Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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leelee, Hi - welcome to SnowHeads A fellow Scouser
If this is your first time skiing, you may not need an area such as Val D'Isere, and you won't need ski in/out (unless you CAN ski ) It will be cheaper for you (again, presuming cost is an issue as it is for most people) to look at a smaller resort which caters more to beginners and novices. You won't need a massive ski area, so why pay for the lift pass.
As for hiring equipment, there are various websites where you can pre-hire, usually with a discount of 20% or more (bindings are already fitted to the skis and are just adjusted to fit the boot). Lift and ski pass are the same thing.
Ski school is the most important element - if you have a poor first experience, it can really put you off, but good tuition with an experienced and patient instructor will make your holiday.
Resorts which may suit (depending on your actual dates, as altitude may be an issue going into April), include Samoens, Les Gets, La Tania, Les Deux Alpes (another is a very highly regarded instructor there) etc. Hope this is of some help to start with, but come back with any other questions - you'll get lots of help on here
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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?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I haven't heard of them, but just took a look at their website. La Clusaz and Le Grand Bornand may be good choices for you, and if the 'everything organised' element appeals for your first time, then it may be a good option - much depends on the price (when you get it) and what instruction is provided. Two questions to ask of them is which ski school they use and how many will be in the class. The bigger the class, the less likely you are to progress. Is the instruction with a good English-speaker? Again, they may be good teachers but if you can't understand them, or you make your questions understood, it will be a long week!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Yeh thats where they are Grand Bornand and La Clusaz- that's a good start then! They don't really mention much about lessons and the ski school tbh but I will definately ask about that, cheers
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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leelee, Val D'Isere is a top destination and has all the costs or a world class resort. This may be a waste for you both in some respects..as you will not ski much of the mountain and hardly touch the area as a whole.
Ski hire and accom are at the top end of expensive so unless you have a definitive reason for going there...there are other places that might suit you expecially in regard to the wallet..
For example... expect NO change out of £200 for skis and boots for the two of you per week...
FWIW..we took a beginner to VD and had them up the hill in 3 days... but it was painful for him...but he stuck with it and had the time of his life..
If money isn't an issue..then VD is as good a resort as most..
Would be in many people's top 5 resorts in the world.....
If someone asked me.. I'd point them to Austria as it can be a great all-round intro to a ski hol, IMV..
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leelee, Most tour operators go with the ski school that offers them the biggest discount, and also they only offer you a 6 day lift pass. You may not need a pass from day one depending on resort. I can't speak about all resorts, but here we have 7 free lifts down in the village, which allow quite a lot of skiing before you have to buy a pass. After that you can get a cheaper pass just for the village lifts (there are some that aren't free). therefore if you buy a 6 day pass you'd be wasting at least half the not inconsiderable cost. As I say, I can't speak for other resorts, but I would imagine they're pretty similar in lots of cases.
Also - don't go for the 'basic' skis. Get the middle range of skis but try for shorter than normal, you'll then get ski that actually helps you to progress, but isn't too hard to handle - get the basic boots though.
I would second the idea that Val D'Isere isn't the best for your first holiday - save that for later when you can reap the benefit that the elevated prices supply!
I hope this helps, and enjoy.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Ha ha funny that Easiski posted while I was writing my post recommending her
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Ha ha funny that Easiski posted while I was writing my post recommending her
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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leelee, I'd echo the Morillon recommendation too (it's part of the same area as Samoens as mentioned in my first reply) - nice, small-ish and friendly resort, easy to get to from Geneva, lots of good runs to develop your skills on, including the fab 6km Marvel run, which is green all the way (the easiest!) and you should be doing that within a couple of days (pending good instruction )
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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.
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Well, it's mostly all been said! Val d'Isère is my top favourite resort but i'd never recommend it to a beginner for the reasons given - bigger than you can benefit from and therefore more expensive. No point in paying for what you don't use. Just to develop Easiski's point, you can arrange a holiday with a tour operator without buying prepaid lessons or lift pass from it. It is just so simple to go to the ticket office and get exactly the pass you need when you have progressed beyond the beginners' areas served by free lifts.
Have you thought of joining a local ski club? Ski club organised holidays are usually good value as they get various group discounts and free places the value of which are shared around everyone on the trip. You also get good skiing and après-ski company.
