Ski school - booking correct level ?

A snowHead

I have booked group ski school lessons for half term February, I have guessed what level we will be at (family of four), this will be our 1st ski holiday, we are currently having lessons on dry slope, obviously I don't know what level we will be like by the time we get there.

Am I right in thinking they will asses us on the 1st lesson and then put us in the correct group ? Or if it's full were stuck in that group ?

Thanks again.

A snowHead

@Oliver8, i'd exoect so, yes, and make adjustments through the week if necessary to compensate for differents rates of improvement.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You'll need to Register first of course.

It can be more difficult to be moved during the busy half term and some ski schools aren't great at it at the best of times. If you are close to an indoor fridge, I'd go and have a session there before you go to adapt to the increased speed. When you've been on a dry slope, it can feel a bit intimidating until you're used to it and if your first run is an assessment you may be assessed down from your true level.

Maybe ask at your slope what level your instructor thinks you should put yourselves at. Remember that skiers almost always overstate their ability. If there were as many experts and advanced skiers as claim to be, the more difficult terrain would be busier than it is. My piont is that others who have self assessed will probably have overestimated their level. Keep this in mind.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

@Oliver8,

One thing if you are having lessons on your local dryslope you need to either get a few sessions in a fridge before you go or tell the instructor as soon as you meet them on holiday that you have had x number of lessons on a dryslope and what you could do on the dryslope.

The reason for this is a dryslope runs a lot slower than snow and you may ski a lot worse for first few runs upto the first morning as you get used to the increased speed of snow. A good instructor especially one from the UK who hopefully should be more familiar with dryslopes should then be able to make allowance for the first few runs being more ragged.

We are going to France, les gets. we have had 4 lessons so far hope to go once a week for another 6 weeks. I have booked us all on the second stage at the ski school, adults different to the children not a private group. (Had to book with ESF, as I left it too late, for us all to have lessons in the morning all at the same time). At present we are using the lift just finishing the controlled parallel turns.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

@Oliver8, that will probably be fine - shame you were too late to book with BASS - more expensive but small groups.

I have had (or have taken friends and relations to) a considerable number of group lessons with ESF (in 3 different resorts), an ESI, New Generation and BASS Les Gets and there were no "pre-lesson" ski offs in any of them. I haven't often seen people swapped between groups either, even when there really did seem to be a big discrepancy.

It's good to have lessons when you are skiing at busy times, like half term, because you get lift priority.

The advice to try to get to a snowdome is good - there is a big difference and it will be more like the "real thing".

I'm sure you'll have a great holiday - Les Gets will be ideal. snowHead

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

snow reports

looks like France is the exception - I've had no Italian lessons and have never been to Canada. But France is where the OP is going and I suspect a ski-off is unlikely. I think the important thing, of you felt you were in the wrong group, would be to ask the instructor - rather than wait for him/her to take the initiative.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

@bertie bassett, yes, definitely a medal! Laughing

It probably depends on the school. I've had two lots of group lessons in Austria. Ski off on one (St Oswald) but not on the other (Alpbach).

A snowHead

We've had ski offs in France too Laughing

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I've had ski offs in France with ESF. I've also had other group lessons in France where the first 20 minutes the group skis relatively gently while the instructor checks everyone's abilities. They then meet up with the other groups somewhere on the slopes and move a few people up or down a group.

It is a good idea to try and get yourself in the right group though. I've been in groups with people who clearly should have been in a lower group but booked themselves into the higher one as the lower group was already full. They expected to be moved down but the instructor of the lower group refused to take them as they were already full. Particularly important with the "a maximum group size of x" instructors. In the end they couldn't keep up and ended up dropping out. I bet they complained but it was their own fault really.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

@Oliver8, we had a ski off on our first holiday in Austria, after dry slope lessons. There were four of us - parents and two kids - and we all ended up in different groups. I was in an entirely German speaking group which was the right level for me in ski terms, but a challenge linguistically with only O level German. Laughing

Fortunately one of the other class members was a Dutch nun who spoke every known language and was able to translate when I was stumped. These days more instructors speak English (that one spoke none, or wouldn't confess to it) but obviously the main language of the group will be that of the majority of participants. Both my kids were in predominantly German groups but the instructors spoke a little English and they coped fine - kids tend to just copy and follow. The littlest boy, who was 7, had not got on well in an adult dry slope group because stuff like "weight on the inside edge of the downhill ski" went right over his head. But in a group of beginners (over whom he towered, as they were all 4!!) he got on really fast and is now by light years the best skier in our family. My OH was an insulin dependent diabetic but fortunately one of his classmates was a lovely English nurse who promised to look out for signs of hypos.

