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Hello and help!

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi there,
We are new to the forum and indeed the world of snow sports so currently groping in the dark and hoping I have posted this in the right section! Also apologies in advance for my complete lack of knowledge Very Happy

By we I mean me, my husband and our 7 year old son. Son and I have finally convinced the non adventurous one of the family to go on a ski holiday but now things have ground to a halt (so amazed that he had finally agreed we then found out that we had nothing up our sleeves to work on!) So this is the state of affairs at the moment and any help would be GREATLY appreciated:
1. We do not know where to go but are experienced drivers on the continent and would ideally take the tunnel and our own car rather than fly. We both drive and regularly holiday in the South of France so (apart from the snow) are well aware of what such a long journey would entail with regards to fuel, tiredness, bored kids etc. Any suggestions would be great (We are currently planning on January/ February 2013 and have some leeway to holiday in term time)

2. We are also fairly independant and incredibly tight, by which I mean we take our own food and drink, troll round for the cheapest crossings and accommodation etc. This allows us to holiday two or three times a year and I am prepared to put in the legwork to make this happen. SO, what is the best (and cheapest!) option for us. We prefer to self cater, actively dislike hotels and, to date, have never been on a package holiday though if it would be better as first timers then we would be prepared to give it a go.

3. Son and I have never skiied, husband flatly refuses but is content to sit in a bar and "watch us get cold and wet while staying warm and dry with a nice drink" Should we take dry slope lessons first (I have been advised that they are totally different and we would probably be better to turn up as complete virgins) and on arrival can we learn together or would we need seperate lessons? Son is very keen on the idea of snow sports but in similar situations tends to balk at the last minute when in a kids group and then hover around at the back looking anxious.

4. I intend to lurk around e-Bay and pick up the essentials second hand (apart from the thermals-yuck!) but what do we need as the bare essentials until we find out if we like it? (as husband is a non participant we will likely only ever get to ski a maximum of once a year so we would be real part-timers)

5. Also (and again I apologise for my woeful ignorance) I have always fancied snowboarding and son thinks it looks "cool" so full steam ahead there. As complete beginners could we simply learn to snowboard first and completely miss out on skiing or should we learn to ski first?

Sorry for the long post and if some of the answers are hidden in this site somewhere then please point me in that direction.

Many excited thanks in advance!

TopBannana and the young Bannana Very Happy
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Well done, and welcome to snowheads. You won't regret it I'm sure!

1 & 2 I'll leave to others.

3: definitely take lessons first. You will enjoy your holiday so much more if you can actually do it a bit when you arrive, rather than spending the week confined to the nursery slopes. Dry slopes are a bit different, but you'll find skiing on snow easier than skiing on a dry slope, so they are good places to learn and refine technique. You have a year till your holiday, so could by then be pretty competent skiers.

4: The essentials vary from person to person, but I would say, sunglasses or goggles, hat or helmet, suncream, decent jacket (doesn't have to be a ski-specific jacket), a pair of waterproof and probably thermal trousers, warm gloves or mittens (preferably waterproof for a beginner), long socks, lots of layers of other clothing so you can add and remove to suit the climate. You'll find that it is often a lot warmer skiing than you would expect, but can also be very cold. Aldi, Lidl etc. often have ranges of cheap but reasonable quality gear for skiing.

5. Snowboarding without skiing is certainly possible, just as you can ski without first learning to snowboard. They are different rather than one being better than the other (despite what everyone says).
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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?
kieranm wrote:


5. Snowboarding without skiing is certainly possible, just as you can ski without first learning to snowboard. They are different rather than one being better than the other (despite what everyone says).


Welcome to Snowheads.

I'm not a snowboarder so I may need to be corrected, but I understand that ski/snowboard schools can be reluctant to teach younger children to snowboard. Not 100% sure why, think it might be a strength issue. Might be ok with 7 (or will they be 8 by then), worth checking before getting the young ones hopes up.
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TopBannana, you sound like the sort of person to make it happen. So here are my tips:

Choose when you want to go. February and early March can be very crowded, but late March and April can be very good. However after the end of March I would suggest heading high. January can be very quiet and relatively inexpensive
For help in choosing where to go have a look at the where to ski and snow board book or web site. Take your time doing this; planning is part of the holiday process
Smaller resorts have cheaper lift passes, but they are never very cheap. (we paid over £1000 for the 3 of us over Christmas/New Year)
Once you have a short list of resorts visit the various resort web sites and research apartments for rent. These may not become available until September
Once you have somewhere to stay book your crossing. When our son was young we found it best to drive overnight.
Good luck searching for equipment. Try and get little banana the best gloves you can and possibly a spare pair. Later in the season thermals are not necessary, but high factor sun cream is.

