Resort for kids learning to snowboard - early April

A snowHead

Both kids expressed an interest in learning to snowboard this year and the plan is to give it a go next season.

Since we were up for a change anyway, we thought we'd tie that in with a possible change of resort and factor beginner-snowboarder-friendliness into the decision.

So, can anyone please recommend a resort with great kids snowboard instruction (small groups or private if necessary), good kids snowboard rental and suitable easy/not too flat etc etc slopes?

We'll be going next Easter so want to be reasonably high to give the grownups a good chance of nice off-piste.

Thanks all!

A snowHead

Since no-one has responded, we've had some really nice spring skiing in Åre. It's very family friendly and has some good areas with gentle slopes for learners (e.g., Bjornen). Ski school for snowboarding is available, although the group lessons are quite short at 1.5 hours - which is good and bad. It wouldn't give you enough time to get away to the high zone for offpiste though. Easyjet fly from Gatwick to Ostersund, or fly via Stockholm or to Trondheim. There's quite a few other threads if you search for Åre or Are.

We arrived in Hemavan in Southern Lapland today. First day skiing tomorrow. Plenty of snow about. We are skiing but the website says they do snowboarding group lessons, also 1.5 hours. I'll write a trip report when we get back.

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

Puy St Vincent is perfect for beginner boarders it has lovely blues and greens that are easily accessible. I recommend David King as an instructor (ESF). He coaches national teams in boarder cross and is also a Brit (he's lived in Puy 20 odd years).

I've just returned from a week there (2 - 9 April) and whilst the long greens down to 1400 weren't open, everything else was and there was plenty of snow.

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I wouldn't have considered either of those places; thanks both. I'll look forward to your trip report @Themasterpiece.

Has anyone got experience of kids learning to snowboard in the typically thought of "high altitude" resorts. I suppose the likes of Tignes, VT, Cervinia, La Plagne etc etc might have been my first though, although possibly unnnecessarily.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Puy also has some decent lift serviced off piste - Col du Bal
http://youtube.com/v/FtMshskR43I and the Narreyroux valley
http://youtube.com/v/uoyQdkJuS2w

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I'm not sure if this will help or not. My son will be 12 next month and mixes a bit of snowboarding with skiing. He is pretty competent and can get around the mountain and keep up with the rest of us - advanced level dad + mum plus experienced 9yo sister. He started by doing a 2-3 hours after the skiing day on a nursery slope with a little help from mum. He then progressed to doing some quarter days and then a half day on the next trip. Then on the next trip he started doing the odd full day. This last week we just did he only did one day but said he'd wished he'd done a bit more. He is getting a new board for next season. We tend to go December (Christmas) and early April each season. So on to the matter in hand.

Not sure how much instruction is actually required. Me and my wife have little or no snowboard experience. When we were in Tignes he was practicing with mum and apparently they got some good advice off another boarder which helped with progress but other than that he's figured it all out for himself. Obviously, some instruction would be helpful - certainly in those initial stages. I guess what I'm getting at is that it doesn't seem as complex as skiing from his experience.

I don't think doing a full week is necessarily the way to go. My son seems to have enjoyed doing bits and pieces and having the option to choose which days or half days he does what. I think if he'd had to do whole days when he first started he would have found tiring and frustrating. Cutting short a skiing day and progressing from there worked well during the beginner stage. And now he does full days I don't think he would to board every day. I quite envy that he can mix things up.

Not sure where you go makes much difference apart from for obvious reasons drags are a hindrance. To start with it is easiest to just get on a beginner slope and make repeated runs. And then after that as long as there are some wide cruisy blues you can progress. Our most regular haunt is Les Coches in Paradiski.

Finally, apart from hiring for the initial evening I've bought second hand gear for him. There is plenty about. But we do that for all the gear so it's just kind of how we do it. But it seems to have worked out OK.

After all it is free

Just a thought - snowboarding for beginners is pretty grim on rock hard frozen slush. If arranging lessons, best later in the day. Slush is fine!

@Layne, thank you so much for all that insight- really valuable. The idea of doing a bit of snowboarding in the afternoons (as Pam says, in the slush!) is exactly what I'd thought. I completely agree about tiredness and frustration- neither of my two deal well with either!

The challenge is how to manage the ski hire implications of dotting back and forward - I'm guessing we'll just have to rent both boards and skis - but if anyone did know of a shop that allowed potentially twice daily swapping (not asking for much, am I Embarassed

), then I'd be very interested.

If they take to it then I'd be up for the second hand equipment aspect but flying with both boards and skis is an expensive business so ideally we'll wait til they make a decision which to major on (or start driving) before going that route.

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@swoafs, no worries. We drive so that made it easier from the equipment point of view. I can't remember how much the shop charged when we first hired but effectively it was a pro rata rate as we were just hiring for a couple of hours in the evening. I actually think decent hire shops would be quite amenable to you effectively hiring the same board and ski's on and off if you know what I mean. It would be probably cost a bit more than say one set/board for the whole week but less than it would hiring both. Depends also if it's low season. If you are just going to do a couple of hours then hire the ski's for the week and the board PAYG.

Just another thing. Our lad is never really worn any extra protection other than a helmet. But I think because he started in small doses that didn't really matter. I think if you were going to do full days consecutively it may be a different matter.

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Skistar, Åre resort operator do "multi hire". "With Multi-hire you can switch freely between different types of equipment (skis, snowboards, cross-country/telemark) as often as you want." For an 8-15 year old, Price is 103 euros for a week, versus 78 euros for skis or snowboard.

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Went to Are last week year and used the multi rental which worked fine for doing full days but would have not been practical to change equipment every day.

Also in Are it's mostly drag lifts which are not great for beginner snowboarders- apart from falling off you don't get a break to sit down.

Just back from Livigno taking 2 kids on their first ever boarding holiday. They were booked in lessons for 4 mornings with Madness snowboard school. There were 4 in group (unlike ski schools there- counted up to 10 in some groups!). Boys had done some indoor lessons before but were effectively beginners. By day 3 they were on reds. Lessons started at 10.30 which tied in nicely with the snow softening. Instructor seemed good too. As the week progressed the lesson started at different places meaning we could ski the harder runs in those areas in the 2 hours. Kids were pretty knackered after their lessons but after a long lunch managed a few hours pottering about on long blues and the occasional easy red.

I'd originally planned to ski in morning whilst boys in lesson and board in afternoon with them. It would have just been too much hassle going back to hotel to change equipment though so stuck with skis. Good runs for beginners to progress. But each day started and ended with a walk or a bus ride- probably wouldn't have been too bad if had been boarding but wasn't much fun in ski boots!

Snow was as would be expected for April- hard first thing and slushy later on- seemed to soften about 10am- just in time for the lessons.

Soldeu in Andorra would be a fine choice at that time of year, with a convenient hire shop (Ski Calbo) in the gondola building and with English-speaking ski schools which seem to be well thought of on sH.

Right now there are 190 of 210km open, and for the adults there is good off-piste in the Encampadana zone of the El Tarter sector, in Canillo, and in Grau Roig, as well as easy off-piste pretty much everywhere.

There are hardly any drag lifts, and those that there are are new and use the newer, much smoother mechanics.

There is excellent piste progression for beginners, and very few flats.

Help!!

Resort for kids learning to snowboard - early April

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