Review: Val Thorens 2014

Freshers week has long claimed to be the pinnacle of student social activity. A celebration of youth and new adventures that marks the beginning of another year of academia. Forget it.

Try freshers week on steroids. Try freshers week minus the clothes. Try freshers week with a dollop of snow and lick of day drinking, covertly named après. Throw all this into a filthy big cocktail and you were probably enjoying a week in Val Thorens to finish off the stupendously long St Andrews break, courtesy of St Andrews Snowsports (SAS).

There are few things on Earth that would force me to endure a coach journey that extends into the double figures but the annual SAS ski trip is certainly one of them. I like to see it as a warm up, a soul-crushing, butt-numbing, mentally arduous warm up to the ski trip. It is the calm before the storm, the way one earns the vast enjoyment that awaits them.

Arriving late afternoon, 300 St Andrews students piled off the coaches and straight into ski hire, settling down in the hotel and preparing to party away their numb buttocks from the journey. The excitement for the week ahead is palpable. This week promises the best the alps has to offer in both skiing and nightlife.

Firstly, the skiing. From the green run beginners to the off piste experts, all St Andreans could be seen hitting the slopes of Val Thorens in style. Whether you’re a first on the slopes or more of a social skier, there’s nothing quite like a blue sky day with some fresh ‘powda’ beneath your skis, and we got just that in spades.

After we were done carving up the mountain, we were welcomed to engage in the conveniently named act of après. Day drinking sometimes gets a bad wrap, people are too quick to throw around words such as ‘alcoholic’ and ‘waster’, but in the alps, it’s absolutely encouraged. Convening around 4pm, it’s a great way to catch up with your mates and grab a few drinks to celebrate being the best skier in Val Thorens. The highlight of these après was certainly Afrojack’s set at Bar 360, which was quite literally bouncing.

To put it bluntly, the SAS ski trips are all about the night time entertainment. Just when you thought you were on a sports holiday, you soon realise that you’re actually here to party. With great dress themes such as pirates, harry potter and white t-shirt night (a night when your friends unleash a brutal critique of your life via marker pen) these tend to be the best nights of your year. As much as my heart longs for Iain’s cheesy tunes, it’s a breath of fresh air to enjoy real night clubs if only for a week. Flaming bars, stripper poles and live bands were the flavour of the week, and we were lapping it up. The confused look on St Andrean faces as the night extends beyond 2 am is a particular highlight.

If there’s one thing to blow your student loan on, it’s got to be the SAS annual ski trip. Whether you ski hard, or just like to party. Whether your an ‘SAS wanker’ or don’t know anybody yet. This trip is for everybody and is not to be missed. Get involved.

#BESTWEEKOFYOURLIFE