 Poster: A snowHead
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Can anyone recommend a good resort for my 8 year old she has been skiing since she was 3 but after heavy snow and fog las year she is really worried about going again. Obviously we do not want to put her off but would love to take her somewhere easy where she can get her confidence back. Any ideas would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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carla4221, Do you know what time of year you might be going. I could suggest somewhere like Courcheval 1850 - but stay in La Tania and get the bus there, but if you go in Feb half term it would be busy.
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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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I'd recommend Morillon or Les Carroz in the Grand Massif or Montgenevre. My daughter who is 8 loved skiing in these resorts and there are plenty of hot choc stops in Les Carroz and Morillon. Les Saisies also has plenty of gentle slopes but fewer British families go there so maybe there would be less chance of her finding friends in ski school.
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If she struggles in bad visibility then she needs a resort with lots of wide tree lined runs eg resorts with lots of skiing below 1800m (big generalisation).
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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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When you say she is "really worried"... what exactly is she saying?
Also, who was she skiing with last year, mum and dad or ski school?
Best bet is to stay somewhere lowish with runs below the tree line accessible. That way if the weather closes in you can still go out and ski slopes where visibility is less of an issue. Les Coches is somewhere I have stayed that is an ideal from that point of view.
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Do you want to ski with her yourself or use a ski school?
If you ski with her yourself I would recommend Les Saisies, I think the ski school there may not have many English speakers. There is a whole wonderful bowl of skiing with a variety of ways you can go down slopes. It feels very safe. PamW on here is the expert on the area and may well come along with some useful information.
I would avoid stark/high/large area like Avoriaz and generally head for a resort that is not too big and overwhelming. Some of the Austrian resorts might be good too and again someone will probably come along soon with useful information.
If you are using ski school, choice of instructor will be crucial.
Perhaps you could also consider when you go? Going March time when they may be a better chance of clear sunny weather could help.
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Golly in the time it took to post my reply lots of others had similar thoughts 
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Many thanks we normally go at the end of January but up until last week she was not going but has had a recent change if heart with the promise of if it's foggy she does not have to ski. We were in Claviere and she was at the top of the resort skiing reds as she really is quite a Good skier but I personally thinks she does not like it when she can't see the village thanks for the advice x
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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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You could look at Kaprun. The Maiskogel itself isn't that brilliant, though it's easy enough, but there is some really nice, wide open - very shallow, and very wide indeed - blue skiing at the Kitzsteinhorn glacier five minutes away (regular ski buses). Zell (also five mins away) also has some nice easy stuff and you can come down in the gondola rather than get the red run down at the end of the day.
We went with friends a few years ago, and their extremely nervous nine year old daughter loved it, esp the glacier.
Re Les Carroz, mentioned above, I go there every year and love the whole area but I'm not sure I would agree it's the place to recover confidence - lots of bottlenecks full of idiots at close of play, and Les Timolets (the run down to the Bois de la Char) isn't all that easily approached (or even skied, when chopped up) for a nervous little girl.
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Yes, Les Saisies would be ideal (and nearby Crest Voland is lower and has more trees) but snowymum is right about it being very French - and I wouldn't recommend her taking group lessons for that reason, as she'd probably feel a bit lonely. But private lessons are not too expensive and I could recommend an instructor nice with kids (in fact just booked a lesson for my grandchildren this afternoon, with an instructor they've now had 3 times and feel very comfortable with).
The key thing, probably, is that wherever you go, don't take her out skiing if visibility is bad. I know plenty of adults who are freaked by bad vis and I don't like it much myself, either. Have other stuff to do and don't make skiing the central focus of the holiday, because then she'll feel like a failure if she doesn't cope with it very well. Next season there will be a brand new sports centre with swimming pool etc - under construction at the moment. You could do some snow-shoeing, maybe, tobogganing and other "mountain" things which she feels more comfortable with, to get her confidence back. Nothing like a picnic in the woods on a nice warm spring day (like today, which really shouldn't be so warm, in January  ).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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northernsoulboy - sounds like we were spoiled. We had Les Carroz pretty much to ourselves last April and no queues whatsoever. Do you go there at half term or New Year?
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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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She was skiing
with ski school last year with children unto the age of 11
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Hi carla4221,
If she's nervous I would say that ski school rather than resort is more important. Have you considered doing private lessons instead of groups this year? That makes a real difference, especially with a good ski school, and it means that she can go at her own pace if she's nervous about snow etc
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You know it makes sense.
