 Poster: A snowHead
|
Half day trip with son aged 7.
Staying at Esprit Annahof (very good) with family.
Minimal ski gear taken- softshell trousers for me, waterproof bib for son, gloves, socks and sunnies in addition to usual summer holiday in the mountains with children packing (ie no boots, skis, poles)
Rental- ok at nearest shop- intersport- 10% discount when I asked for it.
Distance to lifts- fine with a 7 yr old- a couple of hundred meters.
Arrived at lift just before opening- 7-7.30ish- queue full of ski club kids from all over Europe. lift up takes ages.
Breakfast at Allanin restaurant- revolving- big hit approx 3500m.
Snow/ runs- not so good quite slushy even at o'crickey hundred hours the day we went (that said the day we left Saas Fee all the lifts were shut due to a snow storm).
Son starts to complain of headache.
Other skiers obviously quite fast and a little intimidating for Ben as first bit of skiing is a narrow to get to runs.
Ben still complains of headache.
At the end of our last holiday- January Ben would follow me down any reddish blue or blueish red quite fast- so I set off down a reddish blue- blueish red- quite fast- Ben kept up- perhaps a little faster than ususal so after the irst stop set off again- just a bit faster- a few turns later look round for junior- big heap in the middle- skis everywhere- no tears - walk up to recover child- still complaining of headache.
More skiing- slower- but still lots of falls from Ben snow really quite soft- chewy snack bar found and fed to now sobbing child in lift queue- some sniffles and an almost smile. Just a bit more skiing- still complaining of headache- drink from camelback.
More falls more headache- my nagging doubts about altitude and first born sons brain get louder- trip aborted after not a whole lot of skiing.
Lifts down- talk to proffessional snowboarder in lift who had also called it a day- too soft for him (son now wants be proffessional skier and a designer for lego and a swimming instructor). Headache better at 3000m
BAD DADDY- should have skier a lot slower (ideally hired some tele gear- they had NTN skis and boots at one shop in the village) and taken some calpol. I think Ben had a bit of a high altitude headache- I think I was reasonable in carrying on for the little we did and stopping when I did.
I would go again- with these provisos. Snow could be better- could be worse we just hit a poor day. Passes and rental pricey in total- mind you child's pass was free.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
edsilva, good post and good effort for trying it  After reading this I am now breathing a sigh of relief as we were there last week with our 4 year old, we were going to go up to ski with him but didn't. When I had mentioned it in the hotel there had been a few raised eyebrows and so I went to take advice from Eskimos ski school who were great with their advice and basically said it wouldn't really be much fun for him.
We did then go up to check it out and made the final decision then that it was a bit much for a youngster, not the skiing in itself but the whole combination of factors - poor conditions, very busy with race teams, altitude, effort of walk with kit + 3 lifts + track access to ski area, steep?? T bar, etc etc. I didn't see any very young kids up there at all, I reckon the youngest I saw were probably 9 or 10 with their teams.
Up there just to look our son didn't complain of a headache but was a bit 'off', seemed tired (but was anyway thanks to Esprit's cocoa club  ) and a bit clingy, but revived dramatically once down. I think it's hard to appreciate the effects of altitude on kids. I felt fine last week in Saas Fee but have felt a bit off at the top of the Klein Matterhorn in Zermatt before, it's probably worse for kids.
Agree with you about Esprit and the Annahof, we had a great time.
Agree too about the lift pass prices, bit pricy we thought too. But worth it for the Allalin revolving restau, loved it
Was a bit sorry we didn't actually ski but had a decent enough 'mountain fix' to see me through 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
sarah, Hello again
yes we had a great time at the Annahoff- and so did the kids, we'd very much like to go in winter although it seems to always fill up (I am quite keen on Espirt last minute deals). It did provide a good 'fix' and is an exceptionally beautiful place. We also tried a Swiss Rail transfer for the first time- easy.
I think you were very sensible to not go with a 4 yr old- would have been a disaster! The track into the lifts was on a gradient- not steep as such but for most children tricky but nothing a now plough wouldn't sort out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
We were in Zermatt mid August and I took my 9 year old son up to the Klein Matterhorn area. It was definitely worth a morning but hardly compares with winter/spring skiing.
We got up the top about 8ish. Son felt fine although I felt a bit giddy at first. But that soon wore off. The blue at the top was lovely - deserted and with not bad snow. Hard packed but not icy. The only hasssle was sharing the T bar 'cos of our height difference. The run kept us amused for an hour or so. We then went down to the main area. Thsi was much more crowded. It's basically one long wide red. The snow wasn't brilliant - pretty scraped - but more difficult to cope with was the crowds. There were a lot of very fast skiers which put my son off a bit. But he only had one fall and I think enjoyed the morning - although not enough to want to go again. It was also fun watching the Swiss and Austrian national ski teams train.
Re cost, we had a walking pass that covered the lifts and I only had to pay CHF28 extra for the morning to cover the T bars. A great thing is that if you have a Family Card (free with the Swiss transfer ticket) the list pass for walkers ('Peak Pass') is free for kids. And this even extended to the T bars.
Re clothes, we wore fleeces and salopettes which were fine. It was a bit odd though having lunch back in town with my wife and other son sitting in 25 degree temparatures with the ski clobber on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
edsilva, Esprit last minute deals? What you mean the price before they have added on all their supplements?  They wind me up with that but still we were very impressed with them last week and their summer prices are good value, the staff were amazing and the resort stunning for a summer family holiday, so much to do too. I think we'll go back in the summer, I would like to in the winter too but maybe we'll go to Val d'Isere with them for the fabulous Johnny and Emma combo, our son loved them. Although hubby preferred the lovely Rachel
We drove this time but have done swiss rail before and always found that very straighforward, I loved the drive this year though particularly through the Jura and on into Switzerland, stunning.
pjd, we wondered about Zermatt having been there in the winter, sounds good. Know what you mean about watching the teams, very inspiring! They were all there in Saas Fee last week, Swiss, Austrian, Russian, Slovenian, Norwegian plus loads of other clubs, car park was full of team vans. Town was full of skiers fitness training every evening on the sports pitches and their hotel gardens. Very inspiring.
Re. the pass I think it was the same or similar in Saas Fee we should have got one but just got individual tickets. Very good for kids though, free lift passes up to age 9! Very generous compared to most other resorts.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