 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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from experience, if you go out of season, and book on a group 1 day course, you have pretty much 1-2-1 tuition.
that would be my chosen route
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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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Yep, my girlfriend paid for 2 group lessons at the Glasgow fridge a few summers ago and ended up getting 1-2-1 for £100 for a few hours! Managed to get up to their level 4!
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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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@Gaza, if you can look at getting the missus on to a group lesson, like haigie's girlfriend above had done, but keep on checking beforehand how many other participants were on it before committing. we did this for our 2 daughters at hemel last year out of season, one ended up with 4hours one to one, and the older one ended up with one other kid in her sessions, effectively private for the cost of group lessons. they had both only done taster sessions each beforehand, but were put on to a group above beginner, their ski skills were far improved by doing these lessons.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Gaza, you could call ahead to Braehead - they might not even bother putting her on the baby slope with the rope tow and go straight for the mid section on the main slope since she has previous experience !
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@Gaza, The Lake Louise Ski School in Canada advertise with the slogan 'Saving Marriages since 1974' 
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@Gaza, Chill Factore has gentle button lifts. Hope you manage to book a quiet group lesson successfully (as others have said, there should be a good chance of this in May) - I have also looked into private lessons there and was shocked by the prices!
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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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@Gaza, if your wife has arthritic hands she might struggle with poles. My sister has just given up skiing largely for that reason. She has given up embroidery too....
She was not impressed by my suggestion that she take up snowboarding.
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@pam w, she is fine holding most things (it is her thumbs where the problem is) and it is only when something needs a very tight grip that she has problems. I know myself that the rope tow at Braehead can be hard to grip through gloves.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Yes, I can relate to that. Much better have a button lift.
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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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@Gaza, CFe have a travellator on the lesson slope and pomas on the main. I teach there. PM me if you have any Qs.
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| Gaza wrote: |
| @pam w, she is fine holding most things (it is her thumbs where the problem is) and it is only when something needs a very tight grip that she has problems. I know myself that the rope tow at Braehead can be hard to grip through gloves. |
There's a nylon rope at my local dryslope that wore through my cheap-ish gloves. By the end of an hour there my hands couldn't hold the rope properly so I had to grip it under my arm too.
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You know it makes sense.
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Tamworth Snowdome - Members £67.90 for an hours private (£97 for non members)!! Hit the slopes after 8pm and its really quiet.
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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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Thanks @sarah. The travellator will be much better. If I can't find out from CFe how many are booked in I'll PM you. What is the maximum in a group lesson?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Gaza: Given your location and the pretty decent snow at the moment, why not book a private lesson at Glencoe in advance of your visit to Chillfactore?
It's a bargain £40 an hour for a private lesson for one (though lift ticket and kit hire are extra).
Proper mountain, proper snow - and proper skiing  .
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Tue 29-03-16 19:49; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Gaza, 10 in a group lesson maximum. During the season the groups are often fully booked. Sometimes off season less so, though weekends and evenings are busier.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Gaza, Unless they will tell you over the phone there's no way of telling how many are booked into a group lesson from the website AFAIK.
I did a snowboard beginner day course there last summer, moving over from skiing to boarding, and I think there were 7 or 8 in the group. Plenty of attention though for each individual and it did make learning the basics fun, as you're all in a heap together...literally!
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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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@jocrad,
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Unless they will tell you over the phone there's no way of telling how many are booked into a group lesson from
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over the phone to hemel on several occasions, was how I was able to gauge how many other participants were on my daughters holiday courses, there was no change for a few weeks and I booked them on a week before it started.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Gaza, @jocrad, @terrygasson, Or the sneaky way to check online is to try to book the lesson for 6, then 7, then 8 people and so on until you can't book - easy to tell home many are on the lesson with repeated phone calls 
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It's £141 (random) for an hour's private for adults at MK Snozone, if there are two of you it's a massive £190 and, for that, the instructors get about £8 an hour. A kid's private is less, £65 for an hour or £103 for two. They seem to have a fair few private lessons so people must have the money but it's a lot of money when the instructor is paid so little .
I'd never thought about booking a group lesson in the summer, will have to give that a try, I think that you can tell on the Snozone website. Thanks for the suggestion
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Like your style @PaulC1984, !!
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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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@MayaL, You certainly could last year. I booked a 3 hour group lesson at MK during the afternoon on the first Monday in January last year and effectively got a private lesson on a nearly deserted slope.
