Ski School v Private Tuition for Two 8 year old Beginners

A snowHead

I’ve been looking through previous threads and was surprised that there wasn’t much on this topic, although apologies if there is and I’m going over old ground.

I’m hoping to take my family on a first ski holiday next year. I had always envisaged putting the two girls (8 year old twins) into ski school, but due to school holidays and high prices, our best window to go is immediately after NYD and will therefore be mid week to mid week, thus missing Ski School timings.

Therefore, I’m now looking into private lessons for them but this comes at a cost. eg in Bernex/ Thollon it is €640 for 6 x 2 hours private, compared to €500 for 6 x 3.30 for ski school. Both amounts are a lot of money, with ski school allowing longer for the adults to get some skiing in from a selfish point of view.

I guess my question is, whether people think that the private instruction is likely to be better value for money and speed up their rate of progress relative to the extra expense? In an ideal world, it would be good to have them able to ski down nursery slopes (or even greens) after a couple of days, so that we can do some skiing with them during the extra non lesson time.

Our alternative is to wait until Easter, but that falls late next year and we would rather go to a small village resort near Geneva, rather than a mega resort higher up, which would be necessary for mid April skiing.

For information, other resorts we are considering are Praz sur Arly, Combloux and Les Houches.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts Very Happy

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@EdYarker, my response less about the ski school, but more about trying to go mid week to mid week. Have you found accommodation available over that period? If yes-good for you. NY's day 2025 will be a Wednesday. If you are thinking of heading off on holiday for the latter half of that week, my guess is that it will be very difficult to find somewhere to stay for the week. (I guess you know already, most hotels and apartments rent Saturday to Saturday/or Sun-Sun).

Ski schools tend to start their block of 6 day ski school lessons on a Sunday, so the problem with ski school is that the twins would be joining a group that has already had at least 3 days' tuition. I don't think that would work for them as beginners. Private may be the only option.
It might be worth the kids having a few sessions in a uk based indoor snowdome if you have one relatively near home.

January can be very cold-and so a 3hr 30 min lesson in ski school for small kids may involve quite a bit of heading indoors for a hot choc/warm up, plus they might be pretty tired by the end of that for skiing with parents after.

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@Perty, thanks for you answer. Yes there is accommodation available but I get what you are saying, which is why I’m trying to get organised now. And yes completely aware that Ski School is not doable from midweek/ Saturday, hence the research into private lessons. The example I gave was just from Bernex. Other other resorts seem to do 2.5 hours as standard. But the brevity of private tuition could be a bonus if the weather is poor.

I’m thinking along the lines of heading out Thursday 2nd. Maybe have a day in resort, doing non skiing stuff (toboggan etc), then 2 hour private lessons, Sat-Mon and see where we are for the last couple of days (I’m guessing that from Saturday the NY crowds will head off).

@ster, thanks for your in put. Private does look favourable doesn’t it? I think I’m just trying to get my head round it as had always thought it would be ski school due to price factors and time on the slopes for myself but this option could actually work out better!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Private, no question.

My kids did a mix of both. Progress in private was at least twice as fast. By the end of his second day (about 5hrs in) my 6yr old was happily on blues. After 10hrs he was skiing reds.

My goal was to have them at a level where we could all ski as a family, on anything we wanted, as soon as possible.

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Presumably you will fly? If you can find good accommodation options for your mid week dates the plan for private lessons sounds good, though as @Perty says accommodation options mid week will be very restricted - and could be less conveniently located for dropping kids at ski lessons and picking them up. Will you be renting a car? You might find transfers pretty expensive, mid-week but a car might be useful if your accommodation is some distance from the meeting place. In terms of traffic, mid week arrival and departure wins hands down over Saturdays!

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Thanks guys for the great input.
@snowdave, that is encouraging and like you, getting them to a level that we can ski together is the goal.

