Shenanigans in Chamonix

So Chamonix was an amazing week, but definitely one of those 'holidays' where you need a holiday to recover from the previous one!

One of the things that Camp Quality UK is trying to do is to make more use of Social Media and Web 2.0 (this blog being one example) and it just so happened that the fact that one of the young people was an aspiring film maker really helped!

So Murray (or Mr. Spielberg as we affectionately took to calling him) has produced this rather stunning documentary. At 14 years old he's certainly in the running for the youngest ever film director to win an Oscar!

The documentary runs to about 35 minutes in 4 parts, so enjoy watching it and joining in the fun. If you fancy donating to the charity so that we can take more young people with cancer away on these amazing holidays, then you can do so here.

Chamonix 2008 - Part 1/4




Chamonix 2008 - Part 2/4




Chamonix 2008 - Part 3/4




Chamonix 2008 - Part 4/4

Companion Alex raises money for Camp Quality UK!

Experienced companion, Alex Cornish, is embarking on a phenomenal challenge to raise money for Camp Quality UK's future holidays.

Alex, a fourth year medical student at the Hull-York Medical School, will be not only running a marathon, but will be doing it up a mountain, in the OMM Mountain Challenge!

Following all the cakes and sweets at our New Barn camp, Alex has started training in ernest.

We would like to thank Alex for all the effort and training he'll be putting in over the next few months. If you'd like to support Alex, please visit his JustGiving page.

Ice Ice Baby!

If there's one thing to be said about canyoning, it's that it rained. A lot.

But there was also a lot of fun had, with people jumping off high rocks, sliding down rock slides and abseiling down the side of gushing waterfalls. It was a fun but tiring morning!

Because of the rain, we were unable to go rock climbing. So we went ice skating instead! Several people had never been skating before, but took to the ice like ducks take to water (with the help of the handy learning frames).

Pictured above is Mick, Bridie and Becca showing the athletes competing in the Beijing Olympics how t should be done!

There were a few falls though, which meant there were plenty of bumps and bruises among the groups. Luckily, our cook Sue doubles up as an Alternative Therapist and we had an evening of massages and reiki to recuperate our sore bodies.

Let's hope we can patch ourselves together for more activities tomorrow!

On top of the world!

We've arrived in Chamonix and are already having an amazing time! This photo was taken at Belle Vue, a viewpoint at the top of a cable car near to Chalet Robert.

That mountain in the background is none other than Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps!

Yesterday we went on a luge, where we took a sledge and flew down the side of the mountain in a concrete half-pipe. Take a look at the all-action video below to see what we mean!



Today we're having a lazy morning before going canyoning, where we'll be scrambling, climbing, jumping, and swimming through a series of canyons!

A little bit about our Chamonix camp...

Our Chamonix camp is a holiday for teenagers, based high in the mountains in Chamonix, France. This year's holiday takes place from August 9-16, where the charity will be taking 9 children and 6 volunteers. The Chamonix camp is a special one and most people return home needing another holiday to recover from this one!

Location

The camp takes place in Chalet Robért, which is kindly donated for our use by Bob Camping. Chalet Robért is a large, traditional French chalet set in the picturesque surroundings of Les Houches which sleeps up to 18. It is positioned within 5 minutes' walk of the Prarion lift which gives access to the largest ski area in Les Houches.

Medical care

Medical care is provided by a doctor who stays with us at the accommodation and travels with us to all the activities. The local hospital is 10 minutes' drive away and provides excellent emergency medical care. If your child is on treatment please contact us and we can discuss how we can cater for them.

Accommodation

The chalet is laid out over three floors providing 4 double rooms (3 of which are ensuite), 2 twin rooms, one single room and a bunk room which sleeps 5. There is a spacious kitchen and living/dining area on the ground floor with plenty of room to seat everyone. The lounge with its ornate stone fireplace and modern entertainment facilities opens out onto a large balcony/deck, perfect for taking in the view and enjoying a few winter drinks or maybe a summer barbeque.

Activities

The activities in Chamonix are more adventurous compared to our other camps, but there's still plenty to do for everyone. Activities include rock climbing, white water rafting, mountain biking, gorge scrambling, luge, volleyball, and plenty of chilling out after all the activities!

Whoops! Where's our internet gone?!

We're having an amazing time at New Barn, but only of the only drawbacks from being in the middle of nowhere is internet access!

We've taken plenty of photos and videos showing what a fantastically fun time everyone is having, so when we get back (and we've slept long enough to recover!) we'll upload all our content to this blog so you see just what we got up to.

Chiao for now!