 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
Sort of new on here (can't remember my old username so have started a fresh!). Anyhow, I'm looking to take my kids (ages 7 &5) on their first ski trip in half term. Going to drive and probably only going to do 3-4 days skiing. I usually go to Austria but don't feel the distance can be justified for such a short period! Any suggestions that are closer, on a budget(ish!) and kid friendly? A friend has suggested Flaine? I'm not too fussed about challenging stuff for me this time, more of a firm foundation for the kids.
Thanks in advance for anything you have to offer!
Dan
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Is Scotland viable? Very weather/conditions dependant but can be great. The Lecht has a good beginners area.
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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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3 - 4 days skiing is not necessarily the same as a 3 - 4 day break. The first time I took my children skiing it was at Ellmau and we used the Kaiserbad leisure centre on down days. Stayed for a week. did ski. Didn't push the skiing too much. The main thing is for everyone to have an enjoyable break.
If you do in fact have a week available, and if driving is no problem, then go for that. We live in Cumbria. We have sometimes used the ferry from Newcastle - Amsterdam or from Hull - Zeebrugge. Then have a break somewhere en route but make it a point of interest (on the way back we have arrived at Ypres quite late and stayed overnight there. Then a full day of Menin Gate / Battlefield Tour / excellent museum / etc before getting the ferry at tea time)
Driving has the advantage of ability to carry extra stuff for children. Portable DVD players / laptops to watch DVDs are great for the journey, especially with earphones (you can buy a cheap "splitter" that allows two sets of earphones to use one socket on the device)
The only problem is stretching the budget.
Good luck. Most of all, enjoy it.
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Thanks for the replies. It's 3-4 days skiing we are looking at. Initial thoughts were exactly the sort of things you suggest - visiting the Lungau area of Austria that I know very well and not push the skiing too much, taking in sleigh rides etc etc. I've just heard quite a few positives from people about other (closer!) areas too. Scotland's not a bad shout as it goes - my first trip was there and I remember it blowing a hoolie!!!
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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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Ha ha!! I think you're right about the architecture! Yeah, have been thinking on Easter but usually need a sunny break by that time of year!! Is Flaine an easy drive?
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@DeeVee,
A few thoughts, if it is half term you are going driving times may be little different between Austria and France I have not driven at half term myself but those who have don't seem to be enthused at the speed to get to French resorts.
Secondly skiing for only 3-4 days in the week may not encourage your children particularly the older one. If they are taking group lessons they may find that they fall back by taking two days out and struggle to keep up which could reduce confidence. If planning on taking privates you may find limited availability of times at peak holiday as the ski schools revolve around providing group lessons. You may find having half day lessons and having time out during the day maintains family time and ski enjoyment/progress a little better.
I have skied Flaine but stayed elsewhere and cannot really comment but although kids are not to choosy about architecture my own experience of French purpose built resorts is that I would rather go elsewhere if I was planning on spending a significant proportion of my holiday not skiing. For skiing purposes their convenience is a real plus.
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@DeeVee, Flaine is normally an easy drive but there,s no such thing as an easy drive at half term. You could avoid the Saturdays I suppose but any accommodation still available for that week which coincides with the Paris holiday is probably free for a reason. also I booked private lessons for friends for half term two weeks ago and there was hardly anything left. Easter, or somewhere other than france, would be better.
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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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@DeeVee, Flaine is normally an easy drive but there,s no such thing as an easy drive at half term. You could avoid the Saturdays I suppose but any accommodation still available for that week which coincides with the Paris holiday is probably free for a reason. also I booked private lessons for friends for half term two weeks ago and there was hardly anything left. Easter, or somewhere other than france, would be better.
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@DeeVee, you won't be popular with the 7-year old if you rip them away from the slopes after 3-4 days!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
I think you're right about the architecture! Yeah, have been thinking on Easter but usually need a sunny break by that time of year!!
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Sunny in the mountains 
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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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Depends on how middle class you are. The more middle class, the more emotionally retarded, selfish and therefore likely to dump kids in creche/ski school and go off and enjoy skiing hundreds of miles yourself. If you fall into this bracket then any big French resort should do but Val d'sere or Meribel will be full of similar Brits to make you feel comfortable.
