 Poster: A snowHead
|
Daughter’s school have just released that next Febs ski trip will be to Gstaad. Price is €1300 all in, including flight from Portugal and 5 hours a day lessons.
Does that sound OK? Last time I paid for a school ski trip was 35 years ago. I thought it sounds surprisingly cheap.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
My daughter went with school in March to Folgarida. I think it was £900 for 6 nights, 5 days of 5 hours of lessons and everything else.
I'd assume that Folgarida is a cheaper resort than Gstaad, but it gives you a comparison.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Hiya, Can I ask where about your daughter will be staying in Gstaad? The Gstaad ski region is split up into a few different sectors. You have the town of Gstaad, Saanen, Schonried, Rougemont and Saanenmoser. Schonried and Saanenmoser are the areas closest to the ski slopes and with the most accessible terrain.
£1300 sounds very competitive especially with 5 hours instruction a day. Does this price include lunches, after skiing activities and spending money on the slopes? Gstaad is not cheap. A bottle of coke on the slopes is around 6chf and chicken nuggets and chips around 20chf.
It is a beautiful area and would be a trip for her to remember.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Staying in Saanen according to the address, though that and the hostel name doesn’t tally well with google.
I may tell her that she will take her own spending money; good point I hadn’t thought of that. No idea about other activities. I’ll check about lunches but I think included. She’s 13 BTW and a respectable inter skier, level 6 Inside Out I think.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
What is the address and Hotel / Lodge name? A few companies have offices based in the Saanen / Gstaad area and lodges in either Schonried or Saanenmoser closer to the slopes etc. I spend most of the year working in and around that area so might be able to shed a little light etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We went on a barge trip down the River Irwell.....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bargain by the sounds of it. Lovely ski area and scenery.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lisbon zoo is quite flat and too warm for snow, but thanks for the suggestion.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
At that price im guessing the school teachers are paying nothing
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Mr.Egg wrote: |
| At that price im guessing the school teachers are paying nothing |
Why should they? Do you self find your work travel? I certainly don’t!!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
 @Mr.Egg,
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
| NickyJ wrote: |
| Mr.Egg wrote: |
| At that price im guessing the school teachers are paying nothing |
Why should they? Do you self find your work travel? I certainly don’t!!! |
And even if you have 1 teacher for every 5 pupils it's only added a couple of hundred to the cost per pupil!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
| Mr.Egg wrote: |
| At that price im guessing the school teachers are paying nothing |
You really are an idiot aren't you.
1300e sounds reasonable for the trip, my son went on a school trip to Serre Che and it was about £950 IIRC and included everything as well as lunches.
It'll be quite well organized and quite possibly lunches will be in the hotel. My lads were as it was almost ski in-out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
| Mr.Egg wrote: |
| At that price im guessing the school teachers are paying nothing |
Frankly, I'm amazed that schools can get any teachers to go, even if the trip is 'free'. It's a nightmare - all the responsibilities of an ordinary school trip with the added issues of being up a mountain in winter with any error of judgement possibly fatal. Any accident or injury and you'll have nutter parents blaming you for the stupidity of their misbehaving kids. And losing a week's holiday when they could be with their own family.
To answer the OP the price seems a real bargain for Switzerland. But do some prep work on getting a feel for CHF prices i.e. what's reasonable vs pricey. I find that the trouble with Switzerland is that while a lot of prices are OK, it's easy to not check and suddenly find that that coffee which is usually CHF 4 most places is suddenly CHF 9 at another café, for no obvious reason. Or that while the veal sausage and fries is CHF 12 you decide to go for the spagbol for a change, and it turns out to be CHF 19.
Oh, and if I recall, Gstaad is in the French-speaking region?* It will help a lot of they learn just a few phrases in advance, and some obvious vocab ('potage du jour', "avec ketchup?", "Ect-ce-que cette piste allez a .."). Like anywhere, locals are much more friendly if you at least make an effort.
[Addendum: It's in the German-speaking part, my mistake - so get some basic German vocab or if you really want to impress, Schweizerdeutsch. See some basic vocab at http://www.eldrid.ch/swgerman.htm
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Sat 12-10-19 13:43; edited 5 times in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
I went on my first ever trip in 2004 with school.
Winter Park, Colorado, it was £960 back then. Seems quite reasonable for an all in trip to the States compared to nowadays prices!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
@max.makinson, thanks. It seems to be Lovellcamps, for whom the school letter says Mountain Lodge Gstaad, Rubeldorfstrasse, Saanen, but I don’t quickly see that on Lovells site; that says the lodge is in Schoenried.
Otherwise I’m gathering that the price seems reasonable even if a few of you are bitter  .
Email says the price does include “evening activities”. After a hard days skiing, if that’s just unlimited WiFi and charging sockets, I’m sure all these adolescents will be happy
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
@orange200 I have just sent you a private message.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| Quote: |
You really are an idiot aren't you
|
and on such a variety of threads! Mr Egg has clearly not spent many, many, hours on a coach from the UK to Italy with a load of school kids who are either homesick, or travelsick (or both) or simply the same little sh!ts they are in the classroom...… my son in law has. Though now he is married, with his own kids, he is no longer willing to sacrifice his half term holiday to a school ski trip. He reckons it's for the new, younger, keener, recruits!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| LaForet wrote: |
| Mr.Egg wrote: |
| At that price im guessing the school teachers are paying nothing |
Oh, and if I recall, Gstaad is in the French-speaking region? It will help a lot of they learn just a few phrases in advance, and some obvious vocab ('potage du jour', "avec ketchup?", "Ect-ce-que cette piste allez a .."). Like anywhere, locals are much more friendly if you at least make an effort. |
Gstaad is in the German speaking region but not far from the French part
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@pam w, this, once you have experienced vomit sloshing around the floor of a coach 12 hours into a 20 hour trip. Having run through 150 bags and anything absorbent you realise nothing in life is free...