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| terrygasson wrote: |
@jocrad,
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Unless they will tell you over the phone there's no way of telling how many are booked into a group lesson from
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over the phone to hemel on several occasions, was how I was able to gauge how many other participants were on my daughters holiday courses, there was no change for a few weeks and I booked them on a week before it started. |
Phoning CFe is a nightmare if you really do have to try one of the normal not Myers not the premium rate ones and play dumb.
Depending on when you will visit CFe they do have a ladies morning once a month so if you are lucky and I your visit is at the time this is on then this is a very cheap way of getting a lesson/coaching. Just check the website for dates, they also do an over 50's morning once a month for those who are over this age or pretty close
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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| Quote: |
It's £141 (random) for an hour's private for adults at MK Snozone, if there are two of you it's a massive £190 and, for that, the instructors get about £8 an hour.
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I thought only North American ski schools do that!
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While not a direct comparison, it is worth saying that I paid about the same for a L4/ISTD instructor for a full day in Val d'Isere as CFe charge for 1h 50 mins.
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Is it only the Anglo-Saxon culture that under-values the teaching profession?
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You know it makes sense.
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i looked at prices a couple of weeks ago and thought it was a miss print. .. no way would I pay that much for a lesson... I suppose they must want to discourage 1.2.1 lessons . .. or any type if lessons at those prices... no wonder they get upset if they find anyone giving a lesson to a friend. ..
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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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@Gaza, I have just booked a 2hr private lesson in gressoney for tomorrow £60.33!
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Poster: A snowHead
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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 it only CFe or all fridges? I would assume a fridge has horrific investment/overheads.
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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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Does that include lift pass and equipment hire @NickyJ?
I am being slightly mischevious there. I tend to agree that the indoor centres don't really offer great value for their private lessons. Of course any service is worth what people will pay for it - I wonder to what extent the private lessons at the fridges cater for those people 'with the money' who head for the 'upscale resorts' and book private lessons as beginners because they're better than the rest of us? Conversely I wonder how many Snowheads would book a private lesson at a fridge if they were priced comparably to resort?
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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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@Tubaski, given I own my own skis and boots.... I'll work out the proportion of lift pass later.
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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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Hmmm , just out of curiousity I compared the weekday prices at CFe of a 1h50 beginner group lesson (65) a 1h50 private lesson (200) and a 2h lift pass (26). From that you can extrapolate that the price of the tuition alone is 39 for the group lesson and 174 for the private. That means that private tuition is 4.5 times the price of group tuition. That doesn't seem an unreasonable multiple - although the absolute price is high. I think what I'd take from that is that CFe's lessons are just generally pricey. i.e. it's not just the private lessons that are expensive.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Tubaski, at the weekend a 2 hour lift pass and equipment hire is £32. As I said at the start, a 1h 50m private is £240. Of the £208 differential I'd be surprised if £40 was accounted for in terms of wages, employers NIC and other costs associated with employing the instructor. I'm not factoring in any other costs of running the business as those can be assumed to be in the £32. £168 is a lot of profit on a lesson.
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I'm not factoring in any other costs of running the business as those can be assumed to be in the £32.
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That's not a fair assumption, it is quite common for a business' 'base line' model to not be profitable but rather provide a platform on to which add-ons can be bolted which generate the profit.
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@Gaza, Yes - I wasn't making that point. I agree that the price seems high compared to the costs of wages etc. What I was saying was that they make the same money, beyond the lift pass, on a private lesson as they do on a group lesson with 4.5 people - and that multiplier didn't seem excessive.
@midgetbiker, that's a good point. I've got a monthly pass at Hemel this month which cost me 48 quid. The amount I will use that (and take advantage of the free coffee on the slope) it is not going to be particularly profitable for them!
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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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Go have the lessons on a dry slope, where you can usually get an hour's 1:1 for £45-£50, then just go and practice in the fridge for the feel of real snow?
Mind you, taught a couple of kids last week who had had several lessons with us on dry, had gone and done a group session in a fridge, and I spent the whole of the next lesson trying to undo the bad habits they'd gained on the snow!
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For balance our Premium Private sessions are £149-£169 depending on mid week or weekend and include a 4 hour lift pass, 30 mins optional warm up time, 90 minutes coaching on slope, 30 minutes for video feedback and a final 90 mins practice time. We also offer a £20 voucher that can be used for subsequent group clinics.
Be curious to hear if people think this is good, bad or average value
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FAQ
