giant Slalom competition, before being promoted to the seniors for the Slalom where he came an impressive eighth.
Oliver Froggatt, our only snowboarder, successfully completed his first ever Slalom to claim the snowboarding title.
Archie Dodd is also an excellent skier and gave impressive and consistent performance. He came third overall in the U16 category, with very strong runs in both the Slalom and Giant Slalom.
The races were fun, but also tough. Woody, an experienced skier fell in the GS, cutting the inside of his cheek open badly and discovering that blood clots less easily at high altitude..!
On the final day the exciting Parallel Slalom sadly had to be cancelled owing to poor conditions of wind and rain and to save competitors from frost bite. However, that was not before the A and B teams had raced in temperatures of minus 20 C and very strong winds. They could easily be considered Charterhouse’s most extreme team!
When not racing, the team enjoyed free-skiing with the instructors and spending time relaxing in the famous Crepes-a-Gogo restaurant opposite the hotel!
All in all it was a very successful trip and the team bonded and got on very well. We will aim for even better results next year!
The Oak @ Charterhouse 
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