Planning first ski trip for kids 2018

A snowHead

Me and my girlfriend have been discussing potentially going away next year with her kids who are currently 5 and 8 yrs old, for their first ever ski trip. For the first trip we'd probably go during Feb half term (but hopefully shift that to Easter in subsequent years). I just wanted to canvas a few opinions from people who have done this before...

1) Are they old enough?

They'll be 6 and 8 at the time - the 8yr old is keen and she'll be fine, but the 5yr old is less so. He had a lesson at Hemel, and seemed to spend a large percentage of the time in a heap with the other kids with legs/skis spawled in very uncomfortable positions. There was nearly tears on several occasions. (As an aside there was only one instructor with about 7 kids, so consequently while he was dealing with the one child, the others just fell into each other like dominos and lay in a heap for several minutes before the instructor got to them, spending 5mins getting them all up one by one, before the same thing happened all over again a few minutes later).

2) Where to go?

I'm currently looking at Avoriaz at the moment as it seems to have some nice gentle slopes, is all ski-in ski-out, shortish transfer, has some good ski schools (such as Village des Enfants), and Aquariaz looks like the perfect place to take them late afternoon as a reward (bribe?!) for skiing in the morning. Does that make sense? Anywhere else I should be considering?

3) Do I take them to lessons before we go?

I can see that working with the 8yr old but it might just serve to put the 5yr old off - should I just wait till we get to resort and leave them to the ski school experts to work their magic. Or wait another year until he's 7 when he might be less inclined to tears and tantrums?

snowHead

A snowHead

1. Hell yeah. Easily old enough. Mine have both been having lessons since 3. The 9 year old now gets down anything, and with more style and control than me (albeit he skis I board) if conditions are sketchy, and the 6 year old can whap down blues and is starting to do steeper bits.

However - they have to want to do it. So no point forcing it if they don't want to. It has to be fun. We had the odd day where ours were a bit negative but my wife more so than me was good at getting them going cheering and hi fiving every 30 seconds etc. They often respond better to instructors than parents, and follow peers. Good instructors and lessons will make all the difference here. When they were 3 they just piddled about on the magic carpet, cheering and high fiving when they did something good, interspersed with igloo building and scoffing chocolate bars. So by the time they were moved on to bigger lessons on proper pistes at 4 or 5 they already had the fun idea in their minds. But good lessons in resort is really where it's at.

2. Everyone will have a view here. I've never been to Avoiriaz/PdS so can't comment. I've always been to Courchevel and its been brilliant for lessons and kids progression, - but it's a personal preference, and I just think Courchevel is well setup for it - they very quickly move off the carpet to doing proper long albeit very gentle runs which makes it more interesting for them, and they come back with tales of where they stopped for hot chocolate break etc.

3. Yes if you can get the basics covered here before hand they will get more out of being in the mountains. But again, they have to want to. So if you can convince them and it's fun, then the more they get the basics down here the quicker they will be doing more in resort.

At half term you can expect class ratios to be big. Like 7 or 8 kids, or even 12-14 with ESF, as they will be fully booked. We found ours got on best with the companies that specialised in teaching the English speaker with whole English speaking classes - notably Momentum, Magic and New Generation. Really great experiences with all of them. On our New Year trip our Magic classes had just 2-4 kids in them. On one day our eldest was the only kid in the class so effectively had a private lesson all morning ! (it wouldn't be like that at half term of course).

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My kids are 11, 8 and 4 and I've had them all skiing since they were each 2 years old. One of our trips each year is to Avoriaz as it is ridiculously convenient, which is a major plus when you have kids in tow. There are plenty of English ski schools in the area, but I would advise booking the lessons early, as they tend to book up for half term - we have used www.freedom2ski.com and they have been excellent.

With regards to your younger child, as @Gazzza, says, don't push them if they don't want to do it. My 4 year old was happy to be out there for an hour or so each day last year (aged 3), so we let him do other stuff after that. This year he's really looking forward to it as he enjoyed what he did, but doesn't have negative memories of being pushed to do something he didn't want to do.

