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Ski Newbie- Help!!

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi All,

Sorry if this is the wrong section Embarassed

Myself and my boyfriend are looking to go to Val d'Isere next March/ April to ski for the first time ever!! I have been checking out recommendations on the site, which are great. With this being our first time we are unsure about the little details??

Should we hire our ski's/boots/ bindings/ poles etc when we get there?
Should we arrange our lift and ski pass before we get there?
What are the best hotels to stay in? (I have been told L' Albane vars is great because it is ski on/off???)
Which resort would be best for good ski schools??

Any suggestions, ideas or corrections (lol) would be greatly appreciated Smile

Leanne
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
leelee, Hi - welcome to SnowHeads snowHead A fellow Scouser Very Happy

If this is your first time skiing, you may not need an area such as Val D'Isere, and you won't need ski in/out (unless you CAN ski Puzzled ) It will be cheaper for you (again, presuming cost is an issue as it is for most people) to look at a smaller resort which caters more to beginners and novices. You won't need a massive ski area, so why pay for the lift pass.

As for hiring equipment, there are various websites where you can pre-hire, usually with a discount of 20% or more (bindings are already fitted to the skis and are just adjusted to fit the boot). Lift and ski pass are the same thing.

Ski school is the most important element - if you have a poor first experience, it can really put you off, but good tuition with an experienced and patient instructor will make your holiday.

Resorts which may suit (depending on your actual dates, as altitude may be an issue going into April), include Samoens, Les Gets, La Tania, Les Deux Alpes (another snowHead is a very highly regarded instructor there) etc. Hope this is of some help to start with, but come back with any other questions - you'll get lots of help on here Very Happy
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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?
Yes first timer, sorry. We're going to go the chill factore in Manchester first to do some lessons and decide whether its snow boarding or skiing we want and to get a feel for it but i know we will, it's something we have been talking about for a while.

There is a company called the last resort who offer learner packages which include everything- well saying that all you have to do is arrange your flights, waiting on prices though Puzzled would be nice if someone has heard of them to advise on that one.

Les Deux Alpes did catch my eye. Thanks for your advice, makes more sense now Very Happy
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I haven't heard of them, but just took a look at their website. La Clusaz and Le Grand Bornand may be good choices for you, and if the 'everything organised' element appeals for your first time, then it may be a good option - much depends on the price (when you get it) and what instruction is provided. Two questions to ask of them is which ski school they use and how many will be in the class. The bigger the class, the less likely you are to progress. Is the instruction with a good English-speaker? Again, they may be good teachers but if you can't understand them, or you make your questions understood, it will be a long week!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Yeh thats where they are Grand Bornand and La Clusaz- that's a good start then! They don't really mention much about lessons and the ski school tbh but I will definately ask about that, cheers Very Happy
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leelee, Val D'Isere is a top destination and has all the costs or a world class resort. This may be a waste for you both in some respects..as you will not ski much of the mountain and hardly touch the area as a whole.
Ski hire and accom are at the top end of expensive so unless you have a definitive reason for going there...there are other places that might suit you expecially in regard to the wallet..

For example... expect NO change out of £200 for skis and boots for the two of you per week...

FWIW..we took a beginner to VD and had them up the hill in 3 days... but it was painful for him...but he stuck with it and had the time of his life..
If money isn't an issue..then VD is as good a resort as most..

Would be in many people's top 5 resorts in the world.....

If someone asked me.. I'd point them to Austria as it can be a great all-round intro to a ski hol, IMV..
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
leelee, Most tour operators go with the ski school that offers them the biggest discount, and also they only offer you a 6 day lift pass. You may not need a pass from day one depending on resort. I can't speak about all resorts, but here we have 7 free lifts down in the village, which allow quite a lot of skiing before you have to buy a pass. After that you can get a cheaper pass just for the village lifts (there are some that aren't free). therefore if you buy a 6 day pass you'd be wasting at least half the not inconsiderable cost. As I say, I can't speak for other resorts, but I would imagine they're pretty similar in lots of cases.

Also - don't go for the 'basic' skis. Get the middle range of skis but try for shorter than normal, you'll then get ski that actually helps you to progress, but isn't too hard to handle - get the basic boots though.

