 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello,
This is my first post on Snowheads  although I have been trawling through the forums avidly for the last few weeks. We are going to Morzine in Feb half term (i know - madness!) with 6 children. (not all mine - 3 Families  ) After contacting all the ski schools I found via Snowheads, it looks like ESF in our only option as the rest can't accommodate them all. My question is please... our son is 3, he'll be 4 a week after we get back from skiing, I want to put him in Piou Piou with his best buddy who will be 4 already. I want to say he's 4, so they'll be together, will we be asked to prove his age? I was only going to change it by a month  . I wondered if anyone had any experience of it?
Also, ESF seem to be the only ones to do group all day sessions, am I correct? We'd like to put the bigger ones, all 7&8, in all day, barring us meeting up with them for lunch, but I can only see ESF's providing this option.
Sorry for the, what could be silly questions, but I haven't skied for years and never with the kids in tow, so it's all new to me! I'm so excited already, just need to get the kiddies sorted! Thank you!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Re age, I have no idea but if you email and explain I am sure esf would be cool about it.
My daughter (10 at the time) did esf in Morzine Feb half term two years ago. The groups are VERY big and quite mixed. She did lessons in the morning and we did family ski in the afternoon. Why all day without the kids? For us seeing Immy improve and have fun every afternoon was what a family ski holiday is about....
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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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MrsCnP, welcome to snowheads. 
I sympathise with your dilemma over your son. However, knowing how good kids are at knowing EXACTLY how old they are, I'd strongly recommend that if you decide to put him in Piou Piou with his friend, you bring forward his 4th birthday and celebrate it before you go skiing. You can give him some ski stuff for his birthday.
If my 3 year old grandson had overhead me telling someone he was 4 he'd have corrected me loudly!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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MrsCnP, Should be no problem in France as they are generally pretty relaxed. However in some other countries (Canada) have had to provide proof of age and thus do admit to minor forgery...
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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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It is a long day for 7-8 year olds. Could one of the parents not spend the afternoons with them?
Pams idea is probably best.
God it will be busy!!!!
Book soon.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thank you , I think I'll risk it, but take note about bringing his birthday forward before hand lol! He has rather a loud voice too!
Harrim51 - We are still debating about the morning / all day thing. The more serious skiers in the group are saying they won't have enough time to get around in just 2 hours in the morning, we've discussed rotas to spend afternoons with the children, but as we will have 2 little ones we wont be able to ski with them really , as they will not have had the instruction that the older ones have, so it would limit the time on the slopes in the afternoons for everyone. We will still have 3 hours at lunch time with the children, before they go back to their lessons.
Unless anyone has any other suggestions / solutions I haven't though of yet?
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MrsCnP, lie about his age and you'll find he is uninsured. This may or may not matter to you.
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Hmmm, I hadn't thought of it from an insurance point of view... I was just thinking about making sure they were together. They do take 3 years olds, I just don't know if it would be in the same group.
I have to admit, I'm not looking forward to the crowds... I didn't choose the resort, my friend did as she's been more than me, but I don't think she's done it in half term!!!! Do you think all day will be too much for them then? Even with a long leisurely lunch with us in between? At least one of us will be back at the chalet with the little ones, so we could rota, but I'd be happier with a 2 to 6 ratio if the big ones stay behind too! They all know each other so well, it could get very messy, quickly lol! And I know i need to make a decision quickly as BASS, the Snow Institute and one other are already too booked up to accommodate us! 
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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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MrsCnP, best thing to do would be to drop them an email, or pick up the phone and ask them what will happen to the three and 4 year old.
It looks from the website as if the 4 year old will have ski lessons while the 3 year old won't.
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Yes, I think I will thank you.
Also - sorry if another silly questions, but I am correct in thinking Boots and Ski hire are not included in the lesson cost? So I'll have to sort that out too? I have emailed ESF, but they've yet to get back to me... I wasn't sure what the little ones would need as they'll only be in the snow garden. Thanks
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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equipment hire isn't part of the lessons. However, if you're going with a TO, they often do a package that will cover the lot.