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Old enough? Oh yes, no doubt about that.

Where to go? We went to Avoriaz the first time I took my wife & children. They loved it, spent most of their time on the blue run through the trees (Proclou, I think). I've been to a few resorts in France and generally like the 3 valleys, but I'd happily return to Avoriaz.

I've stayed in Courchevel a couple of times, also good for the children. La Tania looks nice, too - again, lots of trees which I've found seems to go down well with the kids - the mountain tops can be a bit intimidating, particularly if the wind gets up.

I haven't taken my kids to a dry slope or fridge, but some of the other families we ski with did go to Hemel before booking their trip. One mum found both her boys loved it, and were hardcore fanatics by the end of their session. The other mum took her two girls and found the youngest loved it but the 12yo absolutely, resolutely didn't. So she then had to decide - go ahead with the plan or not? In the end, the daughter spent the week with her Dad. Better to find out in the UK than on the top of a mountain, but I'd say that the excitement of a trip may swing it for many kids.

My tip - budget for lots of hot chocolat and lunches on the mountain, just in case you need to take time out and jolly everyone up. A ski trip is a wonderful thing - but a cold, tired, damp child might forget that and need some TLC to restore the wonder.

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Avoriaz is a good choice for the reasons you've described. Short transfer, well set up for kids, traffic free and also good skiing for adults across the PDS.

6 and 8 is plenty old enough. As others have said the main thing is that they want to do it.

Don't know if cost is an issue for you but half term will be very £££ and also crowded. I know its difficult when they're at school but personally I don't think it should be an issue for them to miss a week at that age although the school might disagree.

Easter will be slightly cheaper although possibly a bit slushy.

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Mine were a year younger when I tried to teach them myself (!!!) at a nursery slope over 4 days. Elder was patient, worked hard, got it in a day. Younger just collapsed in a heap and cried as much as possible (she has always been, and still is, a drama queen). BUT she didn't resist the next year when we went to a different resort for a whole week. They now both love skiing.

Try to think of it as an investment - don't have any target this year other than that the children should enjoy it. That way, next year you get less resistance and more interest to learn. I found the harder I pushed them to learn, the more they and I got frustrated and angry. Last Easter, age 9 and 7, we all had an awesome 2 weeks in Canada. It pays off eventually.

Took mine to Andorra (El Tarter) not least as they employ native English speaking instructors. But driving there for me personally is much cheaper than flying to the Alps.

Note that Easter comes early in 2018, you might squeeze a warm week still with good snow.

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After all it is free

@Handy Turnip, is the 5 year old still 5? In this case Hemel offer 30min private lessons to 3-5 yr olds which could be a good option. You will pay similar price to a 1 hr group lesson but the child will probably get more out of it. I have tried both group and private lessons with my then 5 yrs old, he did not love it at first but had a great time when we went skiing and was in ski school all day with no problem (ESF) and has enjoyed skiing since

@Handy Turnip, is the 5 year old still 5? In this case Hemel offer 30min private lessons to 3-5 yr olds which could be a good option. You will pay similar price to a 1 hr group lesson but the child will probably get more out of it. I have tried both group and private lessons with my then 5 yrs old, he did not love it at first but had a great time when we went skiing and was in ski school all day with no problem (ESF) and has enjoyed skiing since

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1. Obviously depends on the child but generally old enough, if keen enough, I'd say.

2. If flying to Geneva, other possibilities could include La Clusaz or Flaine. Grenoble and Chambery flights open up other possibilities, in the southern alps and Tarentaise. Les Arcs would be one option, or Alpe d'huez. Not sure what type of skiing/boarding the adults want.

3. I'd definitely take them to lessons in UK if convenient. Should build confidence and save a lot of time out there on your first week.

I'd also say Easter better than Feb half term from a crowd, cost and warmth point of view.
I'm guessing taking them out of school for a week is not an option, as you've not mentioned it. We did that with children at that age and never regretted it.

