GDJ Snow Trip 2008
Last Friday afternoon in the GDJ office, there was a certain something in the air. It wasn’t the welcome warmth of Spring on it’s way, nor was it the aroma of Marty’s late lunch. No. It was the rising anticipation of the imminent annual GDJ ski trip!
By 4pm the office was almost empty. A convoy of cars filled with eager GDJ skiers, snowboarders and supporters was wending its way towards Mt Buller in the Victorian Alps. With a few toilet stops and car snacks under our belts we eventually made it up the mountain, narrowly avoiding wombats and travel spews on the way.
After a fairly wholesome Friday evening, the team woke up bright-eyed to a beautiful Saturday morning. It was time to test our skills on the slopes and those more experienced headed off to leave those less experienced in the capable hands of professional instructors. A few newbies accidentally found their way onto some black runs – which was hilarious for some and terrifying for others – but, thankfully, all walked away with bones still intact. The weather held out as muscles gradually gave out and by 6 o’clock most of us were gathered back in our lodge – or at the pub.
It wouldn’t be a proper GDJ trip without some key factors, the first being a serious cook-up by our Sydney contingent, Mr Paul ‘Gilo’ Giles. Feeding the family-friendly GDJ crew, including staff, kids, partners and even ex-staff, proved to be a breeze for our very own Gordon Ramsay. Then, of course, it was time for the GDJ Games. Table tennis, Fußball and SingStar were competition favourites, with highlights including Ben Day’s accidental bat butt-slap assault on Melissa and Chris and Michi’s ‘Material Girl’ sing-off. Andy Baker’s promise to do a nudie run if he was beaten at the table tennis table (which he was) is yet to be seen. Watch this space…
Sunday morning saw a few sore legs, arms (and heads) but the serious skiers and boarders were undeterred. Rain, hail and fog didn’t stop them from dominating the slopes as others hugged their hot chocolates. The weekend wound down with a big combined clean-up and the setting of challenges for next year. As we wearily made our way home, we were silently grateful that our office masseuse, Lindy, would be coming in on Monday to massage our aching muscles. And, of course, grateful to Cath, Ben and Pete for giving us all another memorable GDJ Snow Weekend. Until next year…
