Gary and I had managed to get the last two beds and, though I like the camaraderie of communal lodging, a room of bunkbeds filled with half a dozen drunk men with wet socks isn’t the ideal condition for a restful night’s sleep. Over the next couple of days we got to know people from all over the world, united by this unique experience. We ate together, joked and played games together, had a mass snowball fight and a disco. One man told me it had been “one of the best times of my entire life”.