Morning v afternoon kids lessons

A snowHead

Hi there - new to the forum, but finding it really useful so far.

Any advice as to whether morning lessons are better than afternoon ones for kids. My feeling is yes, because on their first ski trip earlier this year our kids (8yo) ran out of steam mid-afternoon, having skied in lessons in the am, then lunched, then skied again until 3/3.30ish, then were ready to drop. I tried not to push them too much in the afternoon as i wanted them to be keen the next day.

To be fair, the weather they experienced was pretty draining, being sometimes rainy and sometimes snowing, without much sunshine.

They're beginners so still falling a fair bit and mostly snowploughing (a bit of parallel towards the end of the week), which must also be tiring.

I can't imagine them having the energy to start a lesson at 2.30pm, but I'm guessing lots of kids do take lessons at that time so it must work out somehow.

Anyone have any experience of putting kids in the afternoon classes? - I'm guessing you rearrange your day to account for this. If so, how?

fwiw, I'm asking because lesson choice is a bit limited at our resort and we're trying to coordinate with another family.

A snowHead

Advice from Mrs t_m, who teaches for a ski school here in CH. Don't even consider afternoons if you have a choice. Kids are knackered, snow is better in the mornings. You can then fill them up with a carb-laden lunch and hope to get a little skiing done in the afternoon.

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I'd never even considered half-day afternoons, it was always a full or half day starting after a hearty breakfast. Full days for the first couple of years, as we were also beginners, then progressed to half-days, lunch with us then either a little bit of skiing or playing in the snow. Once they got to about 8 or 9, they couldn't wait to finish lunch and ski all afternoon, but 3.30 was about their limit and we'd go back to our apartment for snacks and showers.

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While I'll not buck the trend of advising morning lessons for kids, once they get a few more ski miles under their belts afternoon lessons can work quite well.

You don't have the mad dash to get up and out quite as much every morning, or at least it's on your own terms, so it can make your trip feel more like a holiday. PM lessons are normally quieter so groups are smaller, and sometimes cheaper. For the same reason, the queues for getting away from drop off are easier too.

They work better if you're at a smaller area mountain so you're not having to haul back to drop off from so far off. We've done it with our two a few times and while we'd been a bit skeptical it did work out OK.

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Depending on lots of things, that rush to get kids to ski lessons in the morning can be extremely hard work. If everybody's up for it, I agree that morning lessons are best, provided parents are prepared to take their lead from kids in the afternoon - ski a lot, or none at all, depending on what they want.

But afternoon lessons needn't be a disaster, provided they've had a nice long rest and play and a good lunch and haven't been flogging round the mountain all morning. To me, the most essential thing is accommodation near the ski school meeting place so they can strip off the gear, relax, and have lunch that doesn't cost a small fortune in a crowded, noisy, scrum.

If I had to choose between a small group in the afternoon or a huge one in the morning, I'd probably go for the former. Last time I organised lessons for small kids (April this year) we went for four private lessons, at midday (IIRR). The kids were 4 and 8 and the ski school were sceptical but we knew the kids, and it worked fine. But at peak holiday times the options are often limited.

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We always had this routine: ski lessons in the morning for out daughter, lunch as family then family ski in the afternoon. sometimes she prefered to stay at the appartement doing nothing during afternoon but it works very well.

After all it is free · Last edited by After all it is free on Tue 17-10-23 9:59; edited 1 time in total

We always went with mornings for the reasons laid out by @telford_mike....but as highlighted above, the downside is getting them up, fed, dressed, kitted out and over to the ski school in time. It's all made worse by being an hour ahead of the UK (depending on the time zone).

Afternoon’s can work ok. Yes the snow maybe less good but you all get a lie in (its a holiday after all). There is no mad panic in the morning trying to remember/find all the kit that was strewn about from the day before. You are not battling the lift queues with all the other school attendees and parents.

Just take it easy in the morning, and a late but decent lunch.

They’ll be fine.

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snow reports

I think this is very dependent on the kids/families. Some kids are great at getting up and going early, but will struggle later in the afternoon and get no benefit from a lie in. Others will be fine with a lie in, and prefer late lessons to avoid the early start. Probably many/most will be fine with either. Most parents tend to know what works for their kids generally and skiing is no different to any other activity that involves being out and about for most of the day, in this regard.

So personally I'd suggest going with what you think will work best for your children even if it isn't exactly what the majority on the internet say is best.

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Morning v afternoon kids lessons

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