 Poster: A snowHead
|
pigbite,
| Quote: |
| What things did you get up to with your child when skiing too much for them? Did you find it frustrating not being able to be with the rest of the family or had you got into a "it is what it is" mindset? |
If the weather is crap we just head back to the apartment, have hot drinks, some cake and chill out a bit. Maybe play a game or two. If there is a swimming pool go for a dip in there. If the weather is good some sledging and playing in the snow. Go for a wander round the shops, pick up some supplies maybe. Remember if at Val T you will be at 2300m which is quite a tough environment.
I didn't find it too frustrating. I would be lying if I didn't have some frustrations. It was something I worried about beforehand for sure. But TBH it's no different to everything else with kids. They will always cramp your style. Bear in mind aswell though that aswell as a 5yo we have a 3yo also skiing with us. This latest trip the 5yo could be taken pretty much anywhere (even some light off piste) and can pretty much keep up. At 3/4 they are more restrictive. And I reckon when we go in April with the better weather he will ski longer days. But I can understand why adults like to have the morning for themselves too. I suppose it helps I had over a decade of 2 weeks skiing a year to myself.
| Quote: |
| I think that it comes down to a choice between Les Deux Alpes, Val Thoren or La Thuile. |
I would definitely take Val T over LDA for your group. I don't know La Thuile.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
I would avoid the 3 valleys if you are looking for a cheap holiday.
I'd recommend trying la thuile/la rosiere.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Have a look at what you get thrown in with the lift pass. At some resorts you can get free access to the pool, ice skating rink, toboggan run, leisure centre, climbing wall etc.... with the lift pass. Quite useful when you have to entertain kids.
Take some bum boards with you too, always good fun for the kids (and maybe the adults too  )
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
I'd take Val T too - I also don't know La Thuile but La Ros could be a slushfest then. In Val T you can just pop out for a little ski, or toboggan, or whatever, on the doorstep. LDA would be better for a group of serious adult skiers who can head up the Jandri for a whole day.
Ski hols with little kids and no outside help are for the energetic, and dedicated, that's for sure. We didn't start till our kids were 4, 9 and 11 so it was relatively easy PLUS we took grandma (tiny Austrian resort, natural thermal swim pool in the grounds of the apartment). Grandma prepared lunch (we didn't eat out, no chance of affording it) and as we were in ski school the first week it was fantastic to come back to a lunch ready to go. I did dinners. The 4 year old watched and pottered the first week, played with grandma, went for little walks, then went into proper ski school the second. It worked extremely well - we did two weeks, which was expensive in lift passes but hardly any more expensive as a basic package, as we cooked for ourselves, which took off the time pressure. Grandma enjoyed being able to stroll up to the nursery slopes, have a coffee and cake and watch the little ones. We all had a great holiday. We took masses of stuff with us, including skis hired in Ayr (far cheaper at the time than hiring in Austrian schillings), carefully planned food and a pressure cooker. Within the air baggage allowances with the TO. There were no extra charges for ski carriage in those olden days (1988, I think)
I am now the grandma - baby sitting whilst my kids go skiing with nary a care in the world. I also lend them my skis and cook nearly all the meals.
The 3 Valleys doesn't have to be expensive if you do it the way pigbite proposes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
pam w,
can you come and be our kids' gran for the week 
Interesting to hear what you and Layne say about what a 5 (or even 4 yr old) is capable of. Our little lad is naturally a pretty nervous chap - doesn't like heights at all and will not even go down some slides in the playgound! Having said that he loved sledging in the snow and down at the dry slope in Christchurch. We are planning a couple of taster sessions at the dry slope in Southampton for the kids before we go to Bulgaria and hopefully by the time he has done a week he will have got his confidence and we will be able to much better gauge what his limits are going to be if we go for a last min bash to the Alps. The main thing for us is to keep everything fun so all the kids enjoy it and we don't generate a problem with them hating skiing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
Pigbite - if your 5 yr old is already skiing in bulgaria in march there is a good chance he will manage morning ski school followed by skiing with you in the afternoon. My daughter did her first week in proper ski school (as opposed to piou piou) last march when she was only just 5. She was doing a confident snow plough on a green within a couple of days and skied with us in the afternoons on blues/greens from that point on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
pigbite, you're dead right to take it gently. children vary a lot. My oldest grand-daughter came here as a toddler and whilst she loved podging around in the snow she hated toboganning, however gentle, just didn't like that "out of control" feeling though she spent ages pulling her teddy round on the toboggan. My youngest grand-daughter had her first snow holiday at 10 month old this last Christmas and loved it - just grinned from the off (though she did wail briefly when I accidentally tipped her off and we had dig snow out of her nose....). The oldest ones started lessons last year, at 6. Three short private lessons. She's very capable physically but very, very, timid. On the third lesson she went up the chairlift (wept and refused point blank at the beginning of the second lesson) and loved the gentle descent, and enjoyed doing a short drag lift with the instructor - she couldn't, or wouldn't, have managed it on her own. I suspect her younger sister, and her younger cousin, will take to the whole thing far quicker, so it's nice that the oldest one will have a head start, or she'd probably end up feeling very demoralised with the younger ones skiing rings round her.
