Full Family of Beginners - Asking Me Where They Should Go

A snowHead

Due to my inability to stay upright on a pushbike, I was visiting my friendly husband and wife physio team the other day. I asked them to get me patched up because I was due to go skiing.

It got them thinking, as neither have been on a winter break until they took their nippers to Lapland last year; and they loved it.

They're both personal trainers, have surfed, skateboarded, ridden horses, fell run etc so I told them that if they went to the bg hills, they'd probably never go on summer holidays again.

Of course they now want advice on where to go. They're a family of four, and the children are young, the youngest is six. Non of them have ever even touched a board or skis.

I told them not to look at the mega big resorts and to go around the end of March or early April and perhaps look at Austria, but wasn't 100% sure of a resort for them.

Any thoughts of people with experience of these areas would be great.

Thanks

Marc

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

We've had good experiences down at La Tania with the kids late season. Some nice simple runs down into town and they don't need to get the full 3V pass if they're not trekking.

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I'll preface with I've not been, but friends suggest La Plagne is good, i know schools go to AdH a lot and the lower runs are accessible...I found VT to be relatively flat, Solden has some nice runs in resort to learn on, the progression from those isn't the easiest though. The only place i'd say to definitely avoid is Val D'Isere

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Strongly agree that convenience is the key requirement, closely followed by top class tuition. As athletes rapid progression might be more important to them than many other factors. Big group beginner lessons probably not ideal.

I would recommend mid March. Places like Tignes and Val d'I offer a choice of top ski schools with small groups - Evolution 2, TDC(?) Etc etc. Courchevel 1650 has a great deal to commend it, too.

For more alpine ambiance maybe Megeve and BASS. Or Les Gets?

Les Contamines (staying near lifts) not a daft ides, either.

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@Mosha Marc, are they happy taking their children out of school? As your suggested dates would necessitate that.

If they aren't then Easter is best IMO.

I would also recommend Esprit if it is first time for all, then it is by far the easiest option as they will look after everybody. Also they will be in the hotel with children they are learning with, making it more enjoyable.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I normally vote Austria over France just for more pleasant atmosphere, cheaper food etc. Up to Mid March even the low resorts (SkiWelt etc) seem to have consistently good conditions due to excellent maintenance and we have skied there right up to closing day even in lean years without any problems, so don't exclude them on an altitude basis. Finding a resort with direct access to slopes is a little harder than in the big purpose built "on the mountain" resorts in France but there are plenty of places which, though not officially "ski in" are only a few m from the slopes, particularly in the smaller villages. One easy UK TO option (not been myself but heard it recommended) is "Ski Juwel" (Neiderau, Alpbach etc) Which has a good reputation for families and beginners. The villages are small and most of the accom is near the slopes.

Austrian ski schools seem to have good reputation in general particularly for children. Very good standard of English is common.

After all it is free

With kids of 6-ish, convenience is everything - I would go for one of the family specialist operators as my first choice. Ski Esprit and Ski Famille both do the job brilliantly, looking after getting the kids ready for ski school and actually taking them there so that the adults can take care of themselves. There is nothing more stressful than trying to get to grips with something yourself while your kids are needing every bit of your attention too. Don't overestimate the small pleasure of having someone else carry your kids' skis to ski school for them instead of having to do it yourself! Family based companies will also have a little peer group for the kids to blatt about with for when they learn faster than the adults do ;D

Ski-in ski-out, while seemingly a basic necessity for anyone who has a basic level of ski ability, is probably not as high up on the list of priorities of someone who can't actually ski yet. That's not to say they should discount a ski-in ski-out place, but that it wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me if you had someone (as mentioned above) to take your kids off to ski school and it not be too far a walk for you.

Wrt which country to choose, as long as they have snow and ski school they all have their own benefits. It can also depend on how much time the parents want to spend with their kids. I love Austria - everything about it! But one thing that put me off a bit was that the ski schools seem to teach from 10-12am and then 1-3pm, which makes for a bit of a disjointed day. The resort I went to last with my kids in Austria also closed their chair lifts at 4pm On. The. Dot. Meaning a bit of an after ski school ski with the kids was a bit difficult. But my kids loved it and we are planning to head back to Austria next year with them. Most of the resorts seem to be smaller, family-friendly places with plenty of easier skiing for a beginner and a bit more for those more advanced. It's pretty. Give St Anton a wide berth and you will be fine. (Go back without the kids when you can ski though Very Happy

) Esprit and Obergurgl have both been mentioned above - Esprit has a place there. My friend had a very nice time there last year.

