 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Our son has come home with form for 2010 school trip to New Hampshire - no further details at this stage. We have only ever skied Europe and would have considered it (maybe!) if it had beeen the Rockies, just for the experience for him, although a part time job/paper round would have been suggested. As it is the East Coast I wonder what you lot think?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
ruthie, is that all in?
|
|
|
|
|
|
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, flight from Dublin, transfer, half board accommodation, ski hire and 4 hours of lessons a day. The trip is over the first week of Easter
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
school trips are a rip off.... take im for two weeks for that money !
there are two many injuries and more attention is skipping in and out of the girls dorms and sneaking beers than the actual skiing (... not my experience of course  )
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
When I was a boy our school trips were to places like Swansea.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Libertine, Yea thats what my immediate reaction was. As for the last two years we have squeezed in two self catering trips for the family at around £300 each.
Seems to me the teachers just want a nice all expenses trip to USA and haven't taken into consideration the "current financial climate" Surely a cheaper option could have been found.
Anyway I know nothing about the ski resorts in NH and what the conditions might be like at Easter there.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Libertine, all-in price for:
- all travel costs
- half board accommodation
- lift pass
- equipment hire
- 4 hours lessons daily
- insurance
- 24 hour child care
- full evening entertainment programme
- the opportunity to skip in and out of the girls' rooms and sneak beers
Sound like a bargain to me.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Quote: |
Seems to me the teachers just want a nice all expenses trip to USA
|
Have you ever tried being responsible for 60 of other people's libidinous alcoholic teenagers? Would you like to volunteer to spend your valuable holiday time doing so?
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
ruthie, Yes I paid it about three years ago. I thought it was a rip off but I paid it in the end. But I did get the insurance money off because I buy annual insurance for me and the family.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Hampshire at Easter? Unlikely to be great conditions seems a strange place to go. I would say no.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Lizzard, I agree I would not want the responsibility of such a trip but nobody's forcing the teachers to go so there must be some compensations. My original question was regarding New Hampshire and would it be worth paying this amount to go there as I know nothing about it. He is used racing around large ski areas without pausing for breath and wonder how large the resorts there are?
clive5, Hadn't thought of that - we have our own annual insurance too so I could deduct that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| ruthie wrote: |
Seems to me the teachers just want a nice all expenses trip to USA and haven't taken into consideration the "current financial climate" Surely a cheaper option could have been found. |
I know a number of schools that go the US as it is far harder for 14 yr olds to access alcohol there than in europe. Trust me, I would not (and don't know too may others who would) choose the destination on where I wanted "a nice all expenses trip to". That's why companies do preview trips.....you go somewhere nice, and then take your group elsewhere!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ruthie, I had murders getting that deducted but stick with it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Elizabeth B, Right ok, hadn't thought of it. Maybe that explains why they have gone there the last two years.
Still be interested if someone knows if it would be worth going to New Hampshire.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
[quote="Libertine"]
| Quote: |
Basically, what I am saying is that he's not going to get much out of it (maybe except losing he's virginity) for £1k. . |
Too much information!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
casnbs, You think it would be icy?
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
| Lizzard wrote: |
| Quote: |
Seems to me the teachers just want a nice all expenses trip to USA
|
Have you ever tried being responsible for 60 of other people's libidinous alcoholic teenagers? Would you like to volunteer to spend your valuable holiday time doing so? |
much easier than a proper job i'm sure, all the holidays probably help an' all
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
My daughter went to Okemo, Vermont a few years ago for £800. Seemed to be about the same price when they went to Italy. If asked if there is somewhere she wants to go back to Okemo always crops up. They went just before Christmas.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
| ruthie wrote: |
| Our son has come home with form for 2010 school trip to New Hampshire - no further details at this stage. We have only ever skied Europe and would have considered it (maybe!) if it had beeen the Rockies, just for the experience for him, although a part time job/paper round would have been suggested. As it is the East Coast I wonder what you lot think? |
Do it.
The price feels about right.
The benefits of seeing the wider world will outweigh the cost.
He will thank you forever.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
send him out to work during his holidays woman, like the rest of us had to do!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ruthie, send him, he'll love you forever. School ski trips are the best holidays there are, and you only get a couple of chances in your life!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ruthie, If he hasn't skied much and wants to be with his mates - an absolute yes.
If he is a good skier who wants to be challenged - no way. I have skied East, West and Rockies - and had fun - but you do not cross the Atlantic to ski the East. He might get lucky but this is a poor choice by the school IMO. And actually maybe not that cheap.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
ruthie, personally, for £1k Iwouldn't do it with my kids on a 'bang for buck' basis. However, I would put a proposal to them. Earn £500 through odd jobs etc and I would stump up the balance. That would show how keen they really are to go. Of course, it would be difficult for them to earn that sort of money doing paper rounds, cleaning cars, clearing gardens etc etc and they would fall short - but I would reward the effort put in. I reckon kids get more out of anything if they have really sweated for it. If they're too lazy to do it, well, then no biscuit... 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tatty, yup, well said. you pay £500 max, if he gets the rest, he goes. Great lesson for all cause, 1) thats what you would normally spend on him "all in" max, and 2) he saved his back bottom off for a trip he probably would have prefered with you and his mate(s)..... but he had to pay for!!
may stop the later Ibeza hols !
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
ruthie, are you sure the teachers get is free, or do they get it discounted? Consider they'll be working 24 hours a day (the children will be in the care) it's not as good a deal as the usual "education system knocking" parent or individual would undoubtedly imagine. As you're already considering the teachers will be in it for what they can get, take him somewhere else yourself - you won't get over it otherwise.