My brother in law has grandsons - twins - who don't like heights. They really have a major problem with it. When they were 7 they did some private lessons here and were OK, but just on drags. They just looked at the chairs and shuddered. They freak out on railway bridges if they can see through to the rails. I don't think they're going to be able to deal with skiing, actually, though they are both sporty (dad is a PE teacher and once played English county cricket, mum was a very good hockey player and swimmer).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
pam w / snowymum,
Very interesting to hear all the experiences...
My lad is a funny little thing. He tends to see something and have a gut reaction but if gently encouraged and supported can normally be bought round. For example....
We went to Beaulieu the other week and went on the monorail. He was pretty scared to start with about going anywhere near the sides and sat in the middle of the carriage as tight to his gran as possible. After a few mins he relaxed and was chatty etc. Still would not pop his head out over the rail but much happier and more than happy to go round and round on the monorail.
Last weekend we went and had lunch at a local spot that has a viewing tower that looks out over the sea and surrounding countryside. The viewing tower has two levels (all inside) with a spiral staircase going from the lower level to the higher level in the centre. Initially he refused to go up the staircase but I held his hand, walked around the upper level with him then ecouraged him to take little steps nearer the glass. Within a short space of time he was standing at the rail right by the glass looking down at things 25m below.
I am sure he will be really scared of the chair lifts but I have learnt that with very gentle and persistent encouragement plus lots of praise he can be persuaded to do most things and then starts to build his confidence. If he learns to cope with and enjoy skiing I think it will be a brilliant boost to his confidence and help him lots over the coming years.
Anyway, thanks again to everyone for the continued input!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
pigbite, my 3yo girl is braver than the older boy. The little fella has required a fair bit of cajoling and mind games to get him where he is. But now he is pretty good. If your lad liked sledging I don't think it will be a problem. A few tips for the young un. Make sure you have plenty of chocolates and/or other treats plus a bottle of water. This is part of your incentive package and/or sobbing stopper. My lad has been obsessed from day 1 with going over bumps or mounds of snow, skiing round snow cannons, piste markers and any other object. Talk about the lift system, glaciers, etc. Make it fun and interesting. And a tip from a mate of mine, don't give them options. It doesn't have to actually be as harsh as that. Sometimes they simply have had enough, sometimes a slow start to the day is OK but they will dack out if you give them the option. Especially after 2 or 3 days. At 5 they do start to understand the argument that next week they'll be no skiing!
I don't see why you need to make the decision about ski school until after your March trip so you may want to wait until then to finally decide.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Layne, lovely pic of your 5 year old in the powder. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
pigbite, you may find that your lad behaves totally different around kids his own age who he doesn't know, and a ski instructor he doesn't know. I'm assuming this will be the case in Bulgaria. I'm betting he'll be a lot braver than you'd assume in this scenario, but may then revert back to nervous mode with you (because he knows you expect it).
I coach kids with cycling, most can usually ride a bike pretty well when they come, but some can't. I have parents at the first session saying about how nervous their kids are about riding bikes and falling off. Yet when the sessions start and the parents have gone I struggle to see where the problem is as they don't seem nervous at all. The reverse can happen though, where kids are very confident with their parents, and then the total opposite when around kids and adults they don't know.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Thanks for the info hammerite. Funnily enough I suspect that my lad will be the former but my girls may be the latter! In Bulgaria the kids are having private lessons as a group, probably with a female instructor, so I think they may have some initial shyness but get over it pretty quickly once we have disappeared. That's also why we want them to have 2 or 3 taster sessions at the dry slope so at least they know what it is like to have skis on, what boots are like and just what it feels like to move around.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
