 Poster: A snowHead
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Has any SH got experience of Skibound as a provider of school ski trips?
Our kids secondary school is offering a week in AdH with Skibound, from 16-24 December. Price of £831 seems like a reasonable, if not exactly stellar deal for a fully-catered trip with 12 x 2hrs of lessons, but would have thought that they might do better for an unusual week.
A search on here turned up a thread on the horrendous coach crash returning from AdH, but nothing obviously about the trips that Skibound run.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Ski bound used to run the Curling hotel in tignes val claret that SH used for many pre season bashes until it was sold 2 years ago.
I can't comment on school trips but the hotel was pretty well run, the food was fine. The hotel staff were all British
They used to use us as pre season Guinea pigs to practise on. But as I say no school trip info sorry.
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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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As well as staying in the Curling as above, I have stayed in one of their hotels in Les Menuires when also being used for school trips, as they do sell places to non school trips. Again the food was fine and was well run with British staff.
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@tomj, I used to use them a lot when I was teaching in the UK and running trips. That does seem a bit high for that week to be honest as it will only take a small problem to mess up the Christmas for everyone. Is it a coach trip or a flight one?
Skibound used to be one of the most reliable of the school specialists but I don't know who runs it these days as all the people I knew there have left the management one way or another.
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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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@Samerberg Sue, that was what I thought. Coach trip, due back at midday on Christmas Eve - what could possibly go wrong?
No, don't answer that! 
I get the impression that the (new) head is taking a firm line on children being present in school during term time, and so has moved the annual ski trip from late Jan to the Christmas holidays. I haven't got a problem with children being taken out of school for a week, but I can see the argument from the head's POV. However, seems a bit pricey for a week that can't be popular with many people, schools or otherwise.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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We were with Equity pre-Xmas week in AdH this year. Presuming it comes with the same sort of package, it is a pretty good price for everything in. I'd be more worried about the lack of snow having been stung twice in the last couple of years in AdH in that slot. There are now only 2 or 3 resorts I would commit to pre-Xmas well in advance and AdH would not be one of them.
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@tomj, there's quite a few schools go the week before Christmas, and I think there are also university trips then too.
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I don't have direct experience of the company but they have a reasonably good reputation. That week before Christmas won't be as 'unusual' as you might think. I know lots of schools and universities who travel that week, as it is cheaper than half term, etc. I would say that early weeks do risk having poor snow. I was in L2A that week in 2015 and only the runs on the glacier were good to ski. Although some lower runs were open, they ranged from 'mostly good with a few small rocks on steeper/busy sections' to 'brown snow and many fist size rocks to avoid'. I'd say the price looks good for an all-in ski package, you'd be paying maybe 20% higher or more for other (more popular) weeks of the year.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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OK, thanks all for the comments. Climate change aside, let's hope that next season starts a little better than is one has!
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Is it the Belle Aurore? If so, really nice hotel and we've always enjoyed the trip whenever we've stayed there. But it is midstation on the yoghurt pots which can make it a lengthy job to get 30-40 kids up to the top of resort when you can only get one (if that) in each pot. And at the same time as all the other school groups leaving the hotel.... Try and stagger your ski school times so that all 100+ of schoolkids are not all trying to get in the pots at the same time. You can ski almost back to the hotel (snow permitting) down a steepish track off the bottom of Signal.
Also agree that SkiBound run a good operation-we've used them for a number of years now and never been disappointed.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@tomj, had a very cheap week in a SkiBound hotel in AdH for Christmas week this year.
+s: good location of hotel, food was fine, nice bathroom, ok wifi, excellent staff (much better than Crystal), a few activities on-site
-s: rooms would be very cramped with full capacity
Based on this year that week would be risky for good snow conditions. The price seems expensive to me but I don't have anything to compare with regarding school ski trips.
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