 Poster: A snowHead
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So I asked for help earlier on quiet slopes for half term with teenagers. Lots of brilliant responses thank you.
However I’ve just realised (having Covid is my only defence for being a bit slow!) that it’s actually my middle son’s 18th in February half term.
He’s a good skier as are his friends.
So I suggested to him we rent somewhere for a week and take a few friends for him. They’ll be a mixture of 18 and nearly 18. We’ll be there too with our 20 year old and 16 year old. Happy to give them lots of freedom though.
Probably 3 or 4 friends.
So somewhere with good not extortionate nightlife where they can have a lot of fun. I’m thinking an apartment might be easier although I don’t really want to have to cater for 6 teenagers all week!
Where would you like to have gone for your 18th?
Thanks.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The Caribbean.
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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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Haha! Yes very nice. Me too. Only have a week though.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Well honestly I am not sure skiing and a few skinfuls go well together (despite some behaviours contrary to this). Paying for expensive lift passes and kit that doesn’t get used as early doors at the bars and morning hangovers get in the way may be a wasted expense?
Better to just have a beach and pool around which to lounge during the “downtime”.
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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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They won’t be drinking and skiing.
Not beach. Too far to travel.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Les Arcs 1800 and Chalet Mille 8 for location. Obviously it's a busier time there, but alot of lift capacity and such varied skiing.
But for the birthday element it's lively not nuts with some really good places and ideal age range outlook too.
Those appartment as ski in out directly are well located in that aspect and maybe to let the rest of party sit at the edge of partying if they want a more peaceful stay. It's not remote, just up the slopes a little and ski down to lifts in morning. Took my earlier teens there and they loved it with that evolving mix of independence beginning, ultra convenient skiing and feeling it's their place to be visiting (hard to put this in words) some really good places out on the mountain to stop, great atmosphere to it.
Particular highlight for our son was a before breakfast run out with pisteurs to get a first run round the mountains, well worthwhile and forms one of those high points in his experiences memory.
There's so much there to fit the age range you're planning for.
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I think you are a lovely mum for suggesting such a trip. I think you would be an absolute lunatic to go through with it. Expense, responsibility, expectations of parents etc, ability. Too much for me.
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Thanks all. I’ll look at Les Arcs. Those chalets look gorgeous but I’m a bit afraid of the price!
Yes maybe I’m a nutter but he’s just had such a cr@p time the last two years I want him to have all the fun. 
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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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@RosieL, do they still do a big post A levels trip somewhere dubious like Malia or Kavos? Just fund that one and all enjoy your ski trip together. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I don’t really want to have to cater for 6 teenagers all week!
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They are adults or nearly adults. You fix up something for the first evening, then get them to organise the rest. Encourage them to plan a bit in advance, but then leave them to it. You'll be sitting down with feet up and a glass of something, waiting to see what they produce. And as far as the skiing is concerned, at that age they should be 100% free to do exactly what they want, including stay in bed hungover till mid-day. The other parents have to buy into that.
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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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Echoing above, our two children were organising evening food there last visit (13 & 16 yrs) with decent choice in food shop plus pizza and other choices selling prepared local dishes for heating as you want them. Freshly made pizza and other choices in that appartment building too that's very good. Also a new small cable car runs all evening down to main village and shops for convenience.
Some great places for lunch out on the mountain too, you could really avoid cooking anything really all week and eat very well.
Certainly a great location and ideal for that split of inclusive and independence.
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| Nadenoodlee wrote: |
| I think you are a lovely mum for suggesting such a trip. I think you would be an absolute lunatic to go through with it. Expense, responsibility, expectations of parents etc, ability. Too much for me. |
This. it's a disaster waiting to happen. Especially problematic is the fact some of them are not 18, which puts you in a very awkward position if they plan to drink alcohol.
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You fix up something for the first evening, then get them to organise the rest. Encourage them to plan a bit in advance, but then leave them to it. You'll be sitting down with feet up and a glass of something, waiting to see what they produce.
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Wishful thinking. Expect beans on toast, plain pasta and tomato sauce, and general disappointment
If they are as responsible as you think rent them an apartment in the same resort during the same week. You are there should any problems come up, and you can see plenty of each other without being under each others feet. Plus you don't get woken up when they come in at 3am Personally I'd just enjoy your holiday as a family. Plenty of time for celebrating a birthday when he gets back.
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You know it makes sense.
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@RosieL, i would also throw in Val Thorens in to the mix, in regards to nightlife, and skiing miles as well.
my only reservation about the whole of this, is if one of your sons friends was injured on the slopes, and requires help during the holiday, this will surely fall down on your shoulders, not their parents presumably back in the UK.
I have a decent sized apartment booked in VT for next easter, that can quite easily accommodate a friend each of my two daughters, and am sure if the logistics of getting them to resort (we are driving) could be solved easily, I would have suggested they could have bought a friend with them. But, what i have said above has put me off.