Bear in mind that arranging flights independently of the operator means there is no ATOL cover.
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Think i may steer clear of "the last resort" company then because as ccl said i wont be covered with my independent flights.
Thanks so much for all your help guys, really appreciated. All makes more sense now, I just knew that if I went the travel agents they would sell me all kinds, playing on the fact that I haven't done it before.
Will look into Les Deux Alpes and Morillion in the Grand Massif, sounds good, will look into start of March then.
Any more tips then please let me know
Thanks again everyone
Lee
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You know it makes sense.
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leelee, If it is your 1st ski hol...make a small list of what is important to you both. a wish-list if you like..
Quality of lessons..?
Type of resort/village...?
Apre-ski...?
that sort of thing.
Most of the advice here is well-intentioned and genuine... and if it isn't it usually gets flamed
Having someone on the ground ( local ) who knows a few things and isn't driven by a fast buck but is very concerned about the service they give...is worth their weight in gold, IMV.
It isn't hard to find a few of them on here..
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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here is a basic checklist of what you need when booking a holiday
Accommodation
Flights
Transfers
Liftpass
equipment hire
Travel Insurance (winter sports must be specified in your policy its not normally standard)
just see whats included in your package when calculating cost. Most tour ops will offer flight accommodation and transfer to/from resort.
You could put together your own package this is particularly useful if you want to self-cater. Theres a few things to consider but all that planning is a fantastic build up to a ski trip (IMO) and you learn about loads of resorts in the process (its not everyones idea of a good time though).
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Poster: A snowHead
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leelee, for your first holiday I'd be inclined to go for a package deal. There's quite a lot to think about, and even with someone to help it's not that easy to get yourselves kitted out, and on the slopes in time for your first lesson - and that's after you've got yourselves to the resort, possibly in bad weather and found your accommodation. I suggest you start by ordering yourselves a big pile of brochures, and having a look through for a resort which seems to have everything you're looking for (there won't be one......you'll have to compromise somewhere!) and then maybe coming back for some more advice here. I'd echo the posts above about Val D'Isere. There is some easy skiing in Val D'Isere but although I don't know the resort that well I'd say there is absolutely NO accommodation in the resort which is "ski in/ski out" for complete beginners. I'm a pretty experienced skier and I generally download to Val D'Isere in a lift rather than run the gamut of quite difficult runs very crowded with a lot of people out of control. The only even moderately easy run down is a bus-ride away from the centre of town. If you decide to organise your own trip and hire a car you'll find it's difficult and expensive to park in town and it'll generally cost you money even to have a pee on the mountain (unless you literally have it on the mountain let alone actually to eat anything.
It can be an intimidating place for beginners too - wherever you look there are very steep and scary looking mountainsides, with no trees.
If you are flexible on dates, I'd suggest mid-March -a good compromise in terms of snow/weather. Make sure you avoid local school holidays wherever you end up going.
One suggestion - if you're keen on ski in/ski out accommodation, be sure to ask the Tour Operator who is advertising it as such how a complete beginner would get from the accommodation to the ski school meeting place. If it's down a piste (even if you're told it's an easy piste) forget it.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Have ordered some online brochures and we're going to scout out some deals in local travel agents. Been looking at resorts on internet and looks as though we will either go for; Les Deux Alpes, Les gets or Grand massif.
With the ski schools are we best booking these when we get to our destination or before we go, or have i got that completely wrong altogether ???
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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?
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leelee, If you end up not doing a beginner's package which includes ski-school, book your lessons beofore you go - as far in advance as you can. When you have made your final decision on where you are going you could start a new thread asking for recommendations, but if you do go to Les Deux Alps you won't get a stronger recommendation than to book easiski (Charlotte) - very highly regarded here (I'm doing a week with her in July )
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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leelee, lessons should be booked in advance especially if you are using one of the smaller independent schools like easiski or zigzag which book up first.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Okay, that's great, starting to understand now lol
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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leelee,
If you like the look of L2A (Les Deux Alps ).... contact Charlotte on her Easiski website
http://www.easiski.com/
That is your lessons sorted, I would say..
For you 1st time tho...going with a TO, IMV ... should introduce you to lots of other skiers and you can ask them all sort of 'dumb' questions that could very well be easy mitsakes otherwise....
