Poster: A snowHead
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Hi everyone, thinking about taking the family skiing for the first time next Easter. My wife and daughter don't want to ski but son does so I'm looking for somewhere to keep the girls busy with a good ski school for my 6yo. Thinking about Kaprun at the moment as it has easy access to Zell am See as well but not sure about the ski school options.
Any thoughts or other ideas most welcome.[/i]
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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 think you should re-post this after the Summer
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Nunfa1, how old is your daughter? What sort of activeties would your wife and daughter like to be doing while you and your 6yr old are skiing?
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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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What's the problem with wife and daughter? