 Poster: A snowHead
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Just wondering if anyone has any experience of children's lessons with Evolution 2 in Argentiere. We're considering a trip next season and will have our almost 4 year old with us who we hope to put in half day ski lessons.
Looking at their website it sounds ok but there aren't any photos of the area where they will be learning.
Any first hand accounts much appreciated.
Cheers, N
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Yes, lots of experience from our kids and about 10 friends' kids at Evo 2 "panda club" and ESF.
In short, I'd go ESF as would nearly all friends who have tried both. I booked both my children in one year, and theyve not gone back. Same for 4 friends.
Evo 2 good points:
mainly English kids (this may not be a good point!)
Max class size 8 and seemingly achieved vs ESF 14!
Reasonable self contained area for beginners and small yeti with a rope tow. Once they are a bit better (week 2 or 3) they go to les chosalets which is 10 mins walk away.
Reasonable control of pickup and drop off so kids can't wander off. Still not exactly rigorous tho for anyone used to UK nurseries etc. - no detailed reconciliation of kids and parents and instead seemed to rely on children to know their parents. My wife dropped daughter off first morning and I collected - no ID required just the word of my then 3yr old that I was daddy.
Nice helpers as well as instructors for the younger ones, so plenty of staff on hand.
Children generally happy with the place tho son got very frustrated at the limited amount of skiing.
Bad points
Did very little skiing. 'Small yeti' (1 above beginner) class would typically do 2 runs in 2.5hrs on the chosalets or vormaine lift. Top level class did 2-3 runs on the mountain, with a snack break in the middle in a 2-2.5hr lesson.
Daughter (3) came out skiing worse than she went in, son made zero progress in a week. This kind of thing doesn't seem to bother the kids much.
No interaction with instructors - the general structure we found is that you drop kids off at 9, instructors arrive sometime around 915, and similarly kids returned 1130-1145 by instructors (usually 1130 for us) then parents collect around 12. ESF do this much better - you hand your child to their instructor and collect from them so you get a few words about the days skiing.
Expensive, about 30-50% more than ESF, although smaller classes justify this.
argentiere isn't a great location once they are beyond green runs; le tour is much better but means they have to be bussed up there which takes 30+mins out of the skiing day. ESF run classes based at le tour tho the facilities there aren't so good.
The other option is to go private which is very reasonable in argentiere, 90euros for 2hrs. We've not looked back since doing this, and although it's pricey the return is fantastic - off up the mountain by day 3 for daughter (then 3) and son (5 at that time).
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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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The Panda club put 2 of my 3 (11, 10 and 6) off lessons (and almost off skiing).
This was some (13?) years ago now though and things may well be different.
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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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@snowdave, @Ray Zorro, thanks for the feedback. Not exactly what I was hoping to hear but, good to get some honest opinions. Sounds like ESF is the way to go. Cheers
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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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Interesting. We have chums staying with young kids booked in for the early part next week. We were already concerned that the planned meet at Chosalets very restricting (the kids are quite happy snowploughing in good control on reds).
That said th instructors we saw first thing on Vormaine looked much more fun and engaged than the ESf ones.
I think private is going to be counselled.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@under a new name, are they booked with Evo 2? If so I'd appreciate some more feedback if poss. Where to Ski & Board says "reports have been enthusiastic" but clearly opinion is split!
Cheers
N
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@under a new name, chosalets has been closed for weeks, why would they meet there? Let me know if you want a few recommendations on good instructors we've used privately. Many of the ESF ones have been fantastic and I think 45euros an hour for a skilled professional with a seasonal job is great value.
@nickr, like many ski schools I think it's partly the luck of the draw on instructors which may explain the where to ski and board views, but I've had too many poor data points to want to go near the place again. My daughter certainly got a lot more out of her class of 14 with ESF than with evo2 and its ostensibly better teacher pupil ratio.
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I think 45euros an hour for a skilled professional with a seasonal job is great value
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Agreed. I am paying £5 an hour this week for a brilliant ESF cross country instructor (group lesson, 2.5 hours per morning, only 4 of us in the group; if he's being paid more than £20 an hour the ski school is losing money).
Great technical explanations, but not overdoing the technique, charming, funny, very experienced (his son is a ski tech on the World Cup circuit). For a minor supplement of an afternoon session charge he is taking us on an all day "randonnée nordique" to the Col de Véry tomorrow. Beyond the call of duty really.
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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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@snowdave, I have no idea. That's just what the parent's have been told. We don't have kids so it's out of our ken. P.s. Yes, Evo2. Who have been very much impressing us all season with their information to be passed to clients about what they have running.
It's just as we examine through our friends' eyes that we're thinking that the kids' set up is unlikely to work.
We're going to drop in in the A.M. And see what's thought.
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