If you want to spend time with your kids learning to ski and don't expect them to be Olympic champion in a week then smaller resorts are far better.
Megeve is probably the biggest resort with easy runs all over the mountain but somewhere like Les Houches is fantastic for first timers and a lift pass is a third of the price of the bigger resorts. The high, above tree lined bowl resorts will offer little shelter for little ones in poor weather so low is probably better if you're not going to late. We took our kids on their first trip to Risoul which was brilliant. A resort with a big indoor pool is great in case conditions are poor. We did La Clusaz with ours one year, which was nice too.
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| Quote: |
Depends on how middle class you are. The more middle class, the more emotionally retarded, selfish and therefore likely to dump kids in creche/ski school and go off and enjoy skiing hundreds of miles yourself. If you fall into this bracket then any big French resort should do but Val d'sere or Meribel will be full of similar Brits to make you feel comfortable.
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 nothing like a few clichés and assumptions, eh what? The most well-off couple in my neck of the woods at home in the UK, who have a "weekend house" down by the sea which is worth not far off £1m, are also amongst those who do the most with their kids and give priority to the time they have together.
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You know it makes sense.
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Thank you for all of the input. I've been travelling by road to Austria since I was 8 and, while I've never minded the long journeys - in fact, they're very much part of it for me now - I was interned in other peoples experiences/preferred routes and resorts. I'm really not fussed about skiing myself during this first trip (As a teacher, I lead groups of 83 kids, with half being beginners and enjoy sharing the experience of them finding their legs!) so am probably leant towards the smaller resorts. Those I know are in the Lungau area of Austria (Fanningberg, Mauterndorf etc) but my knowledge of closer, similar resorts is limited to say the least!
Dan
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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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@DeeVee, there are lots of nice small French resorts but they are likely to be busy at half term as it coincides with the Paris holidays. Accommodation will be very heavily booked by ow.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I like Flaine and think it's one of the best places for kipools learn that you could pick with some of the widest most gentle slopes to learn on. I even like the modernist architecture with space to toboggan next to a Picasso sculpture.
From my home in west London it's 70miles to eurotunnel and 560 from calais to Flaine. We've stayed in Flaine apartment with indoor and outdoor pools which my two kids loved at ages 7&4.
Also stayed at each of the other villages around GM area with Morillion 1100 being our favourite for being right on the snow.
I don't think you'd be at all disappointed if you were to go, if I can help with more specific info let me know.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| cameronphillips2000 wrote: |
| Depends on how middle class you are. The more middle class, the more emotionally retarded, selfish and therefore likely to dump kids in creche/ski school and go off and enjoy skiing hundreds of miles yourself. If you fall into this bracket then any big French resort should do but Val d'sere or Meribel will be full of similar Brits to make you feel comfortable. |
Wowsers, I put my children into morning ski school so that they can improve their skiing, I didn't realise it made me selfish/middle class and retarded.
My children really enjoyed skiing in Obergurgl (if you want the trek to Austria) but really liked Les Gets too which is a shorter drive (and 3V but that clearly marks me down as stupid and a bad parent).
I agree though, you may have to prise them off the slopes if they get a taste for it
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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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DeeVee,
We started our kids skiing at 4, they had a good time from the start and we have managed to get them completely hooked (10 and 12 now). I know other people have made similar suggestions but based on our experience:
1. you are right not to push the skiing too hard - success is defined by them having fun and wanting to do it again. In our experience 6 short days work well. They will get tired so a full morning, return to hotel/apartment for a lazy lunch followed by perhaps a bit of sledging or a couple of runs on the nursery slopes works well. If you go at half term you will likely have to pay for a full week of accommodation so might be just as cheap to do 6 short days as 3-4 long ones? And I doubt they will manage long ones - it will probably be 3-4 short ones.
