 Poster: A snowHead
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I am a beginner looking to take myself and my girlfriend on a skiing holiday for a week.
However I know very little about it. I did a half a day a few years ago and really enjoyed it, but haven't had a chance to go since.
I have to travel out on Sun Feb 19th. I am worried about half term weeks etc and how busy it will be. I'm not sure how much this affects beginners, however don't want to be bumping into people all the time, or waiting for lifts etc
I was looking at a few places in Austria, however noticed that week is the Bayern area half term, so guess it would be really busy?
Also looking at Andorra, however it sounds like it is massively busy, concrete jungle and more of a place to go with mates, rather than a gf.
France could be an option as well, though from what I've read it gets very expensive.
I was looking at packages, however most of them seem to fly out on a saturday. Would it be realistic to organise everything separately?
Any help would be really apprecitated!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I would happily recommend Passo Tonale for beginners. Trip report here, from last year:
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1745569
Nursery slopes are big, wide, and well-maintained, there are some lovely gentle blues to progress onto once you've got beyond the complete beginner stage. I speak from experience since I was learning to telemark at the time, and used the nursery slopes a lot to practice.
My only reservation for absolute beginners: there's not a great deal to do apart from ski (either downhill or cross-country) so if you reckon there's a possibility either of you will get fed-up of skiing, consider somewhere more picturesque and "towny".
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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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Alpe d'Huez
Lots of green runs, all in 1 area
Then on to another area with lots of blues.
Beginner heaven.
But possibly a better question is with whom, and in what language do you want to learn? - There are British ski schools all over the place, the language skills of ESF/ESS etc teachers are not always great. BASS have schools in various resorts and are well-regarded (by me at least)
France isn't necessarily expensive. Switzerland is worse. Andora's cheaper, Bulgaria / Slovenia even more so.
Milton Keynes is another option, no language barrier but the skiing's a bit limited. 
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sainte foy in France is very good for beginners.........free nursery slope lifts and inexpensive lift pass when you do need to get up mountain.
prices a bit cheaper than standard for larger French resorts.
try www.premiere-neige.com or whiteroomchalet.com, venture ski, snowology for catered chalets
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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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Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I will look into these options.
Am I right to be worried about how busy things get, or will that not be as much an issue as a beginner?
English speaking instructors will be required.
Another question - do schools also hire out the equipement, or is that done separately?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
Am I right to be worried about how busy things get, or will that not be as much an issue as a beginner?
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Depends on your temperament really, personally I find it very frustrating when learning something new on the slopes to have to fight off loads of other piste users too. Other people don't seem to be bothered too much by the number of people on the slopes...
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Preferably not France, if you're tied to February.
Travel: look for a TO which does Sunday transfers.
Ski hire: from sports shops in resort or through the TO if you go with one.
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Try Ski Olympic to Courchevel; they do Sunday transfers and Courchevel has good beginner slopes and New Generation ski school who teach in English
I have no connection with either but am a repeat customer
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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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i am in exactly the same position as you. we are planning on a week from 19th feb as well!! i am a very competent skier with 25 weeks behind me but the gf is almost a complete beginner. So, i am going to board with her which i'm not so great at!!
i've been told cervinia in italy is good for beginners as is are in Sweeden. I will avoid France as its the french half term holidays that week i think?
i am very anti Bulgaria and Andorra, i dont trust the snow, lifts and i dont think they're great for beginners?
also, i think soll and niedru are good beginner resorts?
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Go to Courmayeur in Italy.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
Am I right to be worried about how busy things get, or will that not be as much an issue as a beginner?
English speaking instructors will be required.
Another question - do schools also hire out the equipement, or is that done separately?
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If you are in a ski school you will get priority on the lifts, and also most of the daft idiots who ski around a bit out of control tend not to smack into ski school classes and get an earful from the instructors! Yes, it will be busy but if you have no choice (really have no choice.....) then no point worrying about it!
All ski schools will tell you they have instructors who speak English. BUT - not all speak it v well.
It's easy to hire equipment, there are plenty of hire places, but at that time they will tend to be very busy and it could be a bit of a scrum. If you travel with a TO who does Sunday to Sunday travel it will be better, as many people will arrive on Saturday.
I'd recommend you find a TO who does "learn to ski weeks" - they are good value, and will help organise everything for you. It's bewildering and hard work trying to sort it all out for yourself at the beginning.
Ask plenty of questions about EXACTLY where your accommodation is, in relation to the lifts. Walking in ski boots, carrying skis, isn't much fun, especially when you're not used to it.
Also, make sure you know how far it is to the ski school meeting place (or the lift you will use to get to the ski school meeting place). Being five minutes from a lift is no use at all if it's a lift you won't be able to use.
