 Poster: A snowHead
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I was thinking about Butterflys trip to LDA and all the other things that I'd like to do skiing wise next year if leave and money were to permit, then the more I started to think about it I realised that the limiting factor are the children and their school holidays - although I love to go away by myself, my life does revolve around my kids and I don't have a problem with this or holidaying with them. However, unlike summer holidays were you get a 6 week block to play with, the kids don't have much holiday in the winter months to ski in.
We ski in the spring 1/2 term - but there seems very little other viable skiing time without hitting Christmas (which I like to have at home) without asking to pull the kids out from school which I don't really want to do.
Lots of you here seem to know where the snow is likely to be at certain times of the year. The kids get a half term in late October - I couldn't do anything this year, but wondered about October 2009. Is there anywhere child friendly and reasonably OK to drive to that I'd get decent snow at during that time of year.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Not really - you get 5 weeks at least to ski with the kids Xmas, New Year, Half term & Easter.
Alternatively move to Australia then at least the summer holidays would coincide with Northern hemisphere winter- lots of Aussie families seem to take of advantage of this in Canada at least.
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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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Stick the kids on e-bay and fund another ski trip?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Megamum,
Easter is the cheapest option for decent snow if you are averse to taking the kids out during term time IMHO. THe week following Easter is usually cheaper and quieter than hte week leading into Easter though
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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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Megamum, take the kids to New Zealand or Argentina in summer. There. Problem solved. Happy to help. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Easter is the best time, I agree, though when it's late you'd need to go for somewhere like Val Thorens with high altitude skiing. Christmas, though the snow is nothing like as reliable as Easter, can also be great fun - personally I have become rather jaded about Christmas at home and the thought of going away is quite appealing. But yes, kids and school holidays are a big problem. We generally took ours out of school, I'm afraid, unless they were doing proper exams, and I wouldn't hesitate with any ordinarily-able child under 14. I find it difficult to understand why people are so worried about taking infants of 5 and 6 out of school for a week. In more sensible countries they haven't even started proper school at that sort of age. However, few families with kids can afford more than one holiday a year - so why not go at Easter? I have never yet been skiing at half term and don't intend to, ever, if I can help it. I am allergic to traffic jams, lift queues and crowded pistes and for families, the prices are horrendous.
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I have to confess that at primary school age I did take my kids out of school to go on holidays as we were limited by work as to when we could go - only so many people could take time off in school holidays and priority went to those with kids at senior school. The primary school head said he had no objection because ours always went back to school with a daily diary of the trip and a lot of knowledge about where they'd been and had learned something of the language too if it was abroad. We used to make them do their diaries every day, writing, drawing & sticking in souvenirs etc, telling them it had to be done because they were taking time out of school.
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I only started taking my kids when they were 8. I always took them out of school usually in March when its a bit warmer, and way cheaper. Didnt take them when they were doing their GCSEs.
Well worth the effort, some of the best times we had.
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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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As someone who "works" in the industry I would like to add that you could have had a week of silly cheap skiing late April last year... the resorts were empty, the skiing was fantastic...
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Totally agree with parlor, I'm only able to get away in the school holidays too.
Last season I managed an early 3 day trip to Tignes in October (on my own), 10 days in Val d'Isere over the festive break (with the family), a weekend in Scotland in January, a few days in Mammoth in February (on my own), 4 days in Scotland in March (Easter being a separate holiday this last season was useful), 12 days in Austria with the family in April and a long weekend in Scotland with the family over the May day bank holiday. All in all well over 30 days on snow and I could have squeezed in more in February but had to stop off in LA for most of the time over there.
To be honest if I was forced to head off just the once I'd go for the Easter holidays because, as others have said, the snow is often at its best then rather than earlier in the year (particularly so in Scotland actually despite it not being high altitude in the Alpine sense).
Personally I'd far rather have my current situation where I'm 'stuck' with school holidays than go back to the norm of having only 20 odd days of holiday over an entire year - that'd really muck up my skiing time I can tell you!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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As my wife's a teacher we're tied to school holidays too however we've always booked self catering accomodation and driven to our destination and I don't think that means it's any dearer than the rest of the high season.
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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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I don't think that means it's any dearer than the rest of the high season.
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No, that's certainly a good way to do it if you are stuck with school holidays (as my daughter is, as a teacher). But certainly in French resorts self catering at half term (ie the four French half term weeks) and New Year are very expensive for renting - but the UK half term no more expensive than, say, the Paris half term. Renting direct makes good sense because British middlemen do seem to hike up their prices. Christmas is cheaper and Easter can be much cheaper. The difference in rentals is striking. Typical owner-rental prices of two bedroom MGM apartments like ours are 1100 euros in half term and less than half that in mid March. 350 euros in the summer. We have our own apartment so cost of half term is not an issue; it's the crowds I like to avoid. We drive home for those 4 weeks and lend the apartment to one of our neighbours for family overspill, and borrow theirs back in March. In the big tour operator factory resorts British and other incomers even out the heavy seasonality but in resorts mainly patronised by the French (like ours) the local officials are always trying to find ways of filling beds in the low season.
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Sell the kids to a sweatshop and fund a couple of holidays for the next few years with some good psychothearapy they will learn to forgive you..
Dont have the kids problem but my 2 bros have and they just take their kids out of school they are young though so it does not really affect them
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You know it makes sense.
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Yes, go for Easter. The ski season is getting later and later - resorts should really open later and close later - it seems stupid to close the lifts when some of the best snow is still there.
No, October, November and early December you would have to be very lucky to get any decent snow, and Christmas is now much more chancy than Easter. But go High if Easter is late.
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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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Christmas is now much more chancy than Easter
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hasn't this long been the case? I first started thinking about family ski holiday planning in 1985 and when I did some research I got the message loud and clear that Christmas was a lottery. I wonder if there is really any statistically reliable evidence that the season is getting later?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Emigrate? then go skiing every other weekend. Kids will end up properly bilingual too, which can't be a bad thing.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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pam w, yes, the process has been going on for a long time, but I certainly get the impression that recent seasons have gone on much later, on average, than before. I don't know about reliable statistical research but I've heard the idea echoed by many others.
Perhaps it is worth a thread of its own - I'll start one..
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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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andy, but then your kids will grow up thinking skiing is about as special as riding a bike 
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