2. I'd also recommend easter. Warmer, drive is easier (traffic/weather), cheaper. Don't know how much easter skiing you have done but it usually very warm and sunny so might give you your sun fix. I'd go high (VT, Tignes, La PLagne, Obergurgl etc)
3. Go for ski-in, ski-out if you can. Normally I'm not that bothered - happy to drive to the lifts but with beginner children ski-in, ski-out has huge advantages - makes getting them geared up and out easier, allows you to easily come back at lunch time for a rest and nip out again.
If you do go at half-term then PdS (LeS Gets, Morzine etc), Grand Massif (Flaine etc), Evasion Mont Blanc (Megeve, St Gervais, Les Contamines) are all short drives from UK. I know of a lovely ski-in ski-out hotel at Le Bettex (Above St Gervais) which has family rooms / appartments if you are interested.
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| bagginsmum wrote: |
| cameronphillips2000 wrote: |
| Depends on how middle class you are. The more middle class, the more emotionally retarded, selfish and therefore likely to dump kids in creche/ski school and go off and enjoy skiing hundreds of miles yourself. If you fall into this bracket then any big French resort should do but Val d'sere or Meribel will be full of similar Brits to make you feel comfortable. |
Wowsers, I put my children into morning ski school so that they can improve their skiing, I didn't realise it made me selfish/middle class and retarded.
My children really enjoyed skiing in Obergurgl (if you want the trek to Austria) but really liked Les Gets too which is a shorter drive (and 3V but that clearly marks me down as stupid and a bad parent).
I agree though, you may have to prise them off the slopes if they get a taste for it |
I am with you BagginsMum, my take is we are self aware enough to realise that I am not the best person to teach my children to ski. Also recognise that my children enjoy playing with other children some of the time more than with us.
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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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I don't have kids and I'm still selfish & emotionally retarded.
Maybe I need kids so I have a legit excuse.
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| bagginsmum wrote: |
| cameronphillips2000 wrote: |
| Depends on how middle class you are. The more middle class, the more emotionally retarded, selfish and therefore likely to dump kids in creche/ski school and go off and enjoy skiing hundreds of miles yourself. If you fall into this bracket then any big French resort should do but Val d'sere or Meribel will be full of similar Brits to make you feel comfortable. |
Wowsers |
+1. I'll leave it at that 
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I think it is probably true that Les Gets (nice as it is) is one of the most crowded resorts in the entire Alps at half term.
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@DeeVee, my kids are now in their late teens but I can well remember those early years. Here are some of the things that we learned (sorry for the length of this post).
Your 7-year old will probably love the trip and want to ski from dawn to dusk. Your five-year old will find it all rather tiring and may want no more than 2-3 hours on the slopes each day. It will probably take at least two days for them to progress beyond the magic carpet, so I'd be inclined to aim for more time than 4 days if you can possibly manage it.
We did the whole childcare thing one year - kids picked up at breakfast and delivered to us for an hour in the evening before we slipped down to the adult-only dinner. Despite being distinctly middle class, we hated it and never did it again. Much better to take the kids to ski school yourself, meet them for lunch and let them proudly show you what they've achieved when school is over.
Don't just get ski in/out accommodation. Get accommodation that's no more than a few yards from the ski school, nursery slopes and rental shop. You and the kids will always forget something (gloves, thermals, asthma pump...), and it takes an age for little ones to walk anywhere in the snow. Buses with childrens' skis are a nightmare - don't even consider it unless you really can't afford to stay nearer the slopes.
Do not, do not, do not, do not make the mistake of going to a busy resort. Even if your kids don't get taken out by a speeding lunatic, you'll be terrified every time you see a lunatic coming down the slopes, which will happens every 30 seconds or so.
Don't go to a big resort. If you turn left at the top of the resort but the kids somehow turn right (it happens  ), it's hugely reassuring to know that the two runs don't end up several km apart.
Self catering rules OK. Little kids and long, slow mealtimes in a chalet with strangers or long, slow meals in crowded Alpine restaurants are not a good mix. Much better to pop a pan of pasta on the cooker and play a game with the kids while it's cooking. A lunchtime break in your slope-side apartment is brilliant for little ones.