@Origen, We will be flying- flights pretty reasonable mid week. Most of the villages on our list can be accessed via taxis from main hubs (Sallanches, Evian etc) and are quite close to Geneva , so hopefully won’t be too bad.

Looking on Booking.com and AirB&B there seem to be a reasonable selection of options close(ish) to lifts. I have noted elsewhere that proximity to Nursery Slopes should be the over-riding priority when choosing accommodation!

@Layne, point taken! I have been 8 years without a trip of more than 4 days, so even if I get out for 2 hours a day it will be a step forward and if the kids take to it, it is a great investment for future years!

As has been mentioned already, to maximise your skiing its best to raise the kids’ levels up as quickly as possible so you can ski together sooner. Groups may appear to give you more time to ski yourself but in the long run you’ll be doing more group lessons. Privates are much better than Group lessons at raising levels.

Our two have some group but latterly more privates. Now the youngest (13) can happily keep up with me (or is that the other way around?), and is faster than her mother. The other streaks ahead now.

Also they are more flexible for start times and meeting points/drop offs unlike the regimentation of groups.

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@EdYarker, I also think you’re sensible to be looking at 2hr slots- private lessons can be a lot more intensive, my kids were pretty wiped by the end of theirs. Once they got good they would do over 5,000m vertical in a single lesson.

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ster It looks like I might have stumbled upon the best way to get my girls skiing. I must admit that I hadn’t considered private lessons for them until now, so thanks for your endorsement.

@snowdave, hopefully 2 hour slots will prove optimal for learning v tiredness (and will give me enough time to get out and about).

@Origen, I was hoping that by the Saturday after NY things might have calmed down and pressure on the instructors subsided. But if we are putting them in for lunch time sessions, so be it. There are some advantages as you say.

Thanks for the tip re taxis. I’m not a fan of car hire for various reasons and the prices seem to have shot up in recent years but I will do some more comparisons before we go and bite the bullet if necessary.

As an instructor I've generally done a lot more private tuition than group lessons, so my sample may be biased, but based on that experience I would expect a significant improvement in rate of progress from private lessons compared to group ones. The personal attention and the amount of time you can spend with each student when there's only a couple of them makes a huge difference.

Beware though, the intensity is also raised, so I would normally suggest only two or three hours per day, so as long as you're able to take them for the rest of the time, and ideally talk to the instructor about what they should be practicing, you may find that the overall cost is not going be as much higher as you think.

Of course, if your primary objective is to shunt them off so you can go out and enjoy yourselves then group lessons all the way. Sadly I have seen this far too often Mad

You know it makes sense.

@Chaletbeauroc, there may be a bit of that I guess but realistically I’m happy to go with what’s best for the girls, finance permitting. As it looks like we have little choice bearing in mind our dates, I’m heartened by the feedback recommending Private Tuition, especially from an instructor, so thanks for your message.

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@EdYarker, In my opinion private is almost always better. With private I'd expect much faster improvement and also much happier kids.

Also don't be afraid to be specific about the type & style of instructor that will fit with your kids personalities when booking, you might not get what you ask for but I have often managed to get a perfect fit for my son's preferences.

In private lessons the instructor can really focus on keeping them happy rather than needing to consider the whole group. Your kids will be much more likely to embrace skiing long term as a result.

I also agree with the point about lunchtime private lessons being good, you can grab a quick early snack with the kids before the lesson and then make the most of the quiet pistes over lunchtime.

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@EdYarker, as a suggestion of another resort to consider - Le Tour, at the far end of the chamonix valley. It might be too quiet to stay in (it’s a small alpine village) which then means if you stayed in Argentiere you’d have to get the bus/train/drive 10mins to the skiing. However, it’s got fabulous nursery slopes and easy blues/reds to progress to, and one spectacularly good local instructor who we used for years and taught one of my kids to ski.

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@snowdave, yes, having skied Le Tour a couple of times, I agree that it would be an ideal little area for beginners.

Sadly there doesn’t seem to be any accommodation available for our dates and I don’t think I will consider getting everyone on a bus each day from further down the valley.

