 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi - we are going to Morzine in January which will be our daughter's first trip when she is old enough to ski herself. She will be 4 and 1/4. She is a bit wary of group situations especially where new skills etc. are involved, so the main ESF/piou piou won't work for her we think. The Snow School look to be the only outfit which do group lessons in English for her age group, and their website makes lots of nice promises such as small groups etc. etc. Does anyone have first-hand experience of them though - I'd be particularly interested in experiences with kids in the 4/5 age range but general reviews of them for youngish kids would also be useful. Thanks!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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ElleD, Welcome to Snowheads  No experience of it so can't comment but just so you know 'The Snow School' is the ESF, it's an offshoot formed a year or so ago, probably to try to appeal to the big Brit market in Morzine/LG in the face of competition from BASS and the other independents favoured by the Brits. My choice in Morzine would be BASS.
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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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My choice in Morzine would be BASS.
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I agree, and their "mini beginner" course sounds great, but it's expensive - £243 for 4 x 2 hours. The ESF offering is probably a fair bit cheaper.
ElleD, welcome to snowheads. Might it be possible for you to get your little one an introductory private lesson in one of the snowdomes? You can gauge how she takes to that - if she likes it, and feels she has "mastered skiing" (my grand-daughter declared proudly after her first gentle slide down a green slope that "I only ski steep slopes now") then the Snow School offering might look a bit more manageable. Such a lot depends on how the first few hours go.
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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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Cheers for the answers so far - a snowdome taster is an excellent idea, we'll look into it. I did know that the Snow School is ESF under a different badge, and have seen many recommendations for BASS - however on their website they only seem to guarantee running children's lessons in school holidays, which we are purposefully avoiding as this is our last chance before she starts school next Sept...
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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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we are purposefully avoiding as this is our last chance before she starts school next Sept...
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very wise. Those BASS lessons are expensive - though no doubt very good. They are €30 an hour, and individual private lessons with ESF are €42, so might be a reasonable option. I organised lessons for some little kids last Easter - four of them, with an instructor. The oldest was a 4 year old, and quite a strong and athletic girl, who got on well, but that was just for one hour - she might have managed 1.5 hours but probably not 2. In a small group there was little standing around, especially as 2 of the 3 year olds generally needed to go for a poo in the middle.  (Mothers were on hand for that, fortunately, and there was a nice warm and clean loo just right by the nursery slope).
If your daughter is not great in groups she might do better with 4 x 1.5 hours private lessons with ESF for much the same price as the BASS offering. There are lots of Snowheads who know Morzine very well and could probably recommend a named instructor who is good with little ones. Not all ESF instructors eat small children for breakfast whilst smoking a Gauloise with the other hand, despite what you sometimes hear. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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That's a good thought too. All those Morzine afficionados our there - thoughts on specific instructors who are good with small children?
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Can I hijack this thread a little... We're in Morzine in December and I want to pre-book my sons lessons, he's four and a half.
I've discounted the private lessons with ESF purely on the basis that I know my son will enjoy learning more with a group of other children. The question is do I book the BASS mini beginner or book him into ESF piou piou classes. Whilst Piou Piou with ESF sounds good value compared to BASS there is very little information regarding the size of their classes. Does anyone have experience of ESF's group lessons for 3-5 years olds?
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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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ElleD,
When you said that ESF might not be suitable for your daughter, were you thinking the classes would be too big?
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Hi there, we've been skiing in Morzine for years and for the last three with our children, first year aged 3 and 5. In that year they both went into the ESF school which was typically ESF, very over-crowded and not particularly 'sympathetic' to new starters if you get my drift!
Anyway for the last two years, they have both had lessons with the Snow School who have been excellent. Whilst we've not been at half-term, we have been at Easter and the groups have been between 4 and 8 max and the instructors have been amazing. My (5yr old) son had a lovely local instructor called Dorothy last March who was a wonderful and I could not speak more highly of her. I would certainly recommend TSS, whilst they are a bit more expensive, in my view, you get what you pay for and as a parent, when we leave the kids in the morning, peace of mind is everything.
Best of luck. C
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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identifi,
Hi C, Thanks very much for the information. I didn't know there was a third option so I shall investigate the snow school as an option.
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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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Hang on.... I've just noticed that Sarah says the snow school is the ESF, I'm confused because ESF also have a website.
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The Snow School is an off-shoot in Morzine of the ESF, very different teaching methods though and a totally different experience. Run from a different building, different instructors, uniforms etc. C
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You know it makes sense.
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OK, after receiving responses from BASS and The Snow School I have decided to go with BASS. I was disappointed with the response I received from the snow school which was very non-committal in regard to specific questions asked about their classes. This was their response.
'The Snow School offers group lessons which are adapted to each individual’s needs. We guarantee small groups with plenty of individual attention, working on technique and exploring the area. Group lessons run from Monday to Friday.'
To be honest it felt like the snow school couldn't even be bothered to provide a proper response so I couldn't be bothered to book with them. This was 221 euro's for five mornings though they didn't say how long the lessons were.
BASS were more expensive at £243 for 4 two hour lessons but at least I know exactly what I'm getting from them. Their response was very detailed and considered.
Thanks all for your advice.
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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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joemalone, I don't think you'll be disappointed
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Poster: A snowHead
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You could also look at The Snow Institute which is another British School in Morzine which is a fair bit cheaper than BASS when I used them in January.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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