Long car journeys are fine with kids. Long plane journeys are fine, too. Long transfers in tour buses aren't. Dysfunctional tour operator transfers that involve waiting 3 hours in the airport for the delayed Aberdeen plane to turn up and 37 drop-offs in distant villages are the stuff of nightmares... "Daddy, I feel sick, I need a wee, I'm bored, I need a tantrum..."
Some ski instructors - in my limited experience, most notably the French - can be incredibly harsh. "You're not here to have fun. You parents have paid me to teach you to ski, not for you to enjoy yourself!" was what a French instructor once told one of my kids. Talk to the instructor, talk to your kids and make sure there's a meeting of minds. Don't be afraid to demand a change of class if you think things are going badly.
Regarding resorts, have you looked at Ste Foye? I don't know too many small Alpine resorts (we generally took our kids to North America), but, when we were there last year, we thought that it would have been an idyllic place for young children. Small, quiet, friendly and nothing more than a short stroll away.
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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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sweeping statement from Cameron!!!!!..............although sadly he is partly correct. see no end of kids dumped in ski school in tears and then the parents whizz off for 3 hours blast. each to their own i guess. Skiing is middle class by definition it seems.
anyway Dee Vee, back to the matter in hand and not the moral judgement, for a kids first time Ste Foy would be a very good choice, under 7 skis free, ski passes for paying skiers far lower than many resorts.
lots of slopeside accomodation, and ones with a pool....Etoile Des Cimes is good value for money....book it via Peak Retreats, incs Tunnel.
But half term will be very booked up already i suspect.
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@stefoy4me, except that there are many parents who (I won't use the word 'dump'!) leave their kids in ski school, not in tears, and then whizz off for a three hour blast. Unless you would rather more people taught their own kids to ski regardless of qualification or would people prefer to have parents hanging around/following the group I hate to see children distressed in a ski group, it's horrible. But there are lots of good parents out there too!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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iglou...yes indeed, 100%.........i wasn t saying he was right or wrong, or that you are wrong in anyway.
some kids love ski school, others will not.............
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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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Our son was 3 when we first ventured onto the slopes with him. We went to Passo Tonale and yes, dumped him in ski school  where he had a blast for two hours in the morning; being Italy they were straight on the nursery slopes no messing about 'playing'..it was all about the skiing. We would watch from a distance (as you are able to do this in Tonale thanks to the layout of the resort). He was a bit weepy the first morning, but full of chat by lunchtime and chomping at the bit on Day two. By the end of the week, he was skiing a decent nursery slope and using a button lift unaided. They use a plastic locking device which locks the kids skis in a permanent snowplough while skiing. It worked really well. Aged now almost 15 he is extremely competent at both ski and boarding. I dislike him intensely. He has a tendancy to ski past me, backwards texting on his phone as I nervously pick my way down the slope. Oh to feel like that on skis....
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You know it makes sense.
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I think kids vary quite a lot. Some 3 and 4 year olds take to skiing (and to ski school) a lot better than others. I think it's fine to stick them in ski school, but not to leave them there if they are clearly not enjoying it.
IME the kids who start a bit later (5 or 6 is ideal) soon catch up.
I even have one grandchild who hated toboganning when she was 3 (though she took to skiing fine, at 5). Most littlies seem to have more fun toboganning than skiing and pulling them back up the slope is frightfully good exercise!
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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we bought a plastic sledge in Levi which doubled up as a handy trolley for carting shopping back to the apartment; at 3 he was scared stiff of a sledge, by 5 (Levi, Lapland) he was of the 'faster faster' mentality and already doing 'jumps' in ski school  That sledge still gets used every time it snows and fits in my boot for ski trips but we also have a plastic snowboard (£15 Ebay) which is used more by all the kids on the bottom slope at Foy...oh and one of those tray things with a handle. They all love those.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@igLou, its a bit like nursery, one starts weeping and wailing, they all get set off... but to be fair, if you know your child well then you can read the tears. We had to give his helmet a name to make him wear it. Mr HelmetHead caused tears when he grew out of him.