As to dry slope lessons I would recommend them for skiing but have reservations for boarding. Many do learn to ski in a day type courses

You do not have to learn to ski before learning to board and many people appear to take to boarding faster than skiing. (as an aside, the number of boarders we see in French resorts appears to be dropping and it would be nice to see some new ones starting). Check if the resort is offering combined lessons, lift pass and equipment hire. They do sometimes and this could be a significant saving.

You will need lessons in the resort and it is unlikely that children and adults will be taught together. You and young banana will have mornings or afternoons to ski/board together and then have plenty to talk about in the evening. The wimp should feel suitably left out.

A final warning skiing is very addictive you may find yourself hooked and going not just once a year, but twice and start thinking how you can manage a third week or more.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
5: Never skied in my life, but been snowboarding since '99 and it never did me any harm *twitch* And you should have no problem getting your son into classes for boarding as a 7 year old. Below 6, some get a bit funny, but 6 and over, fine.

4: if you've got a Lidl near you, theres a winter kit sale starting on Monday. Thermals and kids ski wear, helmets gloves etc, and it's all good enough. And TKMaxx a good source of cheap jackets and pants.
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
You may find they will not teach kids under 10 on a mountain, 7-8 years old in a fridge to snowboard. Skiing is the new snowboarding anyway.
If you are anywhere near an indoor slope I would recommend getting the basics done there, it gets very expensive to learn how to snowplough on a mountain, then when you get to your chosen hill you'll find you will progress much faster.
As posted before Aldi, Lidl for base layers when they have the offers on.
If you can wait till spring then trawl eBay for all the gear people aren't trying to sell off, usually you can get quite new, good stuff for not much(as its the wrong time of year to sell your stuff).
I am the proud owner of an 8 year old, this year will be his 3rd time up a mountain and he loves it, always has. He is an only child he goes off to his lessons, first day is always a little difficult but it's not long before they are all friends and having a great time. It seems to be one of those strange type of holidays where it's so easy to make friends(kids and adults).
Unless you do private lessons you will be separated, kids in one adults in the other for your lessons.
Welcome to a whole new life, if you like it beware, it will cost you!!!!
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Lots of good advice already, and I hope you all enjoy snowboarding. One thing I would say, is that your husband is wrong about "cold and wet". There is no reason to get cold and if you get wet in January or February you have been very unlucky. Snow in the mountains is nothing like the wet horrible stuff we get in this country. You will have twice the fun together as a family. I think you need to do some work on your husband. His ill-founded excuses are just his way of avoiding subjecting himself to something that looks difficult and he might make a fool of himslef doing. How do I know? That was me too, 15 years ago when we started!
snowHead
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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!
In my experience of taking 6 beginners to the Alps last week, the ones who had been to the snowdome/dry slope picked it up much better. One did a day taster session and ended up in the top beginners group (there were 3 groups of beginners), and the other came to Chill Factore with me 3 times before going and was put in the level above beginner, Maitrisse or whatever it's called. (yes I know you aren't meant to take beginners on the main slope - but he used to do dryslope with me when we were younger and he picked it up very quickly in any case). The other 4 beginners did measurably less well.

With regards to equipment, definitely don't skimp and not buy goggles. One of our group did that and was fine while it was sunny, but as soon as the light got a bit flat he was screwed.

Also, your husband's being a pansy Madeye-Smiley
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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.
TopBannana, welcome to snowheads and the potentially addictive world of snowsports.

Given everything you say, I'd be inclined to DIY your holiday and absolutely definitely go in term time if you can. End January might be ideal.

France has an infinite variety of self catering accommodation to rent, as you probably know already. For beginners, location is essential, as walking in ski boots is no fun.

You can decide either to ski or snowboard - the latter is definitely a more painful learning curve as you cannot learn to board without falling over (somebody here did claim you could, but most people fall a lot).

You could learn together if you took private lessons though the learning styles of adults and small kids are very different and that might only work well for the first stages. But for your first week ever, that should be fine. Private lessons are more expensive, though in smaller resorts they can be good value.

Lift passes, too, will be cheaper in smaller resorts, but never cheap. In Les Saisies (an ideal resort for beginners who want private lessons, but not for groups, as the vast majority of the customers are francophone) a 6 day pass this year costs 156 euros and gives you access to far more skiing than you'll manage in a week. A 2 hour private lesson for two, outside the school hols, costs 62 euros (same price for 3, if you could persuade the Boring One to have a go).

A nice, 2 bedroom apartment shouldn't set you back more than 400 euros for the week, in January.

