 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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At that age one of the challenges is the weight of skis and boots as they walk to the lifts, so choosing a resort where there is very little need to walk may be worthwhile
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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 we're in El Tarter I'd rent a locker at the bottom of the slopes but definitely something to consider.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Whagwan, Somewhere with plenty of other English speaking kids.
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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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Risoul.
Nothing comes.close
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Have a wee look at Kappl. Our kids did not need ski school when we first went but it looked a great set up for young kids. Good value resort too
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For childcare set up nothing beats snowbizz. But it’s not too exciting for the adults. Good for families and intermediates. The childcare is amazing tho.
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Put my 4 year old in the El Tarter "ski school". Wasn't impressed. They were basically fed watered and entertained, with the occasional going out into the snow, as far as I could see. Note that small print says price doesn't include ski equipment. English-taught lessons officially start age 6 but we got in at 5 1/2; as long as the child is fit and enthusiastic rather than whiny.
I thought Austria was the place to go to start 'em young?
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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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| Quote: |
Note that small print says price doesn't include ski equipment
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IME the cost of kids' lessons doesn't ever include ski equipment. In many ski schools a 3 year old would generally be in a kind of play group with occasional forays into the snow - and some are very particular about age, having, no doubt, been caught out by parents who insist their kids are self-reliant and athletic but who then cry and just lie there languishing when they fall over.
I think most ESF schools only do "proper" ski lessons from 4, or privates from 3.
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| pam w wrote: |
having, no doubt, been caught out by parents who insist their kids are self-reliant and athletic but who then cry and just lie there languishing when they fall over. |
True. I know a few parents like that.
I've seen videos of toddlers on skis, in the sunshine (also a key point - go in late March not early Feb) but I wonder if that was a 20 min period in between making snowmen and watching cartoons indoors with hot chocolate.
You make a good point, in that to safely associate snow with fun, very little skiing tuition will be given at that age, and you'd need dedicated children to learn it and not just complain about the cold and the need to wee. If you really want tuition then presumably private is the best option. Me I decided I'd save the money and spend it on them at a later age when they'd really appreciate it. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it...)
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My advice is that you may need to adjust your expectations of how this is going to run. As others have said, don't expect it to be much more than a creche or perhaps a short session in the snowpark as the outdoor bit of an indoor-biased morning. And you'll need to be prepared for them to possibly not want to carry on. Most British kids will learn to swim through weekly sessions at a pool, not all packed into a 'swimming week' from which they'll emerge capable - the same applies to skiing i.e. packing it all into one week is a bit artificial. Not saying it won't work, but you need to be prepared for problems and to basically be around just in case. And you still obviously have the rest of the day to organise for them as well. You may find that in the scheme of things, waiting a couple of years and leaving them at home makes for a better holiday for you and once they do start, a better learning experience for them.
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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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To be more encouraging, some (not all) my grandchildren enjoyed a bit of "toddler skiing" but in very short bouts, and with their fathers - highly competent skiers (and in the case of one a PE teacher) who were prepared to spend time skiing backwards on a gentle baby slope and helping the kids back up a slightly awkward lift where you had to hang on to a rope. An athletic and keen three and a half year old could certainly benefit from private lessons, one to one, where they would be 100% forced to be in control the whole time, learning snowplough turns.
A kid who is used to hooning down slopes on a balance bike might not take kindly to the discipline involved - an experienced instructor is a much better bet than a parent in these circumstances. He would probably enjoy toboganning more!
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@Whagwan, With just one child I'd suck up the cost and go with Ski Esprit. Kids club, supervised meals and a bit of snow fun, with the added bonus that it will be all English speakers and you and Mum can have a full day on "Holiday" without him if you choose. We did 8 on the bounce with 3 kids and I have no complaints.
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You know it makes sense.
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Austrian kinder hotel if the budget stretches. The one we were due to go to in Galtur was amazing!
My eldest will be 4.5 and we’re putting him into private lessons with a teacher we know and trust and who has full permission to ski or play or snack - whatever he thinks best.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| LaForet wrote: |
| Most British kids will learn to swim through weekly sessions at a pool, not all packed into a 'swimming week' from which they'll emerge capable - the same applies to skiing i.e. packing it all into one week is a bit artificial. |
Wow I'm so British, I never thought of that.
So when I'm in ski resorts watching conga lines of 3 year olds, they aren't tourists there for a week - they are local and turn up for a lesson or two every week all winter.
So that's how the little beggars do it.
(Goes off to remonstrate with self for parochial mindset...)
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Poster: A snowHead
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At the time my 3 1/2 yr old has his first lesson on Rohrmoos (Schladming, Austria) and it pretty much sucked. A big group, no personal attention, a pretty crappy little area and just not a great experience.
Later we took him to the Ramsau ski-school, where they have a "Bambini" course. This was a huge improvement. The wife waited around, drinking hot things in the very convenient hut at the kinder slope, while I spent a bit of time riding the Rittisberg lift. Anyway, the short of it is that we had a really good experience with this school for initial lessons.
