 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hello to Mrs ricfrench. Good to hear you've enjoyed the ladies' mornings and are going for it. I'd advise taking some lessons while you're away too - the real world is a bit different from the confined surroundings of a UK snowcentre and be gentle with yourself if/when it gets a bit hard, especially when your youngster is zooming off at some alarming pace that you don't want to copy - take your time and enjoy it.
I'm a bit older than you & started skiing 3 years ago. To be honest I have not found it easy, but I am finding it such fun and love the atmosphere and scenery that slow progress really doesn't matter. What has held me back really is fear of injury - I fell over in a churchyard some years ago and have long term damage to the ankle that I mangled in the process & the memories of that keep intruding. Also my husband & grown up kids don't ski, so I don't have them egging me one. What has really helped is that I started organising a trip for others like me who are a bit cautious and need gentle paced lessons that build or repair confidence - it also gives me ski-buddies to share it with & I know now I am not alone in finding it a challenge. Last year's was the first trip - as well as people of all ability taking the lessons, quite a few friends/family came too and we had a very supportive and encouraging atmosphere all round. We're off again in March and there are people already asking about 2011!
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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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Mrs ricfranch, on any run, you must be sufficiently far behind Mr ricfrench to flatter his ego and sufficiently close not to waste his time.
Mr laundryman.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I too had my first taste of skiing on a dry slope before the holiday and hated it with a passion. I didn’t even want to go on the ski holiday I had booked.
Anyway I did go on the ski holiday and I too went to Arinsal. I had a completely different experience in Arinsal. The mountain was gentle enough to learn on and the ski school were excellent. They split the group after the first couple of days and the pace was just right for me. They pushed me to where I should have been pushed as I am naturally quite cautious and would worry that I was doing it right. There was enough encouragement and good tuition.
I also think it is good to remember that for a lot of people skiing is about taking in the air, having a lovely lunch and a drink and just enjoying being outdoors so it’s good not get too hung up on being able to keep up with people and enjoy yourself.
Finding the right ski buddies is also key I think to enjoying your holiday. I went with friends the first time and even though we had been split up in our groups it was still fun having an après drink, a chat and a laugh about what we had learned that day.
Personally I want to ski with people who will push me slightly out of my comfort zone but respect that if I decide I have had enough for the day not give me a hard time.
I learned in Arinsal 10 years ago - blimey 10 years! Time sure flies!
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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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laundryman, 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Private lessons.
Expensive but look at it as a long-term investment.
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| jibber wrote: |
| I too had my first taste of skiing on a dry slope before the holiday and hated it with a passion. I didn’t even want to go on the ski holiday I had booked |
Snap! Also, like you, I enjoyed group lessons too. I once met someone who had booked private lessons as a beginner and just gave up. It was far too intense and left her feeling that she was the worst skier in the world as she only had the instructor to compare herself with. Private lessons are better for people who are on the intermediate plateau. Anyway, take no notice of Mike Pow. He is a bloke, so what does he know  .
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| jibber wrote: |
I too had my first taste of skiing on a dry slope before the holiday and hated it with a passion. I didn’t even want to go on the ski holiday I had booked.
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Snap me too  We had family group lesson on local dry slope a couple of weeks before we went. I really didn't enjoy that at all, especially when instructor held my skis from in front.
I went back to the dry slope after the trip and went weekly for a few months - that was very helpful for increasing confidence and technique.
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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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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Advice for wife:-
Take it at your own pace
I'd take lessons, but if you find them too intesive only ski a bit in the afternoon or not at all
Find a pool for after skiing,as its just nice to have a gentle swim
Stop and have as many hot chocs / gluweins as you need.
Remember it is a holiday so enjoy the views (mountains and instructors if lucky!)
Advice for husband
Do not try and take wife down any run she has not already done with an instructor or she doesn't want to do
Do not look exasperated or bored (this does nothing to boost ones self confidence!)
Try and be as positive as possible but without teaching
If you mange to make the first holiday positive, she will be hooked. What has worked marvelously well for me is going in a large group, so that Husband can ski like a loon, and I have some wonderful ski ladies who enjoy a couple of blue runs followed by some admiring the views and a gluwein. We all meet up for lunch and then go our seperate ways for the afternoon again.
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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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Personally, I wouldn't suggest Andorra as the first place you take her. We found the skiiers and boarders there to be incredibly inconsiderate, not giving people the space they needed (and we're comfortable intermediates who are used to busy pistes) and in some cases coming very close to causing crashes as they careered out of control past obviously beginner groups.