I would second the idea that Val D'Isere isn't the best for your first holiday - save that for later when you can reap the benefit that the elevated prices supply!

I hope this helps, and enjoy. Very Happy
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
leelee, welcome to snowHead 's

Firstly learning to ski is one of the greatest experiences in the world ever you will love it. The progress you can make from not been able to stand up on skis to been able to ski quite effectively can be quite quick and very rewarding. Its also done in beautiful places, dont forget to look around! A good first instructor can make a big difference. You are right to go to learn in an indoor first why wait till winter. Lessons are much cheaper in snowdomes in the summer (certainly are at Tamworth anyway). Once you have reached a recreational level you can go there to practice and take some informal coaching.
If you go to les 2 alpes look up Easiski. She is a very well respected instructor there and highly rated by snowheads she posts here regularly and is clearly a passionate skier and more importantly teacher.
Morillion in the Grand Massif is a superb resort for beginners. If you go there I can recommend the ZigZag ski school. My friends had some fabulous instructors with ESF (Joel Reynaud was the name of one great ESF instructor) Samoens and Les Carroz also in Grand Massif are also excellent. It wont be as pricey as Val disere. The Apres ski is not wild but there are some really good restaurants at reasonable prices. The lift pass here is not crazy money either.

The grand massif resorts are not the highest so I would go early March although they have a fabulous snow record. The second week is usually a good one as the French holidays are over everything is quieter and cheaper. If you are going later then Val d'Isere would be better. Tignes (linked to Val Disere) and Val Thorens are very high altitude and are fabulous late in season.

For equipment rental? book in advance, well in advance to get best discounts. I have found www.snowrental.net to be very good even in expensive resorts when the booking was made just days before they seem to have a permanent good discount. They are not a shop but kind of a middleman who has negotiated good discounts. I have found them to be cheaper than booking directly from the same shop!!!!

If you do go to Morillon let me know and I can reccomend a good shop who had good prices. I liked the skis they gave us and they had a wide selection of boots. The last bit of advise I can offer is boots. There are not many things that can make or break skiing like boots. If you hire ones you dont like bring em back immediately good shops will happily give you another model to try. Boots should be snug with no unnecessary movement but dont have to be uncomfortable. If you get bitten by the ski bug these will be the first thing you'll want to buy (I advise you post here again and ask advise before buying a ski boot its not like buying any other shoe and some of the contributors here are boot fitting experts). OK I'll stop now cause I'm starting to preach about things you can worry about closer to the time. Blush Blush
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Ha ha funny that Easiski posted while I was writing my post recommending her Very Happy
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ha ha funny that Easiski posted while I was writing my post recommending her Very Happy
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
leelee, I'd echo the Morillon recommendation too (it's part of the same area as Samoens as mentioned in my first reply) - nice, small-ish and friendly resort, easy to get to from Geneva, lots of good runs to develop your skills on, including the fab 6km Marvel run, which is green all the way (the easiest!) and you should be doing that within a couple of days (pending good instruction Little Angel )
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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.
Well, it's mostly all been said! Val d'Isère is my top favourite resort but i'd never recommend it to a beginner for the reasons given - bigger than you can benefit from and therefore more expensive. No point in paying for what you don't use. Just to develop Easiski's point, you can arrange a holiday with a tour operator without buying prepaid lessons or lift pass from it. It is just so simple to go to the ticket office and get exactly the pass you need when you have progressed beyond the beginners' areas served by free lifts.

Have you thought of joining a local ski club? Ski club organised holidays are usually good value as they get various group discounts and free places the value of which are shared around everyone on the trip. You also get good skiing and après-ski company.

Bear in mind that arranging flights independently of the operator means there is no ATOL cover.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Think i may steer clear of "the last resort" company then because as ccl said i wont be covered with my independent flights.

Thanks so much for all your help guys, really appreciated. All makes more sense now, I just knew that if I went the travel agents they would sell me all kinds, playing on the fact that I haven't done it before.
Will look into Les Deux Alpes and Morillion in the Grand Massif, sounds good, will look into start of March then.

Any more tips then please let me know Very Happy

Thanks again everyone
Lee
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
leelee, If it is your 1st ski hol...make a small list of what is important to you both. a wish-list if you like..