I'd try to avoid having to use ski busses. they can be very busy (and bad tempered) at times, and it's surprisingly difficult to get up the steps into a bus, carrying boots and skis.
If you find a likely looking holiday, post the details here - chances are, there'll be somebody who knows the resort well and will be able to advise.
And actually I wouldn't suggest you go to Courmayeur in Italy.
If you go to Austria, ski school is often all day - which is a very good idea for your first week, as you won't find it very easy to cope on your own in the afternoon for the first few days, even if you are quite fast learners.
If you could possibly find a "beginners lesson" at one of the ski slopes in the Uk before you go, it'd help a lot - just to get a feel for what the equipment feels like, how it works, and how to move about.
Finally, get used to the idea that you will probably have a fantastic time and spend all your money on ski holidays for years and years.  It's very, very, addictive.
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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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Finally, get used to the idea that you will probably have a fantastic time and spend all your money on ski holidays for years and years. It's very, very, addictive.
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Too right 
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Cheers for the advice
Reading some other posts La Thuile in Italy looks quite good. Even though it is Italian half term too, people are reporting it to still be a fairly quiet resort, and good for beginners. Is this a good idea?
Also there are TO's that do a sunday changeover going to La Thuile.
Part of the reason I did want to try and sort things myself is that I work for an airline so get cheap flights, so thought I could save some money on that part of it. However I can see the appeal of someone else sorting the airport transfers, equipment and lessons etc!
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You know it makes sense.
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I would definitely not recommend Courmayeur for beginners.
La Thuile would be good - has plenty of gentle slopes.
Montgenevre is very good for beginners/ski school and I think the large TOs use Sunday flights.
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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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ti65,
You might well find that even with cheap flights, the cost of other aspects of the trip (particularly transfers) and the hassle of arranging it for yourself, outweigh that advantage.
Most resorts have adequate nursery slopes for beginners in their first week. But if you give us an idea of your budget for the holiday, what sort of accommodation you'll be wanting (hotel,catered chalet, rent an apartment) and what sort of "apres ski" activity you'll be looking for, that will help narrow down the choice.
Do you do other sports? Gym? Cycling? Skating? Darts?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Have you considered the UCPA option? Ski hire, lift pass and instruction is included in the price - as are lunches (saving you about £100 in itself over the week). There are usually twin rooms available at both La Plagne and Flaine - both of which will be great for beginners - the nursery slope in La Plagne actually goes under the UCPA centre and is just across the road and sown the steps from Flaine Les Lindars. Beginners get an extra couple of hours of instruction starting from Sunday afternoons too (so you don't have to try to work it out for yourselves and get yourselves into trouble!). Take a look at www.action-outdoors.co.uk for availability and use SP2010 to get a £10 snowheads discount.
Yes, France will be busy, but as beginners, you'll not really notice. There are lots of 'gentile' zones in La Plagne and the nursery slopes in both resorts are pretty decent - wide and long.
Cheap travel options on the saturday - saturday (you'll need to do this for UCPA) will be available that week too - 99 rtrn to Grenoble on Flythomascook (I think I remember seeing) for La Plagne - plus transfers and baggage; or swiss / easyjet to geneva for Flaine or La Plagne (plus transfers) are pretty good value as its the week after UK half term so all the 'traffic' is going the other way. Alternatively the overnight bus from Victoria would be around £130 rtn.
Good luck - and I will put money on you both coming back totally hooked on skiing!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Alpe D'Huez +1
How about Valmorel? Next Valley down from the 3 Valleys, (can see St Martin de Beauville from top) nice compact resort with pretty precinct for restaurants, shops and bars. Good French vibe. Much cheaper than 3-Valleys. As beginners you will not ski it out. Low level made up for by excellent snow conditions this year. Off there next week on boys trip.
Though you may still have the same problems ref. traveling costs and traffic at half term, no doubt I will be sitting in a queue into Meribel with teacher daughter!
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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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There are lots of 'gentile' zones in La Plagne
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 Where you can get ham sandwiches?
yes, UCPA is a very good suggestion if you are on a tight budget - anything else will probably cost a lot more.
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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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If it was me I'd definately head for Cervinia.... so much so I'm actually heading over next week for exactly the same reason as you. Cervinia has great ski schools but go directly to them rather than through a rep... There are 2 main "shops"on the main street and another at the base of the slopes itself. If you head to them around 4pm you normally can meet the available instructors to check out their english...
Ski-schools do finish at lunch time, but I've found this better than the Austrian way (I learnt in Austria, then did some school in Cervinia) as you have a chance to do things together in the Afternoon, rather thank school all day. Thats my plan as I'll ski on my own while sue's in class and then we can meet up at the beginner slope at Plan Maison (1st cable car station)... she can stay on the beginners slope while I do some long reds from the top which finish up at the beginners slope.... worst case take the blue from Plan Maison down to the village where the nursery slope is.
