Kandersteg Update
Guten Tag.. ich heisse Mo$es und komme aus Malta. This is an exclusive update from Switzerland where I sneaked off to a few days ago to check up on Chris at Kandersteg International Scout Centre. Below is what he had to say:
Hi fellow SVS! Everything's going well here, I'm almost at the end of training now and Switzerland's been great. I'll just fill you in on some of the stuff I've been up to so far. First stop was Milan, where I met Sara from Italy and spent the afternoon going round some of the main sights. Already learnt quite a few important things there, like not to trust any over-helpful people standing near a ticket machine in the train station. They might offer to buy your tickets for you, instead getting the most expensive option and then running off with your change. If you're ever in Milan, you might also want to watch out in Piazza Duomo, where you get surrounded by sellers tying 'free' bracelets round your wrist and then asking for a donation towards Africa for their kindness.
We arrived at Kandersteg train station in the evening and were picked up by the centre's van. The next day we didn't start training till 1700, so I spent the morning going round Thun and Spiez with some new friends. The Alpine scenery was amazing, other than the sun which only made its first appearance over a week later. Training started that evening and from then on the days all seem to fade into each other. We've had some days based mostly at the centre with training on reception, programme, campsite, catering and a few other topics.
On other days we got to head out into the mountains for some great hikes. First off was D-Day when we were woken up early for a team challenge round Kandersteg village, ending with a cable car ride up to Oeschinensee and a walk to the lake there. It was actually really interesting seeing how much it had shrunk compared to when I was last there in September. Since we were there practically at the end of summer all the ice had melted and come down into the lake, which hasn't happened yet this year.
Then came the Cheesery Hike, where we walked up to a traditional cheesery in the mountains right above the village. From there you ('re meant to anyway) have an amazing view of the whole village and the surroundings, but with all the fog on the day we just saw a white haze all around. Our next hike was up to the Uschinenhutte which is leased to the centre and we stayed overnight there. The weather that day was freezing, so to warm up we squashed as many people as possible into one room. In the morning we hiked further up for the Three Valleys hike, and had even more cold weather and snow. I was freezing all day because I hadn't packed enough warm clothes and the zip on my jacket broke..though it was still really cool being in so much snow for the first time ever. We had to turn back before completing the hike because of the weather conditions and walked back to the centre.
Two days ago we set off for the Lötschen Pass hike, by far the best day so far. At some points we were up to our knees in snow, and also got to see the sun for the first time here! Other than all the hiking and training sessions we also went rafting in the Simme river and went to the village for some indoor climbing, both of which were great.
Yesterday we had our gradutaion ceremonies to mark the end of training (or general training anyway) and this morning got told which departments everyone's in. I got into programme and shall be mostly guiding hikes, but first have one more week of training and need to be assessed at the end. Looking like it's going to be a great summer :)
Last thing I'd like to say if you're still reading is that KISC has already shown me how useful and relevant the SVS training has been to me in many ways, and I would like to pass on this message especially to the new recruits. I hope everyone has a rewarding Basic Training experience and makes the most of this summer, and see you all when I get back!
Btw the lack of pictures in the post is due to the slow laptop I've got here, but that should be fixed soon
Hi fellow SVS! Everything's going well here, I'm almost at the end of training now and Switzerland's been great. I'll just fill you in on some of the stuff I've been up to so far. First stop was Milan, where I met Sara from Italy and spent the afternoon going round some of the main sights. Already learnt quite a few important things there, like not to trust any over-helpful people standing near a ticket machine in the train station. They might offer to buy your tickets for you, instead getting the most expensive option and then running off with your change. If you're ever in Milan, you might also want to watch out in Piazza Duomo, where you get surrounded by sellers tying 'free' bracelets round your wrist and then asking for a donation towards Africa for their kindness.
We arrived at Kandersteg train station in the evening and were picked up by the centre's van. The next day we didn't start training till 1700, so I spent the morning going round Thun and Spiez with some new friends. The Alpine scenery was amazing, other than the sun which only made its first appearance over a week later. Training started that evening and from then on the days all seem to fade into each other. We've had some days based mostly at the centre with training on reception, programme, campsite, catering and a few other topics.
On other days we got to head out into the mountains for some great hikes. First off was D-Day when we were woken up early for a team challenge round Kandersteg village, ending with a cable car ride up to Oeschinensee and a walk to the lake there. It was actually really interesting seeing how much it had shrunk compared to when I was last there in September. Since we were there practically at the end of summer all the ice had melted and come down into the lake, which hasn't happened yet this year.
Then came the Cheesery Hike, where we walked up to a traditional cheesery in the mountains right above the village. From there you ('re meant to anyway) have an amazing view of the whole village and the surroundings, but with all the fog on the day we just saw a white haze all around. Our next hike was up to the Uschinenhutte which is leased to the centre and we stayed overnight there. The weather that day was freezing, so to warm up we squashed as many people as possible into one room. In the morning we hiked further up for the Three Valleys hike, and had even more cold weather and snow. I was freezing all day because I hadn't packed enough warm clothes and the zip on my jacket broke..though it was still really cool being in so much snow for the first time ever. We had to turn back before completing the hike because of the weather conditions and walked back to the centre.
Two days ago we set off for the Lötschen Pass hike, by far the best day so far. At some points we were up to our knees in snow, and also got to see the sun for the first time here! Other than all the hiking and training sessions we also went rafting in the Simme river and went to the village for some indoor climbing, both of which were great.
Yesterday we had our gradutaion ceremonies to mark the end of training (or general training anyway) and this morning got told which departments everyone's in. I got into programme and shall be mostly guiding hikes, but first have one more week of training and need to be assessed at the end. Looking like it's going to be a great summer :)
Last thing I'd like to say if you're still reading is that KISC has already shown me how useful and relevant the SVS training has been to me in many ways, and I would like to pass on this message especially to the new recruits. I hope everyone has a rewarding Basic Training experience and makes the most of this summer, and see you all when I get back!
Btw the lack of pictures in the post is due to the slow laptop I've got here, but that should be fixed soon
posted by Mo$es at 11:40 AM
0 comments