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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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I suppose if these "teenagers" (one of them 20) are used to being served up delicious meals with their having made no effort or contribution at all, they won't have the first clue how to work together to make something edible (not expecting cordon bleu). But the assumption that they'll all get rat-arsed every night and throw themselves over cliffs is depressing - they should have practised quite a lot of growing up by now. But certainly, if this group haven't been allowed to practice growing up, a ski resort is not the place to let them take their first steps towards maturity.
I think it's a lovely idea for an 18th!
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Poster: A snowHead
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I suppose if these "teenagers" (one of them 20)
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The 20 and 16 year old are other members of the family. Then the soon to be 18 year old is bringing a few 17-18 year old friends.
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But the assumption that they'll all get rat-arsed every night and throw themselves over cliffs is depressing - they should have practised quite a lot of growing up by now.
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The assumption is based on the facts that 18 year old boys tend to take risks and generally make poor decisions. There's a reason why they pay through the roof for car insurance. Perhaps not surprising - lots of testosterone and prefrontal cortex doesn't fully develop until much older. I've done a few seasons staying in hostels and it's rather alarming how under-prepared for life most of the 18 year olds arriving are (and impressive how quickly they change into adults when not having mum and dad to fall back on). That said, when one tells you "I'm going out tonight, but im not going to get drunk because I want to be on first lifts tomorrow" you know 99% of the time they are going to be too hungover to get out of bed, let alone ski.
I've seen lots of mixed group holiday trips end with huge fallings out. The problem is everyone has a different view of how their holiday time should be spent and what is acceptable. I think once you invite someone you have to accept it's also their holiday and they may consider staying out partying till the early hours every night the done thing. Now the dynamic is perhaps a little different here as you have "adults" that are paying for the trip, which is only going to complicate things even more. For example if you expect them to leave apres to come cook a family dinner, when they'd probably just rather grab a slice of pizza and be done with it, but they can't really refuse.
But as said above I think the biggest issue is some are not 18. Which puts OP in a very tricky position, especially when they acknowledge there is going to be at least some drinking which is illegal. If one of them was to get hurt (even if sober) what responsibility does op have? What if injured 17 year olds parents claim that injury was due to lack of appropriate supervision? It just seems like a lot of risk to me. A day on holiday skiing with family should be enough of a memorable 18th birthday!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Perhaps the answer is just one friend (already 18 ) and to contrive a particular hard day's skiing which is rewarded by a beer on the slopes and a couple of bottles of wine shared in the apartment before much-needed sleep. And a proper party with many more friends on return to the UK.
But I do have the experience of a child turning 18, and the expectation to have a more exciting birthday (equals more alcohol) than others in the class so far.
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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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| boarder2020 wrote: |
| Nadenoodlee wrote: |
| I think you are a lovely mum for suggesting such a trip. I think you would be an absolute lunatic to go through with it. Expense, responsibility, expectations of parents etc, ability. Too much for me. |
This. it's a disaster waiting to happen. Especially problematic is the fact some of them are not 18, which puts you in a very awkward position if they plan to drink alcohol.
| Quote: |
You fix up something for the first evening, then get them to organise the rest. Encourage them to plan a bit in advance, but then leave them to it. You'll be sitting down with feet up and a glass of something, waiting to see what they produce.
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Wishful thinking. Expect beans on toast, plain pasta and tomato sauce, and general disappointment
If they are as responsible as you think rent them an apartment in the same resort during the same week. You are there should any problems come up, and you can see plenty of each other without being under each others feet. Plus you don't get woken up when they come in at 3am Personally I'd just enjoy your holiday as a family. Plenty of time for celebrating a birthday when he gets back. |
We’re renting two apartments in Les Arcs in January. One for my wife and myself and the other for our 17 year old daughter and 15 year old lad as they’re bringing a mate each. They’ll do some cooking for themselves but no alcohol will be involved.
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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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| Quote: |
They’ll do some cooking for themselves but no alcohol will be involved.
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So no beef bourguignon? It's one of my staple recipies on ski holidays
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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 went on a big group skiing trip at half term to Soldeu with a bunch of 17-18 year olds. Don't underestimate their stamina. They'd have a couple of pints every night and were generally in bed by midnight ish. Without fail they were the first ones up for breakfast every morning and ready for the first lifts. They had one mad night out until 2ish and were still up. Unlike the nearly 50 year old mums who really should have known better. 
Soldeu was good for this as it's not as mad as Pas de la Casa and actually they found it quite hard to get served in the bars with no adults there.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| johnE wrote: |
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They’ll do some cooking for themselves but no alcohol will be involved.
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So no beef bourguignon? It's one of my staple recipies on ski holidays |
We’ll make an exception for the vin rouge in the beef casserole.
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Unlike the nearly 50 year old mums who really should have known better.
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Yeah, my kids were always up for first lifts too, even after a night on the Old Lady Gin (they could never afford to get drunk in bars - so much more affordable at supermarket prices).
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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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Thanks ski3 - that accommodation looks ideal.
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FAQ
looked on the map of Google to check location and it's noted as mille8 and thought they'd renamed them.