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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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@Fruity, +1 for tray with handles - lean back and spin.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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We looked at ski school as a necessary evil for the first few years. We didn't have the skill to teach our kids to ski properly ourselves, but we very much wanted a family skiing holiday. The solution for us was to ski as a family before and after ski school, to meet them for lunch and, as soon as they had a couple of years under their skis, to restrict ski school to a few days of the holiday or maybe just for mornings.
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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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| Quote: |
We looked at ski school as a necessary evil for the first few years. We didn't have the skill to teach our kids to ski properly ourselves, but we very much wanted a family skiing holiday
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that was our feeling, too. Our first holiday we were all beginners, so ski school was essential. We'd gone for two weeks and taken grandma. The 4 year old would have reacted badly to being shoved straight into ski school especially as the littlest beginner class instructor, though lovely, spoke no English (this was Austria). But at the end of the week, watching the other little girls get their ski school "medals" she decided she wanted a go too. We rented proper skis and boots for her on the Saturday and warned her that if there was any wimpish nonsense (she could be a bit of a moaner.....) that would be the end of that. I wasn't confident to take her on a drag so just pulled her up the nursery slope and had her going down, hands on knees. She was fine, and enjoyed the ski school, though very unimpressed with having to go under little Disney figures in the baby garden. The boys did ski school the first week, and we all pottered round together after that. We never had the money to go to one of those places where nannies whisk children off to ski school, pick them up, give them tea etc but like @Jonny Jones, we didn't really want that sort of holiday anyway.
Ski holidays have been some of our best - and provided you keep paying, they keep wanting to come!!!
Now got the grandchildren going through the system. Ski school groups are all Francophone here, so little ones have done private lessons (very good value if you can get 3 or 4 kids together) and been taught by skilled parents. I am a great believer in professional instruction but I don't believe that 4 year olds need a top qualified person to help them do nice big snowplough turns down a nursery slope!
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Brilliant advice everyone. Thanks for sharing your experiences! My kids have been used to long car journeys all their lives and have been flying regularly since they were a month old so sure they'll cope with this aspect of things admirably (esp with the seat back TV's and iPads!). As I was growing up we were always in a town at the foot of the mountains and drove up each day, which is where my dread kicks in if it's anything like the morning school run here!
I think, based on my experience and everyone who's added to this thread, I will probably wind up in Austria to avoid the French holidays, will head to a small, local resort rather than the bigger ones of the area and will use the ski school I use when I run my school trips. Kids club never really sat too well with me tbh anyway! (I guess I'm more proletariat than bourgeoise!  )
Hopefully we'll get away at lunchtime on the Friday before half term to at least head off the majority of the escapees!
Thanks again,
Dan
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@DeeVee, I'm sure you'll have a great time in Austria, but you needn't worry about French school holidays if you pick the right resort. We were in Ste Foy in the UK February half term last year and everything was reassuringly quiet - no queues and very quiet pistes.I didn't trouble the beginner lifts very often so it's possible that there were occasionally queues down there, but I don't think so.
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@DeeVee,
Just to add in another thought into the mixture Switzerland is a really nice place to ski and is generally pretty child friendly. Although the big fashionable resorts have a reputation for being expensive the smaller ones as in most countries are a lot more reasonable and the Western half is pretty straightforward to drive to.
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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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A few peeps took my middle class comment a bit too seriously -probably touched few nerves.
I forgot to mention Plaine Joux, part of the Chamonix circuit but lower, very child friendly and inexpensive.
Resorts where you can get from top to bottom on easy slopes are always best for first timers do they don't spend all week on the lower slopes.
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You didn't touch my nerve I just thought you were being rude and judgemental
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FAQ
It's a tricky one. I am sure there are children who arrive for their lessons, well prepared and happy but then change their minds. It must be just awful to be a little one, in an often hostile mountain environment, with a group of strangers, cold etc and not wanting to be there. I guess I am mainly thinking large ESF groups as that often IME seems to be the scenario. Should the instructor call the parents to collect the child 
