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Avoriaz - choice of ski school for daughter aged 6 and hours advice req'd...

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi all,

long time boarder, first time family holiday coming up. taking my daughter away to Avoriaz, aged 6. I've done a fair bit of research in regards to ski schools. My firm favourite was Avoriaz Alpine Ski School. Unfortunately , we;re travelling outwith the school holidays (late January) and they can only offer privates at a much more expensive rate than groups (obviously)

the price i don't mind so much. But I'd like to get some boarding time done while she's at a ski school and an hour and a half doesn't give much scope, the 2 hours, i think would be a waste for her, being so young and too intense being the sole focus of the lesson.

so, i suppose I have 2 questions for those of you who have been with family before.

firstly, any first hand experience of village des enfants or the ESF jardin des enfants (piou piou)? i've read some awful reviews of VDE, but they weren't too recent. As always I'm a little apprehensive of the ESF school, mainly because..... its ESF.

Secondly, is it too much for me to expect her to go to lessons for 2 hrs in morning and 2 1/2hrs in the afternoon? I'll probably take her out to go to aquaria (?) for an afternoon to break it up for her, but was wondering what you other parents thought?

any info you can offer would be greatly appreciated.....
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Yes, I think the whole day is too much. If you can find suitable group morning lessons that would be ideal. I agree 2 hours private is a bit intensive. If no other choice would go with ESF. In quiet times class size should be reasonable. Ask for assurance on maximum class size and an English speaking instructor. Have fun together in the afternoons.
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 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?
thanks for your input Pam....

from reading the ESF bumf, the piou piou classes are in a 'children devoted area' and involve skiing and other activities. She's got tonnes of energy and I've rarely seen her zonked. I was thinking , i'd just pay for the day classes, letting her attend the 5 morning sessions, and maybe just 3 of the six afternoons... its only an extra €60 over the morning sessions and I'm sure they won't mind a no-show some afternoons. If she's goosed, we'll chill, if she's having fun, well.... we can play it by ear.

thanks for the tip on class size assurances and language. Have you had much experience of ESF for kids (i'm sure there are resort specific experiences though and they all can vary)?
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boardtex, ESF is not all bad.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
no, you're probably right. I've just heard the usual stories of kids being spoken to in french constantly due to mixed groups and instructors losing sight of who was english/french etc

although, she is learning a little french at school and may quite like it Smile

I think I'm just stressing cos its our first time going together and i don't want to put her off.... Having read other posts, i'm also a little concerned about how good weather will be in January, and most families recommending later in the season....

again... I'm stressing haha. Just want it to be a good experience all round for her first year.....
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You'll need to Register first of course.
boardtex, my weak perception as I don't have kids and haven't experienced much directly, I suspect there's some universal struggling in vacances scolaires when every major resort is at over capacity and every more or less able bodied individual who's ever purported to be an instructor and can still stand upright (pastis on board or not) is drafted in and it's just difficult to manage all English (or Dutch, or whatever) classes all the time. Not an excuse, just a sad fact.

January I would expect them to be able to offer an acceptable level of English teaching. I suspect also that it's not as formal as classes would be for adults wink - call the Village des Enfants and see what they say. Weathehr wise? well the days will be shorter...can't say much more than that! (Although it is likely to be cooler).
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
If possible I would get her some lessons at an indoor slope before you go, this gets the basic stuff out of the way in a more flexible environment. That way when you do go she will be out on the mountain hopefully from day 1. This is a much nicer experience, especially if she is an a lesson snake. It also means that after lessons you can board with her on the slopes she has already done with the lesson group. She will come on much faster that you think.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I have to say my experience of ESF group lessons in Avoriaz out of school holidays was not good. All 4 kids in our party got yanked out of the group lessons after the first session and we got the rest of the week refunded. The classes were big, and the instructors didn't speak English to the kids - maybe in term weeks there isn't enough demand for English speaking instructors because the English kids are mostly in school? However, my kids were 4 and 5 at that point, and they are now 17 and 19, so it may have changed!
Definite +1 to getting her some lessons before you go, either dry slope or indoors.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@boardtex, have you tried evolution 2 ski school?
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@boardtex, have a look at https://onyxsnowboarding.com/ run by my mate Baden, tell him Scott from Inside Out Skiing sent you and he may be kind and offer a little discount Wink
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Village des enfants is good but it's all down to how quickly she's likely too progress. Personal recommendation is Jean Marie from tge Avoriaz Alpine ski school. He rebuilt my other holds confidence in 2 hours after she had it destroyed in group lessons by a moron of an instructor. To be fair your daughter would have a blast with him, "intense" word that is mutually exclusive from him and his English is top notch.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
It's a bit of a lottery, in one French speaking Swiss ski School (Villars) that my older daughter was in, one of the other kids had to translate, she hated it and will not go back in ski school,
on the other hand my 6 yr old daughter loved ski school and the friends she made in Soldeu Andorra where almost all the kids and the instructor were English, to the point that she wants to go back there just for the ski school!.
It is obvious that there are good and bad instructors in each resort, my own feeling, (based on not very much) is that the French system, where someone has to be a fairly top notch skier before being allowed to be an instructor is complete nonsense, give me the BASI instructors in Andorra any day, being a top skier does not make you a good instructor, sometimes being not that naturally good at a sport makes you have to think more about how to do it and makes for a better instructor.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
We worked in Avo from 2005-2009, at the time our children were 4,5,6.
Village des Enfants was really good, flexible, helpful and it also encouraged them to mix with French children.
It's a pity the AASS can only do private lessons, and have come a long way ( Ski M & M, in Morgins 1988? ).
We still live near Morzine, and our children now in their teens have used various ski / snowboard schools in Avoriaz, Montriond, Chatel, St Jean.
The ESF have always been consistent (out of school holidays), but the best snowboard tuition we had was from Angel at the Ecole de Glisse.
( I think she won a load of competitions back in the 90s, she is also a mother, and a great role model ).
You're gonna enrol your daughter for snow-boarding right? Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
We've got a son who learned to ski with VDE from the age of just under 4. It was maybe a bit too young given the amount of French spoken but there also a large number of English speaking instructors and he progressed quickly. He loves the place and will always choose lesson there rather than ESF.
The great advantage of VDE is the group lesson times, 0930 to 1200 or 0930 to 1600 for full days including lunch (albeit our lad wasn't as impressed by the food!) Also, they will 'hold' the child inside should the parent not be able to get back by 12 or 4 (though that does have to be requested upon booking).
So, I'm a fan of VDE for group lessons, generally booking for six days of mornings so one sees a tangible improvement at the end of the week. Their badge system is slightly more complicated than ESF, particularly at the upper end (ESF goes from bronze to gold with nothing in between so a child can be marooned on bronze for ages while striving to get their gold badge. In my experience kids like to collect badges and VDE's system helps them do this.)
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