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We took our children at 5 and 8. We went with another family and that really helped. Our younger was much less moany coz friends were there.
They had an amazing time - we went to Kaprun - the Barbarahof Hotel where the ski school meeting place was at the back of the hotel.

We spent plenty of time sledging and swimming ( despite the pull to be on the slopes all day from the adults). And shared out those time between us so 2 would ski and 2 would do kiddy things.

You build lifelong memories at that age. My children are 16 and 19 and still recall those early childhood ski trips.

Saying that, it's not all plain sailing. The getting ready and out in time for ski school, the chairlift saga with tots, sore ski boots etc.

Go for it!

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The first tune we took our children when they were actually skiing was when eldest was 4 (youngest was 1 and obviously in nursery). She participated first at age 3. She didn't learn that much but was happier being allowed to join in as her sister was also attending lessons.

We have used and are still using Esprit, the social side for the children is a big factor there (they are 7 & 10 now).

As to lessons we have used the ones they do at snowtrax dry ski slope which are very good imho.

Just repeat what everyone else is saying they are plenty old enough. Took mine for first time at 6 and 8. Was a little shocked when we collected equipment and asked about ski school to be met by blank looks - it was only a small resort in Norway. So ended up having to teach them by myself which went surprisingly well. First day was spent alternating one to one's while mum made snowmen with the other child. After that we made our own mini ESF snake and were on red runs by day four.

Haven't been since but off to proper resort this half term so will be putting them in ski school. Have to say they are not keen on this idea AT ALL. Flattered as I am that they'd rather have their dad instruct them, I'm sure they'll actually have loads more fun in the school. Also don't want to get arrested Very Happy

Slight about worry how happy they will be with all day instruction initially, but they are so used to normal school they should take ski school in their stride, and of course they are now two years older.

Wouldn't bother with lessons before you go. Risk of putting them off with a stressful experience in a crowded refrigerated warehouse. Its so much more fun on a real holiday, and the ski school will be set up for complete beginners anyway.

You know it makes sense.

Old enough, certainly.

If you can fly to Grenoble then Alpe d'Huez is another very good resort for beginners (and as a big resort I imagine has plenty of other activities if you're not skiing all the time.

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

Dont rule out norway. It is so geared up for kids, lots of slopes for the whole family, great accomodation and all ski in ski out. Geillo is great for younger kids as is Hemsedal. Book flights with BA or SAS, (much cheaper than Grenoble on a Feb Half Term). Ski star for accomodationin Hemsedal, all easy to book

A snowHead

Cheers everyone, some fantastic advice. Sounds like they are definitely old enough but not to force them if they're not keen.

Definitely going to take the approach of ski school in the morning, then we can have fun in the snow (or ski if they're keen) after lunch. Then go for a swim late afternoon, which they'll love (hence why Avoriaz was high on the list as they'll absolutely love Aquariaz! Hoping to use it as an incentive to get them through ski school in the first few days before they hopefully get hooked!).

With regards to ski schools, I was originally looking at Village des Enfants as they have a good reputation, but I'm guessing it would be french speaking. I assume it's an advantage to find a British ski school? Or is it? @porkpiefox, I looked at your link for freedom but it seems to indicate that they only take children who have reached level 3, which I find a bit strange?

Might also look at Momentum, Magic and New Generation as @Gazzza suggested.

Not sure about lessons beforehand, especially at a snowdome as my experience wasn't great (similar to @selly_skier). Might take them for a few lessons on a dry slope in the weeks before we go, but not competely sure.

Might also take a scan at some of the other resorts suggested too snowHead

A snowHead

@Handy Turnip, a handful of private lessons can work wonders if they are young and struggling. Sometimes, unsurprisingly, they just find the whole concept of skiing a bit alien. Worked a treat for us with both our youngest, one who had a few (expensive) private lessons in the Pyrenees many years ago, the other more recently at Hemel, which was a lot cheaper (happy to provide a recommendation as he still likes the odd lesson such was the bond formed with his instructor). Our eldest was fine, straight into ski school without any concerns but she was slightly older and stronger when she started.