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Thank you, something else for my to do list then We aren't going with a TO, we've booked a chalet independently and driving, so doing it ourselves.. I just hopes it all comes together lol!
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You know it makes sense.
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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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I have had a look via alpine resorts and I can get a discount if booked online... I chose Taber Sa on Imm Olympique, 614 av de Joux Plane as it seems to be near ESF.. - Is it???? does anyone know and are they any good?? as my son is £40 and Daughter £53, for skis boots and helmet?
I must sound like a novice! sorry for all the questions and thank you for your patience everyone 
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Poster: A snowHead
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To add my 2 pence worth ; you may need to be flexible in terms of rotas , all day skiing etc. Our experieince with 2 kids over quite a few years is that some kids will happily be in lessons all day , some will not , some want to split lessons and snow play and so on. Some get cold , some get injured and many want to do what their friends do.
Our group rotas worked well usually for the first day and then fell apart - the old saying about no plan survives the first encounter with the enemy .
For a few years me and my partner took alternate mornings/afternoons to care for the baby/toddler , but we usually skied afternoons with them once they were in proper lessons. As harrim51, says we have great memories of those afternoons as their skiing developed.
Three other things we learnt :
1 Get bumboards for them to have fun on in the snow. Insist they keep helmets on when using them.
2 Have a minimum 2 preferably 3 pairs of gloves per kid - they get them wet quick and they do take time to dry.
3 To avoid the horrible car jams at the end of the week think about leaving on Fri night , driving for say 3 hours and then stop in a hotel.
Have fun.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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MrsCnP, You need to think about whether your almost-4 year old will cope with ski lessons at all, let alone two sessions a day. It's partly physical maturity and coordination, but also ability to focus, follow, pay attention.
Might be worth investing in a "taster session" at one of the snowdomes to see how he reacts.
I wouldn't suggest lying about his age to an insurance company but for the ski school purpose, I would have thought it was worth a go - providing that he really is old enough, can go to the loo on his own with all those clothes on, etc etc
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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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I have thought about that, Pam, he's an energetic little boy who can already ride a bike and swim unaided, so I'm hoping we'll have no worries there, although after reading all the posts and mulling it over, I'm leaning towards mornings for the little ones and maybe even for the big ones too, then we can fly by the seat of our pants in the afternoon! Thanks for all the constructive comments... It's given me lots to think about
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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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Message from experienced instructor of children (not me) 3/4 is very young for all day lessons consider Club Med or company that integrates lessons and other activities.
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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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As an experienced children's instructor AND as a qualified/experienced nanny, I would not recommend whole day lessons for 3 and 4 year olds - they just get too tired. Even children who gave up their afternoon nap two years previously usually need a rest time in the early afternoon after a full morning of ski lessons. The physical activity, the altitude, the excitement, and the extra effort needed to just move in ski gear are all factors to consider.
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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: |
To avoid the horrible car jams at the end of the week think about leaving on Fri night , driving for say 3 hours and then stop in a hotel.
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a good suggestion. Leaving on Saturday night and doing the same thing could be even better (nice quiet changeover day skiing) but not easy to organise with small kids when you have to vacate your accommodation in the morning.
You need to think hard about timing the journey down, too.
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As an experienced skier and parent (totally unqualified to do either though), my daughter didn't like all day lessons when she was just 4. She would have been much happier with a Club Med type experience. Junior is about 2 years older and he was absolutely fine despite his whinging sister. Usually the mushette adapts to new things like schools better than he does, I just think that she was too young for the full day (including ski school lunch).
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PS - the next year she was perfectly OK as well. We didn't book the ski school lunches after the previous years experience, but of course she wanted them now she was a big girl of 5.
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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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How about moving the trip to the Easter hols, plenty of places will still have good snow (massive powder dump mid week the week after Easter in L2A last winter!) and the age problem has gone away?
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