Quality of lessons..?
Type of resort/village...?
Apre-ski...?

that sort of thing.

Most of the advice here is well-intentioned and genuine... and if it isn't it usually gets flamed

Having someone on the ground ( local ) who knows a few things and isn't driven by a fast buck but is very concerned about the service they give...is worth their weight in gold, IMV.

It isn't hard to find a few of them on here..
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
here is a basic checklist of what you need when booking a holiday
Accommodation
Flights
Transfers
Liftpass
equipment hire
Travel Insurance (winter sports must be specified in your policy its not normally standard)

just see whats included in your package when calculating cost. Most tour ops will offer flight accommodation and transfer to/from resort.
You could put together your own package this is particularly useful if you want to self-cater. Theres a few things to consider but all that planning is a fantastic build up to a ski trip (IMO) and you learn about loads of resorts in the process (its not everyones idea of a good time though). Shocked
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
leelee, for your first holiday I'd be inclined to go for a package deal. There's quite a lot to think about, and even with someone to help it's not that easy to get yourselves kitted out, and on the slopes in time for your first lesson - and that's after you've got yourselves to the resort, possibly in bad weather and found your accommodation. I suggest you start by ordering yourselves a big pile of brochures, and having a look through for a resort which seems to have everything you're looking for (there won't be one......you'll have to compromise somewhere!) and then maybe coming back for some more advice here. I'd echo the posts above about Val D'Isere. There is some easy skiing in Val D'Isere but although I don't know the resort that well I'd say there is absolutely NO accommodation in the resort which is "ski in/ski out" for complete beginners. I'm a pretty experienced skier and I generally download to Val D'Isere in a lift rather than run the gamut of quite difficult runs very crowded with a lot of people out of control. The only even moderately easy run down is a bus-ride away from the centre of town. If you decide to organise your own trip and hire a car you'll find it's difficult and expensive to park in town and it'll generally cost you money even to have a pee on the mountain (unless you literally have it on the mountain wink let alone actually to eat anything.

It can be an intimidating place for beginners too - wherever you look there are very steep and scary looking mountainsides, with no trees.

If you are flexible on dates, I'd suggest mid-March -a good compromise in terms of snow/weather. Make sure you avoid local school holidays wherever you end up going.

One suggestion - if you're keen on ski in/ski out accommodation, be sure to ask the Tour Operator who is advertising it as such how a complete beginner would get from the accommodation to the ski school meeting place. If it's down a piste (even if you're told it's an easy piste) forget it.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Have ordered some online brochures and we're going to scout out some deals in local travel agents. Been looking at resorts on internet and looks as though we will either go for; Les Deux Alpes, Les gets or Grand massif.

With the ski schools are we best booking these when we get to our destination or before we go, or have i got that completely wrong altogether ??? Puzzled
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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?
leelee, If you end up not doing a beginner's package which includes ski-school, book your lessons beofore you go - as far in advance as you can. When you have made your final decision on where you are going you could start a new thread asking for recommendations, but if you do go to Les Deux Alps you won't get a stronger recommendation than to book easiski (Charlotte) - very highly regarded here (I'm doing a week with her in July Very Happy )
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leelee, lessons should be booked in advance especially if you are using one of the smaller independent schools like easiski or zigzag which book up first.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Okay, that's great, starting to understand now lol rolling eyes
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leelee,

If you like the look of L2A (Les Deux Alps ).... contact Charlotte on her Easiski website
http://www.easiski.com/

That is your lessons sorted, I would say..

For you 1st time tho...going with a TO, IMV ... should introduce you to lots of other skiers and you can ask them all sort of 'dumb' questions that could very well be easy mitsakes otherwise....

Like where to meet on ski-school day.. ? where is the boot room etc etc...? there will be loads of them..
and when you know, you know..when you don't it can be a minefield...

Still... you have started in the right place..so maybe you're a natural... Laughing
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
leelee,

I haven't noticed anyone saying anything much about clothing yet. Although you can hope it will be sunny and warm in March, you still have to be prepared for cold days, so you need weatherproof gear. As well as the obvious anorak, ski-pants and helmet or hat, it is advisable to have several pairs of gloves. They don't all have to be pukka ski gloves, just anything that doesn't soak up water too easily. Because you're pushing yourself up frequently, gloves get soaked through quite quickly and there's nothing more uncomfortable than having wet, freezing gloves on your hands. You'll also need suntan cream and sun specs/goggles.