But thanks for the suggestion, I’m always looking for recommendations!

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Suitable accommodation is likely to be the key constraint.

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we have done both with our kids. Its your first ski holiday , so its a little bit tricky.
However i have to notice that this is not black/white
The private course is maybe better for the improvement, but you have to consider where your kids will have the most fun
And since this is the first time for the kids (at least that what i understand) the main purpose is to have fun with skiing and not only the improvement.

E.g. my daughter even if she have improved more with private, she has really fun with the groups. If i ask her "private or group" she will definitely be positive for the group lessons.

Generally speaking it is not so important what you would choose. It is a little bit of luck.

I made as adult private courses, which were a total lost of time and money, but on the other side, i made private courses which brought me one level up as regards as the technique etc.

I suppose that your kids will be with the same instructor and this is a big plus. And according to the circumstances (mid Week to mid Week) i would also give a try to the private courses if i was you.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

It is not answering your central question (hey, its Snowheads) but absolutely this:

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@turms2, interesting point about Ski School being more fun. Hopefully as there are two of them, they will still have someone to rub off during the lessons..

@DJL, Unfortunately we don’t live that close to an indoor slope in the Uk but we might be able to make a visit at some point before hand. We have a dry slope within striking distance but not sure whether going there might do more harm than good.

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@ster, ours get along ok until they don’t and then it’s WW3! There is also likely to be jealousy if one gets on better than the other, but not much we can do about that (and the type of lessons would make little difference).

Since last week, I have emailed a couple of ski schools regarding private lessons for next year but not had any responses. I am guessing that they close and don’t check correspondence during the off season? Any ideas when they might start checking messages?

@EdYarker, sometimes a little competition can be healthy!

If you are keen to sort now, I would ring rather than rely on email. If they are there they will answer, if no answer you know they are off then you wait. I’ve rung plenty of ski schools from Austria, Switzerland, France and Norway and got what I needed. Best way IMHO.

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@ster, actually speaking to someone? How quant! Ok good advice, will give it a try.
Thanks again.

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Get a couple of trips in to the snow dome for beginner lessons before the holiday.

It’s waaaaay cheaper than a ski holiday and it means you’re not taking complete beginners on holiday.

My bias would be private - that worked best for our kids although initially with another family in a group of 3 or 4. That said I think it is a bit down to personality of your girls - if they are confident and gregarious then I could see ski school being more fun.

I can offer another option too if you go in Jan. You could try Hotel Fleche d'Or at Bettex (St Gervais). It is on the piste and 100m from ski school, hire shop, lifts etc. We found it ideal because the instructor could drop the kids back at the (smallish, family run) hotel and it wouldn't matter if we were slightly late. We could then all eat lunch (amazing views of Mont Blanc from the terrace) before popping out for a little fun skiing with the kids after lunch.

I'd second the idea of a couple of lessons at a snow dome before if you can. The kids are so much more confident confronted with skis and boots etc. in the alps after that.

You know it makes sense.

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@James the Last, I can ski £15 per hour in a French mega resort - all in.

Skiing in a dome compared to skiing in the Alps is no comparison.

I'm not against domes - they clearly serve a purpose but your costings/comparison are way off IME/IMO.

Note: other family holidays are available and can cost £10k if you really want them to.

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@Layne, OP has said that lessons in France will be £50 per hour, for two children. Snow dome £48 per hour.

So no difference. But that’s before everything else (travel, accommodation, passes, ski hire) which push the cost up ‘somewhat’. And particularly before acknowledging that the ski holiday will be waaay more enjoyable for everybody, and the cost per hour therefore much lower (on the grounds you might actually get some skiing in), if the children have some prior experience.

Impressed you can do £15 per hour. That’s £750 for a spring week when the lifts are open late. I guess four people sharing a French shoebox, who drive down on the Luxembourg route avoiding tolls and make the first and last lifts every day might do that.

