 Poster: A snowHead
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I believe it is a couple who are asking so there isn't one of them. A large chalet is also a good place to meet people, socialise, and maybe find some people to ski with should you wish. You can easily work out how cost effective (average personal time with instructor) a group of 1, 2, 6, 8, or whatever is by comparing prices for private versus group lessons. One point worth considering is that if you learn twice as fast it gives you more "enjoyable" time on the slopes. As you get better the more fun you'll have. If, and I agree with Jonny, large groups will slow your progress then it will take longer to get to the more enjoyable skiing.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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sammawby, just out of interest, what's your definition of a large group?
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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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Rob, on the site you advertise, Inside Out Skiing, I see you have:
"Our Building Confidence Clinics are for skiers who are new to the sport and keen to progress, or for skiers with more experience who are looking to increase their confidence and control. Our coaches are all highly experienced, mature teachers and will get you smiling from ear to ear when skiing! We have a maximum group size of 4, ensuring lots of individual feedback and everyone skiing at their own pace."
Pam, after your comment to Jonny:
"By the way, I would completely repudiate your rude allegation that rob@rar is speaking from a revenue maximising point of view. You don't have to read many of his many contributions to SHs to realise that that's complete BS, and really deserves an apology. Evil or Very Mad"
I think this does all stink a little of people in the industry talking whatever angle suits them best. I'm not impressed. Maybe you should both apologise to Jonny? Is it that 4 people is the most you normally get for this clinic whereas in the alps there are potentially more punters, so in one case small is good the other large is good? New advice to our newbees, I'd suggest staying way from this company.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Thu 15-03-12 23:23; edited 1 time in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I have never seen adult groups of more than 8 or so, in France at any rate (including ESF  ). The independent ESI French ski school we used regularly had a max of 8 for any group lesson and it was usually less, even for children. We've had a mixture of lessons - mainly with the same school and also a couple of private lessons with a British ski school. They have all been good quality but the British ski schools are much more expensive.
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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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sammawby, our Building Confidence Clinics are run on a different basis to our Skills or Performance Clinics, they are also a half-day clinic compared to a full-day that we offer for Skills or Performance levels. So, different product, different class sizes, tailored to what we think are the needs of the clients at those particular levels. The number of clients we have on each type of clinic is not related to the maximum group size we set.
I'm not sure why I should apologise to Jonny Jones, nor am I looking for him to apologise to me. This is simply a matter of opinion, with no right or wrong answer and I don't have a problem with people having a different opinion to me. It's unfortunate that my opinion has been derided because I'm a ski instructor, but it's not the first time that people with a professional interest in the industry have been criticised in this way and I'm sure it won't be the last. C'est la vie...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| Out of interest what size do you think is a sensible maximum? |
A group size of 4 or fewer wouldn't impede progress significantly. For the first day, a sightly larger group of 5-6 is probably OK, provided (and this is very important) that the same group isn't kept together for subsequent days.
That size or maybe even larger is probably also fine for certain types of advanced lessons - learning to ski steeps or powder, for example, where much of the 'lesson' is really about being guided through suitable terrain - provided there's no big gap in ability levels. Intermediates who might need individual exercises to deal with defects in, for example, stance or turn initiation would benefit from a smaller group of no more than 2-3.
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Jonny Jones, thanks. My experience, as a learner and a teacher, is that groups that small aren't essential if the instructor is doing a reasonable job, provided, as you say, there is no significant gap in ability levels/gaps in their skills set of the group being taught. Obviously that can be a big "if" as by no means every instructor will do a reasonable job.
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rob@rar, I've always taken my skiing very seriously. I spend weeks in the gym and on the bike to improve my fitness before I go on holiday. I continually analyse my progress when I ski, and I and devour books, online articles, etc in an attempt to improve. In my free skiing, I continually push the boundary in an effort to improve.
When I book instruction, I tend to know what I want and I hope for fast results. I find it intensely frustrating to be held back by anyone in the group who is less ambitious or less well prepared than me. So an average person might not be as badly affected by large groups as I am. But, as I said earlier, I have seen my children progress much more quickly in small groups than large.
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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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Jonny Jones, good for you, I'm in a similar position with the coaching that I get (although sadly not quite as dedicated to fitness training as you) and have a clear idea of what instruction I want. Maybe I've been fortunate in the groups that I've had when being trained are closer in aptitude and ability than on average, but for me group size has never been an issue. For example, last season I had nearly 4 weeks of coaching, mostly in groups of 10. Probably the best ski training I've ever had, and IMO that number of people didn't cause any problems. I'm not saying that group size is unimportant, and once you get beyond about 8 it definitely gets much trickier. It's just that I think there are other more important factors, principally the quality of the instructor.
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I'm with several others on one key point. If at all possible, avoid taking your first ski holiday at Christmas. I'd aim for either 3rd or 4th week of January or 3rd week in March. Makes a huge difference to cost, very probably better snow, far less crowded.
Late December is usually cold, icy, dark and enough to put many people off for life.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I’m tied down with holidays I’ve to take a week at Christmas don’t want to have to take another week two weeks later and after then I couldn’t take time. I also like the idea of being active over Christmas.
From the comments I think I’ll see where the snow is in December and see if I can get a last minute deal. Of course with this I’m assuming ski holidays are similar to sun holidays where it is possible to get late deals.
Of course as this is a risk and I'll probably be getting jumpy I will also take a look a few months before and see if prices have come down a little. Thanks for all the helpful comments not quite as easy as organising as a sun holiday 
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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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| new2skiing wrote: |
From the comments I think I’ll see where the snow is in December and see if I can get a last minute deal. Of course with this I’m assuming ski holidays are similar to sun holidays where it is possible to get late deals. |
Getting a last minute deal shouldn't be a problem - just have a look at the tour operators' websites nearer the time. 
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You know it makes sense.
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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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FAQ