Afterwards, we didn't have any more lessons for a season or so, instead just letting him feel his way around gentler slopes and learn by doing. We spent a lot of time at a very small local resort called Weinebene, which has a covered magic carpet longer than 100 metres and an ideal slope.
Last season (he was 5), we booked some further lessons at Riesneralm, a half day for him and then a further half day the next day for a family group lesson, which was super fun as well. It was great for him to see Mum and Dad being told what to do too. It really helped him to follow instructions, because we all had to.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Was a while back but when ours were that age we did both Esprit and Mark Warner (just once as found Esprit suites us better).
However we also did regular dry ski slope lessons with the kids before going on holiday. The kids ones over at Snowtrax I find very good, and meant they at least had some familiarity with equipment and with what was being asked before getting out there.
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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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Somewhere with a nice open area at resort level to play and comfy gondola to hop on to - Alpe D’Huez comes to mind (spelling ?)
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We took our two to Puy St Vincent with Snowbizz when they were 5 and 3. Snowbizz are family run, only in that resort and have their own ski school and childcare. The youngest was in their Totons class for 3-4 yr olds in the morning and both kids went to their creche in the afternoon. The nannies were excellent and we booked one of them to babysit once in the week. The accommodation is self catering but there was a half board option at a local restaurant.
NB this was over 10 years ago but it looks as though the company is still going strong with a similar offering.
I think the set up for the 3 year old was perfect and at that age it helped to be with other English children the same age.
We went in the second week of March after french school holidays which I would say is an ideal time to go with young children.
The drawback was that Puy St Vincent is a smaller resort. If you have your own transport (I think they do a self drive option or you can take their flight) you would be able to do a day in a nearby resort eg. Serre Chevalier. The other drawback was that the self catering accommodation was on the more basic side but it may well have been updated since our visit.
The next holiday we went on was to La Rosiere when the youngest was still 3. That time we stayed in far more luxurious self catering accommodation through Peak Retreats who we have used ever since. The ESF creche in la Rosiere Les Eucharts was purpose built with excellent facilities. The ski lessons for 3 yr olds were not as good as Snowbizz due to the group size being much larger and it being freezing cold as we were there at New Year..late season it would probably have been fine.
In conclusion with under 5s I think the Snowbizz set up is ideal. Once ours were 5+ they managed fine in ESF ski school and that enabled us to ski in a wide range of resorts with more luxurious self catering accommodation.
If the catered chalet set up is more your thing there are several companies like Esprit, Ski Famille and Family Ski company offering family holidays including ski school, childcare etc. We prefer self catering and self drive so never tried these companies ourselves.
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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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Groups of that age wouldn't really be tutored how to ski - it's mostly just a kindergarden. If your goal is the kid to actually learn to ski at that age you have to go with a private lesson, start with 1 hour the first day, then increase to 2 hours the next days if kid is enjoying it. In a few hours he will learn more than he would in a whole month of ski-kindergarden. He might not be able to ski reds at that age (very few toddlers would manage it), but he will be able to go down blues after 2-3 lessons.
Group lessons are good for getting used to be in the mountain for a longer period and mostly for you being able to ski on your own the whole day, but quite useless for teaching actual skiing. So maybe just take him somewhere where private lessons are cheap and it's not very crowded, even if it means you don't get to do some epic skiing yourself, but it's an investment in the future  A few private lessons early is more expensive, but then he will very quickly learn to ski along you, rather than paying for group lessons over and over again every year. Or as in my case, you will start paying for snowboarding lessons, as one winter sport is not enough for them haha
Go with as short skis as possible, like 70 cm, not all rentals have those so check in advance.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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My experience is to think of that week as one where the toddler learns to ski, not where you both go skiing. I got very frustrated when I couldn’t ski much and thought it was a disaster. Next year it was a different mindset, still did the same amount of skiing, but thought it was a great success.
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When ours were that young, we went down the Esprit and Family Friendly Ski route. Esprit especially as they send out their Rangers with the kids groups to act as tail-end sweepers, nose wipers, glove put-back-on-ers, toilet trippers etc. and the kids loved it, and we got the skiing in that we wanted and the holiday we needed too.
ESF... Now, I don't normally have too much good to say about ESF, but I cannot fault their early years ski instruction. They are very good at getting the wee'uns sliding about, plus they always get the best pitch on the mountain so have quick access to somewhere warm should they get too cold or need the loo etc.
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| Quote: |
Group lessons are good for getting used to be in the mountain for a longer period and mostly for you being able to ski on your own the whole day, but quite useless for teaching actual skiing.
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a rather daft generalisation, though it's true that for a 3 year old it's probably the only way. Absolutely loads of kids have learnt to ski in group lessons. Including all mine.
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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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Les Marmottons ski nursery in Tignes take kids from 2.5 and my son had a lovely experience with them when he was 3.
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