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@Handy Turnip, my girls went to Hemel for lessons beforehand, after having a taster session at our local dry slope, I would thoroughly recommend it as they get used to putting on the equipment and are not complete beginners when you get to the alps. They first went to Hemel in the may half term (a lot quieter and cheaper as it is out of ski season) then back for the October one before we went the following feb.

Because they had done a taster session previously they were both bumped up a level and ended up in near private lessons for the first week, they do school holiday 2 day lesson packages.

They were booked into lessons with the ESF in France (only option available where we went), but TBH could not fault them and our girls made really quick progression, albeit my youngest suffered an injury mid week but still managed to be awarded the 2eme etoile, much to her friends annoyance as she did not!!!

I would recommend lessons to any beginner's no matter of their age before they go just to get used to the equipment.

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@Handy Turnip, I agree with pretty much everything above. A few thoughts:
1. Go at Easter instead of half-term if you possibly can. Less crowded, much warmer.
2. Consider Austria. General consensus is that Austrian ski instructors actually like people, unlike the ESF.
3. Your kids aren't too young to go, but it wouldn't matter if you were to wait another year or two.
5. Personally, I'd avoid lessons before you go. More likely to put them off than anything else.

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@foxtrotzulu, I'm a big fan of Easter and have been to Val Thorens many times then. However, I want to make sure I get the resort right for them, and going at Easter narrows down the options a bit.
However, any suggestions of family friendly resorts that are snow-sure at Easter would be much appreciated.

Even if we do the first year at half term, once I know they are hooked then I'm keen to do Easter.

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@Handy Turnip - check out the resorts where the British Alpine Ski School operate - I'd have no hesitation in putting kids in their capable hands. They got my nervous 6 yo daughter started and were brilliant with 10 yo son (who had learned mainly in Zauchensee - check out Ski Hillwood). BASS is the safe option and they are in many of the popular French resorts.

Seven years on and daughter is a keen red run skier and son extremely adventurous!

After all it is free

@Handy Turnip,
Easter is VERY early next year (1st April), so I think everywhere should be snow sure then. For kids it's far more important to have warm weather than decent snow.

This Easter we are booked to Val d'Isere (16th apr), last Easter 2nd April, Gressoney, Easter before that St Anton, Easter before that Les Deux Alpes, Easter before that Belle Plagne.

Oberburgl would be worth a look as well, though have only been there early season (mid Dec)

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Puy St Vincent through Snowbizz is worth a look - check out the many reviews on this site and on Mumsnet.

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Easily old enough. My son started at 3 and he loved it from the first moment. I'm taking my daughter for the first time this year. She's 3. I took her to an indoor ski slope (in October, in preparation) and she refused to ski. It took a couple of months of psychological preparation: showing her videos of kids skiing on youtube, reassuring her that if she falls it doesn't hurt, a bit like sand, showing her videos of her brother skiing etc. I took her again to the indoor ski slope last weekend. At first she started crying but when she got used to the temperature I held her and she skied between my legs and she was reassured. She loved it.

Long story short, they're kids and they need to know what to expect. You can't just throw them in the cold in a strange environment and expect them to love it. They need to know what to expect.

For the first season, any resort would do. They would all have nursery slopes and green slopes. Your kids won't need the mileage. ESF will have English speaking guides/groups.

I usually go to clubmed. All inclusive formula that takes care of the kids all day long. It will keep you free to ski as well and the kids will love it, especially your 8-year old. But then it's an expensive option. Depends on your budget. It also works for me because I speak French. They do cater for English speakers but it's predominantly French.

I hope this helps.

Loads of good advice already but I'd just add / reiterate:

1. I think Easter is slightly preferable for a first trip (warmer/quieter/cheaper)

2. At Easter I'd go high and ski in / ski out if possible - just removes snow risk and logistics hassles. Avoriaz would be good.

