 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi, Snowheads.
We are planning a family trip to Val Thorens 29 March - 10 April and would need ski school for our two children 7 and 11. Plus our friends kids age 9 & 11.
I'm aware that there are a number of schools operating out of the resort: Ski Cool, Girlschool, Oxygene, ESF…
are there any I have missed?
Do you have any recommendations, tips or reviews?
** And related question…
Wondering whether to get the 3 girls private lessons together or if group lessons are the way to go. Any reflections from other parents?!
In any case I prefer 3-4 hour morning lessons with no more than 6 in the group if possible…..
(or is 8 the norm? My internet research says all the schools I’ve listed above say “8” max….)
do you know any ski schools that offer this?
Many 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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| Quote: |
Wondering whether to get the 3 girls private lessons together or if group lessons are the way to go.
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3 girls? There are 4 kids? I have had mixed age kids in private lessons before (though I think 2 or 2.5 hours is a better duration than 4). It depends on the kids. If the younger ones are quite "gung-ho" it could work well. In my experience the gunghoness of kids is not a straight function of either or gender. A lot of 7 year old boys are more gung ho than an 11 year old girl. I had two grandchildren in private lessons last Easter. Complete beginner 5 year old girl who is a skinny hyper-active type - started straight off leaping along on skis, crossed them and fell over. Much more circumspect 10 year old boy, who had done a few lessons many years ago, but basically forgotten. Much more careful - and the big difference was he listened to the instructor and did exactly what he was asked to do.
The ski school had been dubious about the combination but I knew the kids and it worked fine. They both loved it though the older boy, partly because of his temperament, was much better able to cope with adversity and just plodded along, tried hard, and didn't get bothered if he fell. The girl would tend to dash at it, end in a heap and get cross but in the long term she will be the better skier because she is a much more athletic type, and fearless, and both her parents are excellent skiers.
Whatever you decide, book it up asap. Ski schools are running down a bit at Easter and the remaining instructors do get quite booked up.
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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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Most these days say 8 max, used to be 6 in some cases but they are few and far between.
First year in VT we used prosneige - they were good but the second year we wanted longer to ski and the kids could cope with more so went with new gen. They are more expensive but you do get over 4 hours and we found actually the classes were small as they weren’t fully booked.
Oxygene in VT is a bit of a trek up hill across the piste if you have an apartment near the rue de Soleil.
After our 2nd week there we switched to private lessons for 4 out of the 6 days for both - there is 2-3 years between them but it worked out well. I think 4 days of private lessons probably has more ski time than 5-6 days of group lessons. Private lessons with prosneige were good, however you need to be quick with booking as they fill up quickly and sometimes in busy and you may only get afternoon private lessons.
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We were in Val Thorens last easter for our first family trip and had lessons with Prosneige. Our girls were 5 and 9 were complete beginners and our friends' boy of 9 with a bit more experience. I found them well organised, in a great location and great with the kids at all levels. My youngest started off very reluctant and ended the week whizzing down blue runs while I watched on with my heart in my mouth. The group lessons worked well for the children as they made friends and encouraged each other but I switched from group lessons to private with them as it suited me better. They were very accommodating and my instructor was excellent, professional but fun and very patient.
We'll be there again on 6th April and have booked them again.
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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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| Elsie80 wrote: |
Most these days say 8 max, used to be 6 in some cases but they are few and far between.
First year in VT we used prosneige - they were good but the second year we wanted longer to ski and the kids could cope with more so went with new gen. They are more expensive but you do get over 4 hours and we found actually the classes were small as they weren’t fully booked.
Oxygene in VT is a bit of a trek up hill across the piste if you have an apartment near the rue de Soleil.
After our 2nd week there we switched to private lessons for 4 out of the 6 days for both - there is 2-3 years between them but it worked out well. I think 4 days of private lessons probably has more ski time than 5-6 days of group lessons. Private lessons with prosneige were good, however you need to be quick with booking as they fill up quickly and sometimes in busy and you may only get afternoon private lessons. |
Thank you Elsie. Very good point re OXygene being a trek from where we are staying. I wouldn’t have known!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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New Gen sounds interesting and more like what I want.
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| esubbs wrote: |
We were in Val Thorens last easter for our first family trip and had lessons with Prosneige. Our girls were 5 and 9 were complete beginners and our friends' boy of 9 with a bit more experience. I found them well organised, in a great location and great with the kids at all levels. My youngest started off very reluctant and ended the week whizzing down blue runs while I watched on with my heart in my mouth. The group lessons worked well for the children as they made friends and encouraged each other but I switched from group lessons to private with them as it suited me better. They were very accommodating and my instructor was excellent, professional but fun and very patient.
We'll be there again on 6th April and have booked them again. |
Thank you for this. Yes. We will be 3 families.
Ours: B11 G7. Boy has skied more than Girl and definitely more advanced but he is fitter, stronger and 4 years older so no surprise. He needs small classes ro keep focus.
Girl will keep up with others if she has enough sweets and feels engaged. Smaller class good for her. She has about 2 weeks under her belt.
I ski. Dad too. He snowboards too. We Will probably look for a private lesson or 2 or just some guiding around the mountain.
Family #2. As couples pre kids we have skied in North American and in Europe together. First time with the kids tho!! They have 2 girls age 9 & 11. Good friends of our kids but their girls are a similar level to our girl in terms of days / weeks experience so I tbink a private lesson together could work well. We shall see!
Family #3. Again we have skied together pre kids on more than 1 occasion! They now have a 15yo. No idea about his ski ability so we shall see.
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We were in Les Menuires last easter but it's mostly the same schools. I have kids 12 and 15 now but they've done morning classes since they were about 7 and 10. You get more time to yourself if they do classes as they're longer, or in my case you have time to do classes yourself - unless you're paying out for 4 hour private lessons. If you can afford to do that all week then by all means do, but I really like that they bundle in with other kids and just get on with it.
If you use the same school for you and the kids you'll all start and finish the morning in the same spot, which is handy. We've always gone at easter and as someone else said, there's never been a class at full capacity, it's always quieter. We use ESF, they're cheaper and we've never had a bad experience. Last year I think they had maybe 6 or 8 in their class. I had 5, I think, but level 4 adults is always a bit quieter. I'll probably do the same class with my eldest this year, maybe they can teach her to slow down...
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