A friend of mine did private lessons on a board (normally a skier) while his girlfriend learned skiing and the 1 instructor did both of them together!!!!! and it worked (even more surprisingly!!!!)
Cervinia is normally quiet (as it only has 1 nite-club so not so popular as an apres ski area) during the week and even during mid-term, but weekends can me busy because of the city (Milano / Torino) folk, even with that expect a max queueing of 20 minutes for the resort gondola at 8:30am.... just before the ski-schools start...
Its a well know intermediate area, and some say its a beginner resort, but most of their blues have sections of steep slopes on them that are very daunting to the first (or even second) time skiier although they have been doing a lot to reshape their pistes over there
Some of the new slopes are great for the intermediate to advanced skiiers and even the new area under the materhorn can be challenging... discovered a mogul field last year that was nearly as challenging as some of St. Anton's.... Although if you want advanced skiing, then the international pass is a must as the Zermatt side of the Materhorn is far more challenging... but the cable-car link can be closed due to winds so I'd buy an Italian pass and top it up only on the days you're sure of the weather.... Ask your hotel for advise on this if you're interested, as they are the best weather forecasters due to the micro-climate... dont believe what you see on the web for forecasts.
I can recommend a hotel and also a company that does paragliding/piste-machine tours/air-boarding if you're looking for info as I find it so much cheaper to do everything myself.... and a 2 1/2 hour drive from Milan is much better than the 4 to 6 hour coach transfer
Best way to describe it is that I go to Cervinia to relax and unwind... I go to St. Anton to have a blast!
Eoin
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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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| ti65 wrote: |
Cheers for the advice
Reading some other posts La Thuile in Italy looks quite good. Even though it is Italian half term too, people are reporting it to still be a fairly quiet resort, and good for beginners. Is this a good idea?
Also there are TO's that do a sunday changeover going to La Thuile.
Part of the reason I did want to try and sort things myself is that I work for an airline so get cheap flights, so thought I could save some money on that part of it. However I can see the appeal of someone else sorting the airport transfers, equipment and lessons etc! |
Go to Pila which is near La Thuile and you can always go there for a day. Speak to Carole at pilaski.co.uk. Smaller resort and very quiet during the week. Wide open teaching area high up so the snow stays good all day, with a gondola to get up there and back. No tricky funneling down the only route back to the village like most resorts.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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La Rosiere with Ski Olympic. Sun-Sun. Small, compact resort. ESF have English-speaking instructors. Ski Olympic do in-house ski rental. Stay at the Planica if possible.
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France could be an option as well, though from what I've read it gets very expensive.
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If you go to a catered chalet in France, take full advantage of the food and drink included in the cost, and steer clear of the big, well-known resorts (which are not a good idea for beginners anyway - they tend to be crowded and can be v expensive) it needn't be. Also not expensive to rent an apartment (there's a huge range, from very cheap and rather nasty, to mind-boggingly expensive and rather beautiful) and cook for yourself. Drinking lots of beer out in bars is expensive so if a key aspect of a ski holiday is doing that, you're best off somewhere else.
Drinking lots of wine in bars/restaurants, on the other hand, can easily be cheaper than doing it in England. Good lunches on the slopes tend to be expensive everywhere. But in less well known French resorts the "plat du jour" and a couple of glasses of the house wine will probably set you back about 15 euros and be very pleasant. On the other hand, if you either go to a Michelin starred restaurant or one of the Brit-traps which sell spag bol at absurd prices, you could spend a lot. 
I think the gear hire, ski lessons and lift pass "package" tends to be broadly comparable across the main Alpine countries.
If you go out of peak season and book at the last minute there are usually good bargains everywhere.
Yep, La Ros with Ski Olympic is another good suggestion. We did that a few times, and used the ski bus but because of the geography (and the fact that we always went dead, dead, low season to save dosh) the bus wasn't a problem. That's not always the case - ski buses can be an unpleasant experience.
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Someone posted earlier they had a downer on Bulgaria, well my wife and I did our early years skiing in Pamporovo, and found it great fun, cheap, and the tuition was better than our experiences in either France (LDA) or Italy (Selva), and at the moment they have phenomenal snow conditions, just did a quick check and half board with ski and boot hire, school all day, and transfers comes in at under £900 for 2!!! and they fly Sundays from Manchester
Double WC Shower
Half Board
Travel Party:
2 adults
Outbound flight:
Depart Manchester 19 Feb 2012, Sun at 13:15
Arrive Sofia 19 Feb 2012, Sun at 18:30
Inbound flight:
Depart Sofia 26 Feb 2012, Sun at 10:45
Arrive Manchester 26 Feb 2012, Sun at 12:15
Holiday Extras
Coach Transfer
Included
6D Learn to Ski Pack
£240
Holiday Price
Total Adult Price:
£652.00
Total Adult Flight Sup:
x2=£58.00
Total Price:
£950.00
Web Discount:
-£53.25
Total Web Price:
£896.75
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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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Lots of good advice, but I don't think Cervinia or Courmayeur are ideal for beginners. My standard recommendation is Alpe d'Huez (+2) as the improver slopes are served by gondola so you don't have to tackle chairs, and are very nicely graduated so you can tackle steeper slopes incrementally rather than in big jumps. Once you do get a bit better then there is plenty to occupy you. Valmorel would probably be OK as well. I would leave putting your own package together until you have a bit more experience and let an operator do all the work and get your lessons and ski hire through them (and they look after you when you are snowed in/miss your connection etc.)