France has all the pistes you could ever want, but some of the resorts are a bit soul-less if you are more after chocolate box chalets and quaint apres-ski. It is much more expensive for a snack and a drink than more or less everywhere else too. People in the queues for the lifts seem to have sharper elbows in France (regardless of where they come from!) It's not just the French, I go to France in the summer with kids and have a lovely time. But something about the mega-resorts brings out the queue-jumper in people. Having said all that, we are off to Les Gets in a couple of weeks. It has a much nicer vibe for families about it. Ski school in France is for 3 hrs either morning or afternoon, meaning you can ski half the day with your kids (if you want to!) Never booked mine in with ESF as I rarely hear a good thing about them, but the ski schools we have used have been great.

Italy is brilliant for kids, as you might expect. Also, you can always find good quality spaghetti or pizza to feed them if they are fussy with food. I've only skied here once, in the Dolomites, it was brilliant and very welcoming for families. My kids were too young for proper ski school then, but there were fab ski kindergartens everywhere, and the italians love children. Even in a ski resort!

Andorra has one of the best ski schools in Europe for both adults and children. It has a reputation for being cheap, and while it is still cheaper than much of Europe it doesn't have as many bargains as it once had. Pas de la Casa is a bit Magaluf-on-snow, so give that a wide berth but the rest of the country is (like Italy) very family friendly. Ski school is half days here too.

Obergurgl in Austria is the obvious choice I would say. Snow sure, convenient (stay at Edelwiess and Gurgl hotel as lifts are outside the front door), good ski school and plenty of easy slopes to progress to.

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Thanks all. I've just checked and the eldest is 6 (youngest is 4) my mistake.

I do appreciate everyones help on this snowHead

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@Mosha Marc, 100% recommend Esprit (even more so with 6 being eldest not youngest). Whether they are prepared to take them out of school needs to ascertained (they will most likely be fined if they do this, but probably not for 4yr as they don't legally need to be in school even if they have started until they are 5).

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Soldeu Andorra, all 3 of my kids have learned to ski there from the age of 3. Half term is a bit busy the first morning but then quietens down for the rest of the week. All of the kids were very happy with the penguins childcare next to the ski school. The ski school itself is run by an English guy and many of the instructors are English too.
We considered the likes of ski esprit but we are not millionaires.

@tangowaggon, millionaires? Far from it we have booked to go Easter and base price is £1949.30 to val d'Isere and that is paying extra for a 2 room suite.

You know it makes sense.

Clearly the MYAsHBAsh is ideal although probably rather short notice for this year.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

From a purely skiing point of view, I'd def say Alpe d'huez. There are loads and loads of green runs, and you can find nice quiet ones without more experienced skiers whizzing past you all the time.

Even as a total beginner it's really dull skiing the same slope over and over - which is what I ended up doing in my first ever week in Val Thorens - so it's nice to be able to have a bit of variety especially as you gain a bit of confidence.

A snowHead

Corvara might suit them. Pretty village, access to a sea of blue runs, beautiful views, delicious well-priced food. No experience of the local ski schools though.

A snowHead

@slulu, that shouldn't have happened in Val Tho.
There's a really good, progressive circuit that gets slightly harder as it gets longer, up to the point you'd be up to handling most of the blue runs.
Did you not have anyone showing you the ropes?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

It's been a long time since I was there, but I have to agree with admin. I would have said VT is ideal for beginners.

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@musher, I think it has improved a lot in the past few years - they've really put some thought into it.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I thought the slopes were pretty good for wobblers 20 odd years ago. I think lifts/ski schools have come on a lot recently in most places.

I'm almost inclined to go to France and force the kids into a week of ESF. Show them how the other half have to live wink

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+1 for Austria
+1 for Obergurgl
+1 for Easter

Personally, Id suyggest either the Sport Hotel or the Hotel Crystal (almost the same thing). Apparently less stuffy than the Gurgl or Edelweiss.

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Full Family of Beginners - Asking Me Where They Should Go

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