 Poster: A snowHead
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Ok so going to Les Arcs 1950 next March with 3 yr old
I just want my 3yr old to have a bit of fun and get used to the snow, skis, etc
ESF and Evolution 2 both do a baby ski school for couple of hours in the morning for 3+
Anyone have any experience of these?
I’ve mostly had ESF lessons but also had Evo 2 ones at other resorts
First time back skiing since before pregnant 
I’ll probably only get couple of skiing hours in but very excited!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We’ve seen at least a dozen kids go through various combinations of both, albeit not in les arcs. However, the overriding factor has always been the ski instructor concerned, rather than the ski school. The preference has been towards ESF, I.e. of the 8 kids who tried both, 6 preferred ESF and 2 preferred evo 2.
That said, there is an alternative which we sometimes did with our daughter age 2-3 and our son 3-5 - we hired or took “conventional” ie off-slope childcare to give us some skiing time. This meant our children didn’t have the double upheaval of an unfamiliar carer and an unfamiliar activity. Then in the afternoon we took the kids out ourselves for some sliding around. That way they got 1-1 attention, a chance to have a break every 15-30 mins and build snow castles, sledging interspersed for fun, and we had a great holiday together . At age 3 they are unlikely to be learning much anyway; our daughter started proper lessons at 3 and our son at 5 - at 6 they were both at identical levels despite her having had around 6 weeks more lessons than him at that age. They subsequently progressed identically, so there wasn’t a difference in inate skill.
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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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Can highly recommend AIM snowsports run by JP McCarthy - he only does individual lessons but is great value for money. Taught all 3 of my children - although not sure what age he starts from
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I can’t believe I didn’t reply back to you! How rude of me!
Anyway we are in Les Arcs and went with ESF and first day didn’t go well
We’ve done 5 sessions at dry ski slope and she loved it but I was there helping
So hated being with loads of strange people today and no mum ;(
We are trying tomorrow but I want her to have fun so thinking about private lessons Where I’m allowed to be there!
Has anyone had any experience of this?
Ultimate goal is to get her to enjoy skiing and eventually we can ski together -
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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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We had a good experience with Evo2 in LA1950 a couple of years back, 9 year old though...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I took my two age I think 5 and 3. The 5 year old was always more confident and independent. She took herself off and sorted herself out (a success), the 3 year old just flopped and cried all the time (a failure). Tempting to blame it on age but I think also it was the personalities.
My solution was to dedicate a week to them and forget about myself, it gave them positive memories and more likely to learn a bit more next time. Hurts a bit at the time but believe me it pays off in the longer run; much better than reinforcing negative associations.
Good luck.
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Thanks well she’s still going, the second day went much better
had a few tears at drop off but the instructor said she’s been fine after
She was so tired this afternoon she was a bit teary so will have a good rest after tomorrow’s lesson and some chill out time
I think for now we’ll keep going ...
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Sounds like progress it’s rest and rewards time for mummy’s brave girl!
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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.
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So my brave girl did the whole week but was so tired last few days
She did get her Blanchot badge
Reflecting on the week I think it must have been so hard with everyone speaking French, next time maybe I’ll book a british speaking group or private lessons
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@lauralime, Character building then 
That’s the hardest part done and starting so young is such an advantage.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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At that age they get tired and really only want a few hours every few days...for next year check out the kinder hotels in Austria...a godsend when our kids were young as they could do a few hours of ski school but then loads of other activities with childcare all included...so you get to ski even if kids don’t want to.Highly recommend as I find kids were only interested in 5 days ski school once they were 5+.
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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.
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I am not sure how strong your connection is with France, but as mentioned above, maybe consider Austria. There are schools that have local instructors, or Dutch or Swedish (fluent English) or native English. They will also babysit for you. This was a better experience for my daughters than the few times we went to France. And much cheaper. My girls now do a bit of instructing in university holidays in the place they learned.
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@lauralime, Glad it all worked out. As a 1950 regular, the 'other' option, Evo 2 (aka Spirit 1950), have english first groups and instructors available. Since most apartment owners in the village were/are from the UK, and ESF weren't in the village for the first 10 years or so, they set up from the beginning with a UK focus.
MiniRoll, now 18, was with them from age 3 - 13 before she became bored with lessons (TBF she still has ~1 private lesson a week with specific instructors from the school). Given how effortless her skiing style is now (jealous, moi?), I think they've done a pretty decent job over the years.
As others have said J-P @ AIM - well, it's his company - is another option: even smaller groups - but much harder to get time with as is popular and good: suspect you'd need to go private for her age though.
Still, that's all for next year!
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