You should check that any package you take also includes the necessary health insurance (and recovery from the slopes, in the unlikely case that were needed). You should have EHICs (European Health Insurance Cards) with you, obtainable through post offices, I think.

Enjoy yourselves!
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Thanks for the brill, much needed advice everyone. Never though there would be so much to take into account, glad i joined snowHead

Just need to book it now Very Happy well once we have decided where we are going

Will keep you all posted, once again Thanks everyone
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Quote:

will look into start of March then

you need to avoid the first week of March - still French holidays. The second week would be ideal.
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Quote:

The second week would be ideal.

Agree, Most of Jan is good toofFor same reason, can be cold though!

Feb is only if you cant go Jan March as its mad busy and expensive.
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Quote:

mad busy and expensive.

the first week of February should be fine - French hols start the second week.
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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.
pam w, Good to know (I thought the French took more holidays than that Laughing Laughing Laughing )
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Okay lol, will keep in mind cheers Very Happy Don't want it too busy, too expensive and too cold Confused
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
The main reason to ski in January is in case you get addicted you still have enough season left to book another trip.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Haha lol,sounds good to me Very Happy
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
hi!


Montgenevre in France is a really nice place to learn, there's a company called Skitopia that do really good trips there and they're really good value for money. Their website is www.skitopia.com. Serre Chevalier is a also great place to learn - Gavin Cassidy from Eurekaski has a ski school there. Or go to Morzine with BASS - they're a good ski school too. Check out the 'Good Skiing and Snowboarding guide' too (it's a book) - they have useful summaries of each resort. Have a think about if you want to stay out clubbing every night (in which case, go to Verbier!), or whether you want gentille elegance and expensive places (in which case go to Courchevel). I wouldn't go to Val D'Isere on your first trip, it's steep and may put you off - Chamonix is a bit similar. Save those 'big' resorts for your second or third season, when you can go explore for a bit.


Where ever you go, you could check the BASI website to find out where there are BASI instructors if you want to guarantee English speaking instructors.

It's often a really good idea to book your holiday at the Ski Show in either Birmingham or Olympia, as you'll be able to chat to the operators. Often, they'll be trying to offload unsold holidays, so you can get a really good deal. you MUST MUST get ski insurance. Prebook your kit and boots etc before you get there, and your ski pass (although your tour operator can usually get them for you). Mark Warner ski holidays don't fail to provide lovely accomodations and heaps of yummy food.

Going the week after New Year (eg 3rd Jan) is always really good, because the resorts are quiet, and the snow's great. The trade off is pretty much you go earlier in the season and you get great snow and it's empty, but cold, or go later in February or March, it's busier, but warmer.

Have some lessons before you go. These don't need to be in an expensive snow dome - if you learn on a dry slope, you'll be staggered at how much easier it is to ski on snow, which will do wonders for your confidence.

You can also hire ski clothing so you don't have to buy expensive kit - I think there's a company online called 'the Edge@ or something like that? Loads of friends have hired from them, and they've been great. Don't buy too much kit in your first season, because I'll guarantee you will want different kit once you've got your ski legs. You also can't evaluate thekit you buy until you use it on snow, so hire for your first season, decide if you like the sport, and then spend a fortune for your next and subsequent seasons (voice of experience there!).

As for ski passes, many resorts give you the choice to buy a 'local' pass or an area pass. As you'll be new to the area, I'd suggest you would only need to buy a local area, as you probably won't travel that far. If you do decide you wish to go exploring, you can upgrade for a day.

One word of warning which I expect everyone will echo - the Euro exchange rate last season was an absolute KILLER. Even Switzerland was cheaper than France last season.

So, all this information is probably overwhelming you. The best thing to do probably is just book it, hire skis and boots, book lessons and you'll be absolutely fine! Everything else will become apparent as and when you need it to.

Enjoy! I expect you'll be obsessed like everyone else on here Happy Come back and tell us how you're getting on Happy, or if you're near to Hemel Hempstead snow centre, pop in and say hi!!
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