Of course, given the choice of a time away with my parents or with my mates, I'd be figuring out how to get my hands on some booze and some boobs in New Hampshire.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
Tatty, Yes we did similar thing with his brother, he had a paper round to pay part of the cost but that was to Chatel and also 9 years ago! However he definitely appreciated the holiday more knowing he'd earned it.
stoatsbrother, He's a good skier been sking 10 years now and loves the black runs and that was part of my concern about the New Hampshire slopes, I think he would have loved the Rockies. However the social side might compensate 
Interesting that most of you think the price is ok for what we would be getting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Quote: |
He's a good skier been sking 10 years now and loves the black runs and that was part of my concern about the New Hampshire slopes, I think he would have loved the Rockies. However the social side might compensate
|
Well thats it then..... he can pay for the lot... he's not going t learn a darn thing.......... skiing that is.
The social stuff - sex - drugs - drink - bit more drink - even more drugs - bit of a milf teacher..... deserves his own hard graft... let him pay the lot. It will come free later on anyway !
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
| Quote: |
He is used racing around large ski areas without pausing for breath
|
ruthie, I think the price is OK (though it's a lot, especially if you have several kids) but a child who is used to tearing round without much restriction might chafe at being supervised/restricted. My son in law, a PE teacher, does school ski trips - he's doing one at half term (to Flaine) and he enjoys them, especially the early ones, when he learnt to ski alongside his kids, but it's extremely hard work and their school have a policy of selecting kids who haven't had a chance to ski before. Partly because it's more equitable, partly because supervising the kids who reckon it's their basic human right to tear around black runs and off piste on their own is pretty impossible.
But strongly agree there should be no question of paying for a school trip for any child who is not sufficiently motivated to get out and earn some money to contribute to the cost. They need to make an effort.
I think the kind of teachers who organise those sort of trips do enjoy it, in great part because the kids can get a lot out of it, and it's good way of getting to know the them. They're often the same teachers who give up time to after school activities (organising sports leagues etc). But to suggest it's some kind of luxury "freebie" is just ridiculous.
The east coast of the US does seem an odd choice, though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
pam w, if you want to sit on the fence: you cant...... yoyu are already there !!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
As a teacher who runs a trip every year i just can not see why a school would want to go to the USA for a trip when you can ski in Europe for half the price and the skiing is almost always better. Perhaps if it was Colorado, mammoth or whistler but New Hampshire has very ordinary resorts (usually long bus drive to the slopes) and the conditions will not be the best in Easter. Personally i think its poor choice by the school for a trip
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
I was very lucky in that I went skiing with the school almost every year. The cost of the trip was very little as school trips were part-funded by school fees. There's no way my grandparents would have been able to take me skiing themselves so I wouldn't have become a  otherwise...
I have fond memories of school trips. They were always to France or Italy and staying in basic boarding houses often quite a walk from the slopes, but we had a whale of a time...
It sounds expensive, but probably isn't for what it is and your son will have a fantastic time if you can afford it...
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
On pure skiing grounds.. no.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
for the skiing no, I went to killington and it really wasn't too impressive - but if it's the trip on offer I might agree anyway, school ski trips are a great experience. Offer to be more involved in the selection next year? 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
I live in the northeast US. Here's my take about New Hampshire skiing-wise:
1) Price is at worst reasonable, at best a bargain, for a hop over the pond, depending on which resort they actually skiing and the quality of the lodging.
2) Hills are small and not all that challenging compare to the Alps.
3) Condition around Easter will be very iffy. Some years there may only be 50% terrain still skiable.
4) New Hampshire is where most Bostonians go for weekend trips. End of story. Why would anyone want to fly 6 hours to ski NH is beyond me. 
I'm going to go out on a limp to offer some positives relative to the continent:
1) Ski school is probably better since English is the instructors first language.
2) Difficult for teenagers to find alcohol.
There isn't much of a "worldly view" to be had in New Hampshire. It's very, very sleepy for the most part.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Yes to school trip
No to NH. Pinnacle for example offer the same package to Snowbasin and Powder Mountain in Utah.
Put a bug in the school's ear to do some research.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Hampshire resorts may well be a sensible choice for a group of children, the majority of whom will be beginners. I think there are a number of resorts in the area who push their "family friendly" credentials as their main selling point, so maybe not such a weird choice of destination. So if the skiing is important to your son then I don't think it's a great idea, but if it's being away with his mates then it sounds great (although there might be cheaper non-skiing options for that?).
You don't have to travel quite so far to get instruction in native English
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes vote from me. A school trip with his friends will be one he will remember for the rest of his life.
We have paid for our 12 year old to go on a school ski trip to Courmayeur in April this year costing £700. Also he is going on next years trip to Tremblant which is just over £1000, so the price sounds like the going rate.
If you take into account lift pass, food, ski hire and activities every night they will get value for money.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
Odd choice of venue; if they're going to go that far, wht not go a bit further and head for the Rockies. My son is disappointed because now he can go on the senior ski trip, he was hoping for N.America, as that's where the trip has been for the last few years. They're off to Cervinia instead, Valtournenche actually, OK I'm sure, but not Jackson Hole.
If you can afford it, I'd let the lad go. My kids, and my son in particular, enjoys school trips of any sort. The chance to behave like an back bottom, with your mates, 24/7, is not be missed, and providing that the teachers let them off the leash a bit (they seem reasonably relaxed at his school), it's a good opportunity for him to get a bit more independence.
School trips of all sorts seem pricey to me. Our kids' ski trips have not been particularly good vfm, and a possible diving trip in the summer will cost about 50% more than the identical hol would cost privately. I appreciate that someone has to pay the teachers' costs, but even so...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| paulio wrote: |
| When I was a boy our school trips were to places like Swansea. |
and your point is 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