Like where to meet on ski-school day.. ? where is the boot room etc etc...? there will be loads of them..
and when you know, you know..when you don't it can be a minefield...
Still... you have started in the right place..so maybe you're a natural...
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leelee,
I haven't noticed anyone saying anything much about clothing yet. Although you can hope it will be sunny and warm in March, you still have to be prepared for cold days, so you need weatherproof gear. As well as the obvious anorak, ski-pants and helmet or hat, it is advisable to have several pairs of gloves. They don't all have to be pukka ski gloves, just anything that doesn't soak up water too easily. Because you're pushing yourself up frequently, gloves get soaked through quite quickly and there's nothing more uncomfortable than having wet, freezing gloves on your hands. You'll also need suntan cream and sun specs/goggles.
You should check that any package you take also includes the necessary health insurance (and recovery from the slopes, in the unlikely case that were needed). You should have EHICs (European Health Insurance Cards) with you, obtainable through post offices, I think.
Enjoy yourselves!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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will look into start of March then
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you need to avoid the first week of March - still French holidays. The second week would be ideal.
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The second week would be ideal.
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Agree, Most of Jan is good toofFor same reason, can be cold though!
Feb is only if you cant go Jan March as its mad busy and expensive.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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mad busy and expensive.
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the first week of February should be fine - French hols start the second week.
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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.
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You know it makes sense.
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The main reason to ski in January is in case you get addicted you still have enough season left to book another trip.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Haha lol,sounds good to me
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Poster: A snowHead
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hi!
Montgenevre in France is a really nice place to learn, there's a company called Skitopia that do really good trips there and they're really good value for money. Their website is www.skitopia.com. Serre Chevalier is a also great place to learn - Gavin Cassidy from Eurekaski has a ski school there. Or go to Morzine with BASS - they're a good ski school too. Check out the 'Good Skiing and Snowboarding guide' too (it's a book) - they have useful summaries of each resort. Have a think about if you want to stay out clubbing every night (in which case, go to Verbier!), or whether you want gentille elegance and expensive places (in which case go to Courchevel). I wouldn't go to Val D'Isere on your first trip, it's steep and may put you off - Chamonix is a bit similar. Save those 'big' resorts for your second or third season, when you can go explore for a bit.
Where ever you go, you could check the BASI website to find out where there are BASI instructors if you want to guarantee English speaking instructors.
It's often a really good idea to book your holiday at the Ski Show in either Birmingham or Olympia, as you'll be able to chat to the operators. Often, they'll be trying to offload unsold holidays, so you can get a really good deal. you MUST MUST get ski insurance. Prebook your kit and boots etc before you get there, and your ski pass (although your tour operator can usually get them for you). Mark Warner ski holidays don't fail to provide lovely accomodations and heaps of yummy food.
Going the week after New Year (eg 3rd Jan) is always really good, because the resorts are quiet, and the snow's great. The trade off is pretty much you go earlier in the season and you get great snow and it's empty, but cold, or go later in February or March, it's busier, but warmer.
Have some lessons before you go. These don't need to be in an expensive snow dome - if you learn on a dry slope, you'll be staggered at how much easier it is to ski on snow, which will do wonders for your confidence.
You can also hire ski clothing so you don't have to buy expensive kit - I think there's a company online called 'the Edge@ or something like that? Loads of friends have hired from them, and they've been great. Don't buy too much kit in your first season, because I'll guarantee you will want different kit once you've got your ski legs. You also can't evaluate thekit you buy until you use it on snow, so hire for your first season, decide if you like the sport, and then spend a fortune for your next and subsequent seasons (voice of experience there!).
As for ski passes, many resorts give you the choice to buy a 'local' pass or an area pass. As you'll be new to the area, I'd suggest you would only need to buy a local area, as you probably won't travel that far. If you do decide you wish to go exploring, you can upgrade for a day.
One word of warning which I expect everyone will echo - the Euro exchange rate last season was an absolute KILLER. Even Switzerland was cheaper than France last season.
So, all this information is probably overwhelming you. The best thing to do probably is just book it, hire skis and boots, book lessons and you'll be absolutely fine! Everything else will become apparent as and when you need it to.
Enjoy! I expect you'll be obsessed like everyone else on here Come back and tell us how you're getting on , or if you're near to Hemel Hempstead snow centre, pop in and say hi!!
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