 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi.
Have recently posted another post about my wife learning to ski and being afraid of heights and is dreading using chairlifts etc.
Was wondering if anyone could suggest a resort with plenty of magic carpets for the complete beginners?
Thanks,
Rich
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Quite a few in Baqueira (Spain), many of which are covered by tunnels to keep off the snow.
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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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snowfiend, do you mean travelators or magic carpets to help get on chair lifts?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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they are the same thing really, guess she wants to avoid chairs?
lots of smaller older resorts have a lot of drags and buttons, but only the very smallest nursery slopes have "magic carpet" lifts
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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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Its just i think it would be a good way to get her skiing without the fear of having to use them.
A good way to learn and then next year hopefully she'll decide she likes it enough and is more confident to not let it be such a big factor for her.
Thanks RobW i will look into that.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Val Thorens has three new ones this season
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Engelberg has a couple but only on the nursery slopes: one at the bottom of Brunni and the other at the top.
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Diito - Val Thorens have just upgraded all the beginner facilities and they are working well. Also once confidence sorted, lots to progress to
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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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Milton Keynes has one - I remember using one when I did "learn to board in a day". does Hemel have one?
In our resort, as t-humphreys says, the magic carpet is for little kids - never seen anyone over 6 on it (other than the instructors, that is).
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Arinsal has two magic carpets side by side for beginners.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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snowfiend, can I offer my thoughts on this as someone who was very nervous when I first started, indeed I still am when pushing outside my comfort zone. Lifts of all kinds can be daunting when you start. For me, the worst bit was getting off and actually it's only been then that I've fallen. I think I'd have been just as nervous on a magic carpet with nothing to hold onto and having to step off onto slippery snow - I certainly found the travelator at Tamworth a challenge to begin with and during my first trip I used a chair with a moving carpet loading system and I was quite concerned about losing my balance when stepping onto it. What I'd have found the easiest is a slow Poma on a very gentle slope with a fairly flat and open dismount area. I was unlucky - the first Poma I encountered had a dismount that involved being towed up onto a mound and released at the top where you were supposed to ski down and round in a U to join the piste, not straight ahead into a snowdrift  . Those at Castleford and Milton Keynes are similar to that, but at the Hemel Snow Centre the top dismount is on the flat. I suggest you ask for suggestions of beginner pistes served by Pomas that are slow and gentle with a virtually flat and wide dismount area where there's enough room for someone to assist the first time or two. If you found such a lift/piste it'd give her some where she could practise well within comfort zone allowing confidence and enjoyment to grow.
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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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Serre Chevalier has one at the 'Espace Debutant' area at Serre Ratier.
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You know it makes sense.
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snowfiend, As i mentioned in your other thread the learners slope at Wengen has a "magic carpet" moving pavement and you can then go up the mountain on the train. In fact i think there is a seperate ski school up at Kliene Scheidegg where the train goes to.
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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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Whilst I could never suggest that Panorama is an ideal beginner resort it really might fit the bill here. The main carpet is long and slow, the nursery beside it is quite steep, so enough to occupy her for a day. You graduate then to a poma tow on another nursery, and from here the less confident beginner graduates to the outdoor hot tub.
Wengen is an obvious choice as well, there's a good choice of improver runs by train after the nursery tows.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Take a look at Bansko. It has a m/c plus the 3 green runs are accessed by a long and gentle button lift which is easy to dismount. Also the chairliifts are all new and feel very solid which can help psychologically. The main gondola is very stable and smooth so I think Bansko might be an option. If you need any more info let me know.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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im sure that Les Deux Alpes has one. It doesnt go very high at all if im honest but its ideal for beginners. Thing its located right next to the Jandri Express. Hope this helps you
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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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riverman, I was told Wengen wasn't ideal for the less confident for reasons such as the nursery slopes not being pisted and their lifts closing over lunchtime and there being quite a bit of walking between lifts as the system doesn't "join up" as well as it might. Not been there myself, so no 1st hand info.
Ricklovesthepowder, I think this is in the kindergarten area. The Petit Viking Poma in LDA is fab for beginners - a nearly flat slope with a slow poma and spacious dismount area. I understand they've made the bottom access of it even easier this year - hand rails I think (but our older beginners last year found no problems with it anyway). Oh and it's right next to a reasonable coffee stop.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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A lot of the canadian resorts have very good magic carpets. Lots have two, a little tiny one for maybe the first couple of hours and then much longer ones for later. Agree with Jane L that since Panorama upgraded a really dreadful odd wire type lift their facilities for beginners are pretty good. That said I think there are no very easy runs off cahirlifts to graduate too. IMO Fernie is also good for this, with a magic carpet, then a poma and then a really easy chair , off which there are some lovely tre lined greens. Sun Peaks is also good for aspiring beginners
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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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snowfiend, Val Thorens has 3 huge 'magic carpets' (new this season) that cover the main beginers area. You can see them from the vid camera on the VT web site. Once the initial nervousness is overcome, there are lots of chair lifts and gondolas available to open up the area.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks for all the suggestions = i almost feel it is a little overkill to go down this route but few people have suggested it as a way to introduce the nervouswife to the slopes and take away the fear of heights.
Think pomas would be ok too - personally dont see why not anyway - but not as easy to master as someone of a slightly more understanding nature told me!
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I've had to deal with this issue before when booking a holiday as one of our friedns won't go on any off the ground lift either. So I have scoured most resorts for the best option, I must say mainly France though. Montgenevre is a good option, you can get quite high without having to get on a chair, with several strategically placed buttons.
(this was our choice one year) Alpe d'huez has a really good beginners area with mainly buttons, but she probably won't get past this area. Les Saisies has a good number of buttons from resort level.
It seems to be that the smaller and more French the resort the more likely it is that they won't have upgraded the buttons to chairs or bubbles as yet.
Hope that helps.
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Baqueira in the Spanish Pyrenees is one with the plateau at 1800 having two covered and one covered that avoids having to walk up hill to the restaurant/chair lift. They also have a small one at Beret. Not far away there is also Peyragudes in the French Pyrenees which has one at both of their bases. The Peyresourde side is better as this is where they have built the new base and where directly at the foot of the beginners area you have a good range of bars, restaurants and ski shops.
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