Personally I'd crawl over broken glass to ski so it is worth it but as you don't get much free skiing time because you are an extra pair of eyes for the instructors and it certainly isn't a holiday as you are directly responsible for 10 children (10:1 child to teacher ratio)
As to evening activities they are generally there to keep the children busy, if you give them idle time some will find a way to get into trouble.
The kids that go in my experience really enjoy the trip and get a lot out of it. The staff also generally have a great time all be it with a few periods of stress. Yes the staff don't pay for the trip but it certainly isn't a holiday for them.
As to the cost £1300 for thirty hours of instruction accommodation, entertainment, food, ski pass skis and travel seems pretty good to me
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| Quote: |
The kids that go in my experience really enjoy the trip
|
Yes, my SiL was willing to do school trips in his single days, for precisely that reason. Their school prioritised kids who had never been skiing, so there weren't too many little know-it-alls demanding to be allowed to go and wander round the black runs on their own. I did a school trip to Norway when I was 14 or so. None of the girls on the trip had been skiing before and few of us had been abroad. I'm not sure that there would have been many in the entire school (top girls grammar in Cardiff) who had been skiing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Getting close... she’s off next week.
I haven’t followed snow reports. Anyone seen? I generally get the impression the western Alps haven’t had a good year; a couple of huge dumps but not a lot otherwise.
She was really hoping to learn boarding but if the snow is thin or icy it will be back to skiing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
| Orange200 wrote: |
Getting close... she’s off next week.
I haven’t followed snow reports. Anyone seen? I generally get the impression the western Alps haven’t had a good year; a couple of huge dumps but not a lot otherwise.
She was really hoping to learn boarding but if the snow is thin or icy it will be back to skiing. |
Gstaad is about 80km from us by road, but much less as the crow flies. It's not been a great season like last year, so skis might be preferable. Things can change quickly though, so fingers crossed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
My first trip was with the school to Sauze D'Oulx at Easter 1973. £115 all in with the Swans travel company - flew in a BEA Trident from Heathrow. No snow in the village, had to trek to and from the Sportinia lift wearing leather lace-up boots and skis with cable bindings. The lift was half chairlift, half t-bar - t-bars unusable because of lack of snow down low. Two years later, Pfunds in Austria for £135 all in. Dan-Air from Gatwick, a village with no permanent ski lifts. A rope tow for two days then in the bus to Nauders or Schuls inside Switzerland. Happy days... 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@telford_mike, Many thanks.
@LOTA, BEA Trident, you were lucky to arrive! I can't remember how I got to my first school ski holiday at Andalo, but I'm sure the second at Flaine was by overnight coach.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Drove through the entire area yesterday. The impression I got was one of reasonable snow at all locations.
I went to check snowlines for a couple of ski tours.....now that is a very different story!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Well, if it's this week there's no shortage of snow - been snowing in Lausanne on and off for the last two days so in the mountains it should be great, if cloudy
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
@Whitters, we’ve had wild snow just outside ZH so must be cracking in the mountains
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
She's back. Loved it. First ski trip without parents.
A massive thanks to @max.makinson who, for his sins, ended up teaching my daughter all week! I asked if she'd like him as an instructor again, and the answer was "Yes - he's good and he's cool". She's not hesitant to give an opinion so there's an endorsement if one ever needs one... Apparently he managed to put up with her sharp tongue all week without burying her in a snowdrift - or at least, she omitted that part... Max, thanks very much 
I'll post more general news in the "school ski trip?" thread, but in short:
The price above included lessons 5 hours a day for 6 days, not 5 as I'd thought and some might assume. Makes it sound better value. They arrived and left on the Sunday (via Zurich), and noted Saturday the slopes were empty (presumably transfer day for most).
I gave her 150CHF spending money and she came back with 60. I don't know if that's because she doesn't know how to spend money (literally; doesn't have an income at home), or was mean with it, or just "everything" was provided. Certainly we sent her off with many cereal bars and a party pack of kit-kat, so snacks weren't required.
She chose skiing rather than boarding as hardly anyone wanted to board, and the weather didn't look good for boarding initially (thin snow, some ice).
The snow was very sparse the first couple of days (we know what a season it's been), and then it dumped on day 3, snowed for days 4 and 5, and stunning sunshine day 6. She did say midweek was really cold and she put on 2 layers of thermals. She was happy with the new Dare2b jacket and trousers (20 000 rating).
This particular hostel didn't give the wifi password to the schoolchildren, as they believed it should be an Activity holiday! Shock, they actually had to talk to each other
I heard some complaints about the food, but hey, they go to a swanky private school, they can suck it up for a week. Especially if they're skiing and I'm not!
I might have more to add about the location later but yesterday afternoon all I got was "And then Rita... and then Thomas.... and we laughed so much..." so the above is about all I have.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Sounds like a good week, but yes, shame about the weather, it’s been that sort of season.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
1990s trip was by coach to La Plagne where we broke down and missed the some bobsleigh event that was going on and 1991 was coach again to Isola 2000. Loved them all so much even the coach journeys where I do remember the teachers confiscating booze and then drinking it themselves later in the week and one of the kids being sick in the coach toilet rendering it out of order for hours! Ah the memories! Poor teachers 