 Poster: A snowHead
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My 9 year old son (will be around 10 and a half at the time of the trip) has been invited to go on school trip organised across a group of schools by SkiBound at Piolet Clubhotel, Les Menuires in April 2020. He's obviously v excited to go (as I would be at his age) although I personally think it's a bit early in life- I'm one of the few parents that will be potentially letting their children go!
On the plus side he is a good skier for his age, he's had a few years of going a way for a week in the Pyrenees with private ESF lessons near where my parents have a house and will probably have achieved his ESF 3eme etoile this year. Most importantly he seems to be (so far!) a sensible skier and is good at stopping, although I am aware that high Alpine peaks are somewhat different to the gentle Pyrenees and will provide new challenges!
The deal overall seems pretty good- as well as accommodation and food, skis, ski passes 4 hrs lessons/day ( in groups no bigger than 10), evening activities etc included. I imagine savings will be made in the quality of accommodation and food but I can't imagine him being that bothered! The ski area seems (though I have never been there) very impressive, hopefully still snowy in mid April and certainly will challenge him! It does mention strictly no unsupervised skiing which is sensible, though I guess may hinder him being able to explore further afield if they are only allowed to ski in their lessons and have to be back to base for lunch.
Anyone been involved with this resort/company? Will it be a bit much for a 10 year old or is it likely to be an exciting and (relatively!) safe experience?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I have no involvement with the company.
Our children's primary school did a ski trip for year 5's/6's - so not far off your son's age. To us it seemed pointless and a waste of money because our kids already skied with us twice a year. As you say it has it's limitations. And whilst we always assumed they would love going on trips with their school mates in reality it was a bit hit and miss. So we never took up the offer. We had a good chat with the kids and explained the reasoning. And they were OK about it.
I think the trips are most useful for children whose parents don't ski to have them experience the mountains and the sport.
I am surprised they are going mid-April. Whilst there will be snow and it will be OK, it's not the best time. And the 3V's which Les Menuires is part of is bigger than they need. There are lots of smaller ski areas that would probably be more ideal.
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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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If your only reservation is whether he is too young...I can't see it myself. If he wants to go, it'll be like a glorified scout camp but with snow and he'll have a whale of a time. A big plus at that age, is there's no risk of a bunch of 10 year olds being able to go out and get p*ssed, like some on secondary school ski trips! The other plus is the whole experience of going away without your parents-even in a controlled way it will help build self confidence and independence.
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I went on 3 school trips when still married to my ex-wife who was the head of the school. All three were with SkiBound. Some of the accommodation is brilliant (one of the hotels in La Plagne is now a Neilson hotel), some hit and miss but all nearer the budget end of the scale. Food is plentiful - pile it high basic (mainly beige!!) stuff, pasta etc. but again perfect for fuelling the kids. We took kids from year 5 so similar age and mainly they were all fine. Skiing was group lesson based, fairly strictly 2hrs in the am, in for lunch, 2hrs in the pm. We spilt them up into 3 - beginners, intermediates and advanced and moved them round based on the what we saw. We did have some staff who were very experienced skiers, so we did a bit of free ski with them at the end of the pm lesson but I think that will depend on the school's insurance.
I stopped going because (apart from getting divorced!!) I paid full price for the trip (usually around £800) as a tag along adult (wasn't part of the teacher allocation and didn't want to charge parents more so I could go free!!) it didn't seem very good vfm for me as an adult to be restricted to going in school hols and skiing for 4 hours a day. It did teach me to ski though and I am forever thankful for it.
The Skibound reps are on the whole fantastic, and will organise some good fun activities for the kids. the last trip I went to Prato Nevoso in Italy 20th April the bus got delayed due to heavy snowfall(!) and the guy on the coach with us liaised constantly with the office and airport so when we got to Nice Easy Jet basically rushed us through with seconds to spare. I rate them highly.
I think he'll have a ball and thank you for it for a long time!!!
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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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Thanks all that's really helpful. I think the setup is v much as you described, dunc999, so it's good that there may be a bit of free ski opportunity, even though he'd be unlikely to make it to Courchevel and back in time before the lifts closed! Reading in between the lines, I think the hotel will be used exclusively for Year 5/6 (from various schools) due to the group of schools getting together so that does reassure me regarding the age range not being too big.
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I teach and have taken school trips to Les Menuires every year at Easter with Skibound, usually at the Skilt but at the Piolet as well. It works really well for us. Both have excellent location-Skilt slightly better but Piolet is a short ski down to the lifts at the bottom of La Masse and is ski in/out. The Piolet is a well run tight ship (or was when we stayed there last season) and we had no complaints, excellent food in particular-basic fare but lots of it. Rooms are dorm style, 4-6 beds mainly. The snow conditions very much depend on the temperatures and which week you go, as the resort is south facing and can get battered by the sun. Start of April should be fine, middle/end more touch and go. Three years ago in the third week of April was really poor but that was the end of the worst end of season for many years. Great resort for intermediate kids-loads of wide reds and blues. Lots,of mileage 2500m +. Groups for lessons will be with ESF instructors, their rations are 10:1.
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I went on a ski trip with my primary school aged 10 (my first ever ski trip many years ago) and had a fantastic time. I still have some great memories from that trip and as others have said it's a terrific opportunity to build a bit of self confidence and independence. He'll have a great time.
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Yup, it'll be mint man.
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My nephew went to Les Menuires when he was 9 or 10 with his school and loved it! They all had a great time.
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"Residential" trips for primary schoolers are not just about the skiing (or whatever activities there are). For kids who are never separated from parents it can be a very useful life experience (without parents to pick up after them, organise clothes for them etc) and presumably he's done shorter residential trips before. Why are other parents reluctant? If it's the money I sympathise, especially where there are other kids. I doubt if they'll have a lift pass to take them beyond the one valley.
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