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carla4221, I reckon she doesn't need an easy resort just somewhere with skiing below the treeline. There are actually are many variances to bad visibility. On our recent trip we had some cloud, a day of snow, some quite high winds blowing snow around. But none of it giving seriously bad visibility like we had one day in Les Contamines last year and I've had a couple of times in years gone bad. When you can't see the next piste marker it's right to creep your way down the mountain and back home with a hot chocolate. So I think your promise is fair provided it doesn't stretch to any 'bad' weather. I have a mate whose kids are a bit older than ours and he commented that when they are younger they will dack out of stufff pretty easy if you let them and I know what he means. Ours take a bit of persuading sometimes. All without being silly of course, it's meant to be fun after all - you've gotta cut them some slack
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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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Layne, you are quite right, cutting them some slack is something everyone should do with children who are reluctant to ski for whatever reason. My middle son screamed every time he was put down on snow as a toddler, my youngest went through a period of 'I hate skiing, its boring!' at around age 12. We just varied what we did and carried on going to the Alps in the snow. There are plenty of other things to do besides skiing. Along with my oldest they are now (all in their 20`s) all keen skiers and thoroughly enjoy it!
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Poster: A snowHead
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snowymum, I go with friends, so it depends on work etc. Different times - this year it's early Feb, but can be Jan or March.
I guess it would be quieter in April. It's never a problem for me, but then I'm 17 stone, and in my 40s! I was really thinking of a little kid on the way down into Flaine or the bottleneck at the top of Les Timolets.
Certainly a great area to ski, down to Sixt, over to Samoens, Flaine etc.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Does it need to be a special resort in terms of terrain? Just find somewhere that has stuff you can do when you're not skiing and if it closes out, go and do that. It sounds as tho, as long as visibility is good, that she'd be fine.
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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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When my daughter was that age ..we used to go to Austria nearly every year and she loved it and still does.
Most Austrian resorts are low with plenty of tree lined runs.
The smaller resorts may not have an English speaking ski school, but the choise is wide.
Also there are lots of other things to do which help keep the little ones excited. Think:
Toboggan rides
Skittle nights
curling
ice skating
even torch lit descents in some places. Let her get her confidence first though!
Then the kids love the food there as well.
Where to go?
Kitzbuhel ideal but very busy
but there are all those resorts from Soll to Brixen and Westendorf.
Then there is the area Flachau, St Joghen in Pongau, Wagrain
Or the Bregenzerwald .. brilliant
There is no need to go to the St Anton Lech area... its wasted on younguns
or to the high area of Zillertal Pitztal
I don't advise going to St Wolfgang .... its not really a ski resort so its long boring bus rides.
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carla4221, try Risoul - great snow and sun record. Lots of trees. Not expensive. Not likely to be rammed, even at half term. Great little resort. Only downside, if she is going to ski school, may be lack of English speaking kids - my 9 year old daughter would have liked a friend to do ski school with.
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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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| northernsoulboy wrote: |
You could look at Kaprun. The Maiskogel itself isn't that brilliant, though it's easy enough, but there is some really nice, wide open - very shallow, and very wide indeed - blue skiing at the Kitzsteinhorn glacier five minutes away (regular ski buses). Zell (also five mins away) also has some nice easy stuff and you can come down in the gondola rather than get the red run down at the end of the day.
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Not sure I'd specificaly head for Kaprun as I didn't rate the skiing there last christmas, we stayed in Zell am See and that was a much better area with plenty of tree lined runs.
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homers double, Yep, that's fair enough. As I said, I don't much like the Maiskogel, I only said Kaprun as that's where we stayed on thwe two occasions I've been to that area. Zell definitely a better area. It doesn't make much odds given the excellent bus services, mind you.
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carla4221, you let slip an interesting little snippet back there: "has had a recent change if(sic) heart with the promise of if it's foggy she does not have to ski"
Now, I do understand the problem: if 8 year old won't ski, then someone has to stay behind - someone who wants to go out skiing.
But - just my opinion - I don't think anyone should feel they have to ski.
We would promise (and practice) regular restaurant stops on those grotty days.
That sometimes worked.
But if it was really grotty, we went sledging, or snowball fights, or we got out the Board Games (always took a selection with us) and stayed in.
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Sorry that sounded bad I would never make my daughter ski even if the sky was brilliant blue I just said what she said to let you all know x
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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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carla4221, my daughter is 7 and I have noticed she seems much more keen to do things if she thinks she doesn't have to. She really surprised me by wanting to join the after school football club last week, having been really anti any sports clubs. I think it is partly because she knows she isn't being forced to she now wants to do it. You may now find that when it comes to it, she may well go even in fog as she knows if she doesn't want to she doesn't have to?
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