3. Do aim for an English ski school class first time. If your 5 year old is finding it tough and is one of only a couple of non French speakers in a class of 8 they may be put off.

4. I would definitely recommend the half hour private lessons at The dome beforehand. My daughter did a couple before we took her at 4 and she was so confident in ski school and never looked back

You know it makes sense.

My take (my kids are now 6 & 9, started at 2y11m and 4y11m respectively):
a) Easter is way better than Feb half term at that age and in 2018. Its warm. Its fun. You can play outside and build snow castles. Go sledging. Have snowball fights.
b) Skip the pre-trip lessons and put the money towards private lessons in resort instead. With good private lessons you could reasonably expect your eldest to be using lifts day 1, skiing blues day 2-3, and reds day 4-5.
c) English tuition doesn’t matter much. Seriously. Kids follow the instructor and learn by copying. My son hardly understood a word his instructor spoke (in English with a strong French accent). I spent some time stressing about how he wasn’t being “taught” but then witnessed the progress he made and stopped worrying. We’ve spoken to quite a few instructors about this – the skill in instructing kids seems to be to get them to do stuff without explaining; explanations don’t do much for young kids.
d) Where English does matter is if you would rather your kids socialise with English kids or French ones. That’s the basic judgement call on the “English” focussed ski schools. From a tuition perspective, in our resort (Argentiere) I’d take ESF and its large groups over Evo 2 and its smaller English groups any day.

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

A snowHead

A snowHead

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

That's a really good point about Easter being earlier next year - potentially the last week of March will be the first week of their school holidays, which means I could probably still go to Avoriaz. That's definitely something I'll consider.

The whole subject of ski school is a tricky one - I just want to maximise the chances of them having fun, which means that they'll be happy to keep doing it (until the pure love of skiing takes over). If they are in a group where they can make friends then great (I assume the possibility of this is higher if in a group with other British kids, but maybe not), a fun and engaging instructor that minimises the amount of time they are lying in a heap on the floor (see earlier comments on snowdome lessons!)

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@jedster, I think the 8 year old would enjoy and benefit from lessons beforehand.

However, the 5 year old is at the age when if things don't go his way then he can be prone to a bit of strop (arms crossed, big sulk) - and once he's convinced he doesn't like something then it's hard to convince him otherwise. He nearly got to this point in his only lesson at the snowdome, but thankfully we avoided it. The trouble with the snowdome is that in the hour lesson, he only did about 3 small slides and spent the rest of the time in a uncomfortable heap with the other kids - he didn't really get the chance to enjoy it.

In the magical environment of a ski resort, the excitement of being on hols, the promise of playing in the snow and swimming in the afternoon.... that might see him through the first few days of ski school, at which point he'll have about 6 hours under his belt and be getting used to the new situation and might actually be starting to enjoy it.

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

@zinekar, good point. They've both had a one hour lesson in the snowdome and neither was phased about putting skis on, so maybe I should view that as objective achieved, rather than look at the actual skiing they did.

After all it is free

Just a quick note if you do decide to book with Esprit...

Join the GB Ski Club first (for about £ 40). This then gets you 5 % off Esprit holidays (as well as countless other discounts and benefits) which more than pays for the membership...
http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/skicompanysearch/moreinfo.aspx?affiliateID=49738

We did Esprit for 3 years while our kids were 5 and 9 (now 9 and 13). Served a purpose - they bloody loved it , I could not get them off the slopes and they loved the evening clubs. Just made life easy.

The downside is rather shabby accommodation and occasionally poor food for the (high) prices you pay.

About Easter vs. Mid-term I would have said Easter a few years ago but frankly given the weather pattern in the past 3 years with lack of snow, high temperatures (rain in late January!), I would avoid Christmas and Easter, not for the kids but for the rest of the family. The kids are learning so they will enjoy it anyway.

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