NOVICE skiers who had never been on a slope before a school trip to Italy, are now looking to take up the sport.
Joseph McCann, 14, and Aamna Khan, 15, were among the 46 Haslingden High School students who travelled, along with six staff members, to Sestriere Ski Resort.
The skiers from Years 10 and 11 were in Italy from Monday to Sunday and spent five full days on the slopes.
Joseph said: “I had never skied before; I think I may have been to the Chill Factore when I was little and been on a slide but never skied”
Aamna was also a novice and, like Joseph, spent the first two-hour skiing lesson falling down many times.
She said: “I was a lot worse than Joseph and I fell a lot – must have been about 20 times – and then we had a break for lunch.
“We went back on the slopes, from 3pm-5pm and we went on a baby slope which was a bit more uphill and somehow I managed to get it.”
They both found when they stopped skiing on fairly flat surfaces and took to the steeper routes they improved.
Joseph said: “It was beautiful and, on the way there, the minibus took us up a very steep hill and we had different views every 10 seconds.
“I was absolutely terrible at the beginning but at the end of the week I was on red slopes and I got more confident.”
They both found the ski lifts a bit of a struggle but marvelled at the views as they went to the top.
At the resort, many professional skiers were competing and there were a lot of young children, much younger than the Haslingden High School students, who were skiing on the slopes with loads of confidence.
Joseph has now asked his mum Karen if they can go on a skiing holiday in the future because he really enjoyed it.
He added: “It would be fun teaching my mum how to ski and seeing her fall over; that was only a joke.”
Aamna is also hoping to develop her abilities and is looking into joining a ski club at The Hill, Home of Ski Rossendale.
They both said they were so pleased that they had been given the opportunity to make the school trip.