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Think before you book Bulgaria. You get what you pay for. I went once and whilst bits of the experience were OK do not expect the same medical care you would get in Western Europe, should you be unfortunate enough to need it!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Ski Total does Sunday transfers.....but only if you don't mind chalets, which might not be what you have in mind if you are going with gf as you have to eat with other guests.
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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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which might not be what you have in mind if you are going with gf as you have to eat with other guests.
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I suppose if you were really very into each other you could rent a little apartment and cook for yourselves every evening..... but it could get a little lonely.
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In french Pyrenees there is some good beginner resorts, that also is cheaper then the alpes,, to listed some of them,
Font-Romeu
Les Angles
Saint Lary Soulan ( and Saint Lary is also a nice little village )
Gourette
La Pierre Saint Martin
the Pyrenees are not so busy in halfterm, and there is also resorts in the Spanish Pyrenees, but they area little more expensive then the french resorts,,
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You know it makes sense.
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If you have to go in half-term, my tip would be to avoid resorts which attract lots of Brits as they will be mobbed.
How to identify these resorts? Well check out the book 'Where to Ski and Snowboard'. If the resort is featured in the main part of the book, it is probably popular with Brits (unless they specifically say that it isn't).
You can keep flight prices down if you avoid the second weekend of half time, maybe go out Sunday night to Friday.
A DIY trip is fine but it does help to speak a bit of the local language (or at least be familiar with Google translate!) for booking hotels.
The joy of being a beginner is that learning to ski is such a buzz that you don't have to worry too much about all the other stuff that more experienced skiers weigh up (extent of skiing, VD, resort ambience etc).
However, I'm not an expert in this field so I expect the other response above are more useful.
Monsieur Neige
PS Just read a post above. Yes, package deals are particularly handy for beginners for the reasons mentioned (sorting out ski stuff, transfers, and any other hassles)
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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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Thanks for all the advice. I'm working my way through the options people have suggested.
I'm not going during British half term thankfully, however it is during Italian half term/Carnavale. Think I will go for a package type deal, but I'm still weighing up the options as to where to go.
Has anyone stayed in the Planibel apartments or hotel in La Thuile? Seems to get mixed reviews, though you never know what that means! La Thuile is still looking a good option as lots of reviews state how quiet it is.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Also French school holidays, I'm afraid. Very, very, busy week. Is there no way you could delay a few weeks?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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And French hols will mean that there are even more people skiing into La Thuile from La Rosiere 
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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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We went as a group of proper beginners last year. Flew Easy Jet to Lubjiana in Slovenia and stayed in Bovec. From there your ski pass covers three resorts - Kanin in Slovenia and just over the border you can ski in Sella Nevea in Italy. Fantastic nursery slopes and loads of easy beginner slopes. You can also ski in Austria on the same pass (I forget the name of the resort).
All instructors both in Italy and Slovenia had excellent English (BEND ZE KNEES) and were happy to work at different paces for different levels in our group. Me and wife both skied before but the other 5 kids and two adults were complete beginners.
Look it up!
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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 learnt to ski in Passo Tonale which was OK but frustrating to pay for a lift pass (a major expense for a ski holiday) and only ride about 3 different lifts in the resort over the week. The following year I went to La Thuile and hated it so much I swore off ever doing downhill skiing again (fortunately I've changed my mind since).
I would really recommend Finland as a great beginner resort (my sister and boyfriend learnt to ski in Levi and progressed really quickly). Somewhere like Levi is small and compact with a cheap lift pass and lots of lovely easy pistes. Ski school was short (90minute lessons) but effective and good english was spoken by all the instructors I came across. Also Finland is land of the sauna so you get your own private sauna in most accomodation which is ace for easing knackered muscles. The thing I enjoyed best about Finland was the range of other activities like husky sledding, reindeer rides, snowmobiling, snow shoeing, x-country skiing which you can do. It felt much more like a winter holiday rather than just a ski trip. It really rebuilt my confidence after the nightmare of La Thuile.
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FAQ