Given that you are experienced drivers in France, the only extra thing you'd need is to learn to use snowchains, if necessary. You don't sound like the sort of person who'd have any trouble with that.

Yes, ideally, I'd agree it's great to have lessons before you go. Preferably on artificial snow, rather than a dry slope (dry slopes are specially painful for boarding beginners). BUT they are quite expensive so if your budget is tight, you might just prefer to start as virgins on the snow. Loads of people do.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
If you decide on snowboarding make sure you get some decent wrist guards - my right one is permanently knackered from years of snowboarding without!
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
My choice for a first time would be Austria. Lots of very beautiful villages and mountains and generally very friendly. Taking your points:
1) Currently 2 metres of snow here and more on the way, so driving on the continent in these conditions is unlike anything you will have encountered on trips to the South of France. Better to fly and then take a transfer taxi or shuttle. E.g. from Salzburg (served by BA/Easyjet/Jet2/Ryanair/Thos Cook and others) there are shuttles to all the major resorts in Salzburgerland. You won’t need a car in resort.
2) Package holidays are not all bad and are a sensible choice for first timers. If you are keen on France, then somewhere like La Rosiere with Ski Olympic would be my recommendation. Otherwise try Saalbach, Zell am See, Elmau/Scheffau/Westendorf, Maria Alm in Austria. You should be able to self-cater in an apartment (use Google, Holiday Rentals or the local tourist offices to find accommodation). Supermarkets in Austria do not generally charge ‘resort’ prices as they are usually linked to national chains, so food and drink won’t cost the earth. If the weather is good, you can reduce the costs of eating on the mountain by taking a sandwich and drink – available for a couple of Euro from any supermarket or baker.
3) Dry slope or indoor snow facility (called a ‘Fridge’ on this forum) are good for learning on – you also get a chance to try the skiing/boarding out before you commit to the holiday. Regarding lessons in resort, send mini-bannana to ski school where he can meet other kids. You can choose a group lesson for sociability or maybe one-to-ones with a hunky, bronzed ski instructor. Cool Whichever you choose, said instructor is contractually obliged to flirt with you and attempt to adjust your hip position at least once during the week. Bannana Jr will probably be whizzing around the mountain with his new mates within a day or two and will think that skiing slowly with Mum is sooo boring, so I’d suggest group lessons for 4 days and then 2 days skiing together at the end of the week.
4) Lidl and Aldi for thermals and things such as helmets, goggles, spare gloves, ski socks (proper ones – no snowmen or tubesocks). TK Maxx and ebay (and friends) for jackets and trousers, at least for the first trip. Hire skis and boots in resort.
5) Some people ski, some snowboard. You don’t need to learn one in order to do the other. If you have the time and money, you could give both a try indoors/dryslope in the UK. Both are cool.


Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Fri 27-01-12 12:08; edited 2 times in total
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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.
Chris Bish, +1. Something has gone wrong if you get cold and wet. I wouldn't discount a package either, as there are some real bargains to be had. Do some research and get a shortlist of resorts, then hunt for a bargain. Massive mistake if your husband doesn't get involved and should do so before deciding it's not for him. There is a fairly good chance it could change his life. Good luck and keep asking..........
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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
Hi and welcome, some great advice on here, my 2 cents for what its worth; Whether you decide to go independent or with Neilson/crystal etc I would go grab their brochures, you get a wealth of useful info such as pricepoints for hot choc, pizza, lift passes etc, info on what non skiing activities are available for non skiers, proximity of supermarkets, range of pistes, as a beginner you will want a good percentage of green and blue runs for example, at this stage in your skiing amount of skiable terrain is less important as you will be spending a lot of time practising drills and doing this on the same few slopes is good as it cuts the fear of the unknown until you get a little confidence in your ability to stop and change direction when you want to or need to but if the resort has a high percentage of red/black runs and a small area to boot then I would disregard it as you will want some variety.
Its worth checking internet price against brochure price as you can find a lot of 2 for 1 deals on tuition, passes, rental and some of the complete beginner packages are hard to beat when your not familiar with what your asking for. Internet prices are frequently at least 10% cheaper too. Plus, read the smallprint at the back of the book, this is where you find additional discounts if you self drive or get the train etc, sometimes you have to do this via the phone as flight costs/discounts vary with school holidays etc.
I'm sure whatever and wherever you choose you will have a great time and get bitten by the bug and also am sure hubby will be jealous when he sees the fun you guys have! Very Happy
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Welcome TopBanana, I started skiing almost 30 years ago and started out on a dry slope to get the basics but I would recommend a couple of trips to the Fridge as they were not around in my day and will give a much better feel for skiing. Kit wise you can make do with warm weather proof gear but you can pick up stuff cheapily online from places like Field & Trek or Sports Direct. My advice would be to actually look and feel the cloth first rather than buy online straight a way - oh and wait until end of season ski sales. Some sports shops will hire gear out which may be a better option, especially for your son.