I'd also say that the standard of accommodation is pretty awful by comparison to anywhere I've been in France, Italy, Austria and Switzerland. So not ideal if you want to show her how good skiing can be. Plus there is a shortage of chalet accommodation in Andorra, I'd say that is a good way to get her to feel included in the world of skiing and potentially have some other beginners around doing lessons in the same accommodation.
Best of luck with it. Once she gets out on the mountain she'll see what we're all crazy about.
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Thanks everyone that helped her 
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You know it makes sense.
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I'd agree with what fizz says. Especially about not taking her on any runs she hasn't done with an instructor. I've never been to Andorra but never fancied it, either. Why not some nice pretty small village somewhere? Group or private? Things to be said for either, but absolutely nothing to be said for going without lessons - that could be a fair disaster. Ideally, maybe somewhere you can get small group lessons with specialist ski school, rather than risk being in a group of 12. Maximum 6. One problem with Austria is that ski school seems to be generally all day, which is almost certainly a bad idea. Half a day is more than enough, and probably best only do a small bit after.
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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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Good luck to you and Mrs ricfrench & hope you have a wonderful holiday. But I'd echo some of the others and personally go to a pretty little Austrian village with a nice hotel and swimming pool 
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Poster: A snowHead
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pam w, There is now way on this planet i'd be able to get her to do something she doesn't want to, I do have enough experience of her to know when to stop.
I don't believe I just said that .
The Andorra thing, TBH is more function than anything else, somewhere cheap to get her started on gentle piste's, believe me i'd much rather be in the French alps some where, she does have an auntie just outside Zurich so we've been to Switzerland many times, and I love the place, but never to ski.
She is off to Hemel again on the 24th and I am hoping she can get passed the level she is on, this would make her recreational standard and give her a big confidence boost.
She is booked on group lessons in Andorra as she is a firm believer in learning to do new things properly. We are staying 4* half board(she still has standards) in a hotel that has fantastic reviews for food and accom. so that should be fine..
My hoping is that the Andorran skiing is so easy that next year I'll be booking somewhere v.nice in France/Austria.
Anyway it's been at least 20 years since my last trip, so I am just so desperate to get up a mountain that as long as it's white and goes downhill i don't really care where it is.
Thanks for the input, I'll drop in an update afterwards.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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ricfrench, Sounds like you've made a decision already....but I'll put in my two pennyworths anyway! I learnt to ski in Andorra, and loved it, but in Soldeu not Arinsal. We took beginners to Arinsal and they hated it and found the nursery slope intimidating, it may have changed but I'd recommend Soldeu over Arinsal for the less confident. Also, there's a fantastic swimming pool down in Canillo which is a free 5 minute bus ride down the hill from Soldeu, I used to come down the mountain early, buy a magnum to slurp on the bus and then spend the afternoons wallowing there while Mr HH carried on skiing. Highly recommended for Mrs ricfrench...that way we both enjoyed the day and so could 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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UPDATE
Got her
Hook
Line
Sinker
We went to Arinsal, on the first day we had knee deep fresh powder which was fantastic for me but a little hard going for mrs ricfrench. After that the bashers had been out overnight and the pistes were in fantastic condition. Her progress was very noticeable and very fast, by the end of day three I could see the hook was in and it was only a matter of time before she would be fully reeled in. The end of day four we had to drag her off the mountain, kicking and screaming, we must have had 3 we'll just do that 6 man lift again's, before she finally realized that we were about to be kicked off the mountain anyway.
As for Arinsal, you are right it's not going to compare with pretty little Swiss/Austrian villages, and to be honest that is not the reason we went, the reason we went was for skiing/boarding that was not too difficult for begginers and low intermediates(one being 6). What we got was a fantastic week, with fantastic instructors, skiing and boarding on perfect terrain for our abilities. Now that we have that first, easy one out of the way we can move on to pastures new, Mrs ricfrench has already expressed an interest in Austria and has been asking to find out about good places to go to next year
Thats another two coverts in the ski bag.
p.s any boarders have any tips on how to avoid catching you toe edge, on two consecutive days our instructor thought it would be fun for us to ride a red run switch, first day, dug in toe edge landed on my right shoulder, second day, the same thing but on the left. That night was spent drinking pints through a straw as my arms wouldn't move and are still stiff now. Still loved every minute of it though. No pain no gain and all the Ballwocks 
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FAQ
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. She got herself together and has done some ladies mornings at Mt. Hemel and is really enjoying it 