It was all a bit of a panic on that first morning, making sure everyone had lift passes, tissues, etc and remembered where the apartment was. No mobile phones in those days and the groups ended up in slightly different places! It gets easier after the first day. The worst thing that happened was that the 7 year old's instructor asked him to take one of the littlies back to the ski school office one day (he normally just walked straight back to the apartment for lunch) and when he got there they wouldn't let him go. They had evidently been told that all the kids would be picked up by parents and in vain did poor Nick insist that his mummy was never going to come because she was waiting for him in the apartment. Needless to say I did, but only after a high speed jog round the resort, starting at the bottom of the lift where I knew they'd have finished. Poor little lad was in tears by the time I got there, having been in a German speaking prison for a good 40 minutes, unable to make anybody understand that he'd only been bringing the little boy back.

Perhaps one reason for the lack of ski-offs in many French resorts is that they put all the linguistically-challeged Anglophones in the same groups, with instructors who speak good English (not all French instructors do).

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Ski offs make total sense at the level the Op is. I'd put the family doen as 1-2 weeks experience and let the ski school handle from there. Dry slopes are really good training because if you can do it on a dryslope real snow is a lot easier but French instructors may not be aware and seek to lump you with never evers if you've never been in the mountains.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

ESF class 1 is one above beginner and should be fine for folk who have done a dry slope course. It'll move slowly on gentle terrain. Still well worth getting some experience on snow beforehand.

After all it is free

Thanks for all the replies, @pam w ,if we do manage do go to the snowdome, would you say class 1 would still be sufficient or move to class 2.

ESF CLASS 2 :-
Can complete a series of elementary turns
(converging skis with sideslip at the end of the turn with
skis parallel).
Is starting to be able to sideslip.

see my reply about classe2 @Oliver8, for your first week on snow, personally I wouldn't risk classe2 with just some snowdome behind you. Classe2 folks would usually have at least a full week of skiing behind them, more often 2.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

I'd agree with a.j., Class 1 would be better unless you are uncommonly fast learners - most class 2 folks will be on their third week of skiing. Useful videos here http://www.esf-belleplagne.co.uk/test-levels

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@Oliver8, although you will have had up to 10 lessons (is that 10 hours or 10 x 2 hours or more?) you will not yet have experienced any run longer than about 100m with a reasonably consistent gradient, a crowded piste with skiers and boarders seemingly entering from all directions nor any piste that doesn't end in a nice flat run-out or a net/wall/barrier. Nor will you have been on a chairlift or T-bar. The mountain environment is very different to a dry slope or indoor slope and your first run might well be 5 times longer than anything you've seen before, with ice, slush, ruts, steep bits, fences, signposts, drag lifts, wind and weather and all sorts of other distractions. I've known people freak out at their first sight of a 'real' slope. I think for your own safety you should consider not starting any higher than Class 1. If you then find that you can do more than is being asked, by all means ask to be moved up.

As @pam w, says, Class 2 people will probably have had 2 weeks on the snow (so possibly 60 hours experience) and will be used to the environment.

snow reports

Thanks a.j. Pam w and quinton for confirming that I won't be turning into franz clamer after 12 x 2 hours group lessons and should stay on stage 1.

Thanks again for the sound advice.

Wow, I've been skiing for over 40 years, and have never heard of a dry slope before! I'm guessing it must be a European thing... but definitely worth a Google search to see more about it!

You know it makes sense.

@josiegroper,
Stick to the snow, they aren't up to much wink

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Well, I did the google search and as suspected I'll have to stick to the snow! You can't blame a girl for trying to find a way to extend the ski season though, can ya? Very Happy

A snowHead

I would echo others here about trying to have even an hour or two in a snowdome. I remember well my first ski trip, I had gone on multiple dry slope lessons (hard to remember, at least 6 or more). Headed off for the trip feeling good, they did a ski off on the first morning, which was really different from the dry slope and I therefore struggled through my three or four turns (they don't look for long!). Subsequently was put in the lowest group and spent the majority of the first morning being shown how to put on/ carry my skis, and sidestepping up the slope, being taught a snowplow.

I was lucky and the instructor bumped me straight up the next morning, but if there hadn't been space I would have been stuffed. In my opinion you should definitely not be in the bottom beginners group, should go for the one up from that (whatever they classify that as). Two up might be a bit tough for you unless you could get a few trips to a dome, and are reasonably fit/adventurous. Having said that, a load of dry slope lessons plus a few trips to a snow dome could be worth as much if not more than a weeks holiday, when you take into account that you will be focussed, up for it, not tired/hungover/sore etc when you get the lessons.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

My very first lessons where with ESF, and I was moved from beginner to the level 3 group after an hour.

Help!!

Ski school - booking correct level ?

snowHeads Forum Index >>> Bend ze Knees