Places to go - well I have done Austria and agree very lovely but it is a fair drive and as some of the villages are relatively low you might not get great snow.

I am about to go to Avoriaz in the French ALps in a region called the Portes Du Soleil, its about an hour out of Geneva so is probably one of the closest high mountain resorts you can go to once coming out of the Tunnel. Accomodation is primarily small apartments so ideal if you are into self catering and can be cheap. If you get into some of the threads on here you might actually pick up on someone wanting to rent.

As someone has said January is usually quiet and offers the best value for money, best to aim for high resorts though if going early or late in the season although this year it does not seem to make a difference as there is an abundance of snow everywhere in the northern Alps.

Final tip, do a search on YouTube for other peoples video clips of some of these resorts. If you put in "Avoriaz skiing" for example you get loads of stuff and can filter it down to the most recent to get up to date views.

The biggest problem is choice, there is so much. Final tip is to consider booking early. I did with skiDirect and 4 of us got an apartment for £1200 including flights and transfers. Could have got it cheaper if we booked a month earlier.

Hope this helps
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Quote:

If you decide on snowboarding make sure you get some decent wrist guards - my right one is permanently knackered from years of snowboarding without!


Almost as big a can of worms as the helmet issue!! If you decide you want wrist guards make sure you do your research - inline skate ones are NOT suitable as they are designed for a totaly different kind of impact.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Something I've just thought of which may be interesting as you're beginners and you like to keep the budget tight. Package holidays to Andorra..... In my searches this year I found quite a few free child places, add this to free child lift passes (which the Andorran resorts offer) and you could get yourself a really cheap holiday. Granted you wouldn't be getting your DIY holiday or driving, but I think you'd struggle to find any DIY holiday as low priced as this.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Crumbs, I hope you manage to make sense of all this advice!
Anyway here's some more.
Austria is cheap (ish) if you self cater. Go on the local tourist office website and get apartment addresses and contact them direct.
Consider some of the german resorts too, oberjoch/nesslewang are cheap and perfectly suited for total beginners.
Wrist guards, yes yes yes, but as said above get snowboard specific ones. Snowboarding hurts, particularly the pride in the first few days, expect tears from both of you, fight through it and a whole new world will open up to you.
Finally, welcome to snowheads and hope it goes well. Once you've tried it set up a post to let us all know how it went.
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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?
Intersting read about wreist guards although they are also linking through to sell you some. They are pretty pro-wrist guards although I still don't wear any.
http://www.ski-injury.com/prevention/wrist_guards
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Hi again,
How very rude of me not to reply after all your really helpful posts, I'm really sorry Madeye-Smiley

Well on the back of the avalanche of info you gave me we have decided on the following...... firstly me and young Bannana are off to the dry slope in the next couple of weeks, just in case he absolutely hates it. I have a small forests worth of brochures here that I actually caught husband looking through last night- he has now conceded that he may try a session on the dry slope and make a decision on the basis of that experience Very Happy

I have provisionally pencilled in this time of year 2013 and we are almost decided on France (though Andorra was mentioned and I am intending to have a poke through my brochures at that) And all things considered I suspect for our first time we may end up going for a package holiday, unless my further research turns up a massively cheaper option Twisted Evil

So off to the brochures it is then, once again thanks for the welcome and all the info,

TopBannana
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
TopBannana, please remind your husband that skiing on a dry slope is no where near as good skiing on snow in the mountains. Compare it to learning to scuba dive in the local municipal pool to actually diving in the red sea, or walking around the local shopping centre as opposed to walking in the mountains.

Oh and I think you are right in going through a tour operator.
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Even if you don't go to Andorra, look at Crystal and Inghams as operators, they've turned out a surprising number of free kids places at some of their properties this year (Inghams everywhere, Crystal mainly Austria and France). We've already earmarked some for next season. Can make a big difference in cost.


See if there are any indoor slopes near you, I've never skied on a dry slope but I'd imagine it's slightly more authentic actually trying to ski on snow (even if you are indoors!).
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Quote:

Compare it to learning to scuba dive in the local municipal pool to actually diving in the red sea

or even learning to scuba dive in a cold gravel pit with poor vis.
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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!
pam w, Probably a better analogy, but I couldn't even conceive of learning to scuba dive in a gravel pit in Leicestershire - far to far off my limited horizons.
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