EOSB - which is a cheap way to ski - might be doable for £1000 but I reckon most will have spent rather more. You can squeeze 8.25 hours per day in on 6 days if you don’t ever stop. So 49.5 hours. Which is £20 per hour and gives you a lift pass for a corner only of a French mega resort. And without children.

Accomm and pass £560, transfers £70, flights £250, UK transfers £30. That’s £910. If you drink nothing and buy nothing on the slopes you might squeeze under £1k. Good luck buying nothing on the slopes with youngsters when a hot chocolate comes in at €7!

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Nit getting into the economics of what’s cheaper but the stand out figure in above post was £50 per hour for a private lesson.
If that can take 2 children, so £25 per child per hour, that is fantastic value.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Thanks for the interesting discussion about lessons in a fridge in this country.
I can see both sides. Obviously a few sessions in a snow dome are cheaper than going all the way to the Alps, but the lessons themselves don’t appear much cheaper than those in France, which I was a bit disappointed about (although logically it stands to reason I suppose).

Anyway a bit of further info is that, looking at Praz Sur Arly, they advertised private lessons for 1-2 for €520 for 6 x 2 hours, last year, which I think would work really well. They were one of the schools I emailed to check on this.

That price brings the cost down somewhat. The rest of the trip including flights, transfers, sc accommodation and lift passes comes in at just under £2k, so not too disastrous but still with in resort costs to come..

Going to a snow dome beforehand might give a better chance of the girls progressing quicker once in resort but realistically we don’t have anywhere within 2 hours and for the extra cost and inconvenience it’s unlikely to happen. The next question is whether dry slope lessons are worth while, but that might have to go on a different thread!

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Those lessons sound very good value (places like Praz sur Arly will be cheaper all round than the big resorts). PsA is part of the Espace Diamant which I know quite well. PsA is at the "bottom" of the domaine, and given current problems with snow cover and temperatures I would personally head higher, probably up to Les Saisies which, whatever is happening, is almost certain to have the best snow for miles around. It is an extra 35 minutes or so up the road but there is a lot more to go at and the lessons (I would recommend the ESI Glisse Passion) will be a similar price.

I still think your key problem mid-week will be accommodation. Les Saisies has a lot more accommodation within easyish reach of ski school meeting places (of which there are several) but the vast majority of the more convenient places will be Saturday/Saturday.

Les Saisies has a good system of ski busses but they'll be busy at New Year. On the other hand parking will be at a premium too - though there's a huge free car park on the "front de neige" in PsA and last time I was there (a few years ago now) a nice picnic room which can save a fortune over eating on the mountain for the family. I don't know about the bus service in PsA but you'd need to research it. Because it's an overwhelmingly French resort most people will be there with cars.

As the private lessons are so crucial for your holiday I'd suggest you try to book them up asap.

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In your position I wouldn't bother with lessons in the UK.

After all it is free

There are a lot of factors in the price of a (family) ski holiday. We could be here a month of Sundays discussing.

The only reason I challenged the £10k/£400 per hour is that it's very much at the upper end IMO/IME. I have a whole bunch of TR's on here that detail how I set up our trips and what it costs. We don't buy anything on the mountain food and drink wise but we do generally tunnel over rather than ferry, and toll road it all the way. Just as a couple of examples of how costs can vary for different people based on the preferences and priorities.

Also people throw around "French shoebox" as an insult when actually for many people it works really well and is comfortable and enjoyable. And houses in the UK are not known for their expansive square meterage!

As I say nothing wrong with snowdomes and they have their place but they aren't particularly cheap on hour by hour basis compared to a trip to the Alps.

The point of snowdomes/ dryslopes is that it's an easy way to get familiar with the basics and get any tantrums and unknown issues (e.g. a kid who simply can't get comfortable in a ski boot) out of the way ahead of the actual holiday. A dryslope serves the purpose particularly well and as they are quite hard work even the crappiest conditions in resort seem like heaven in comparison.

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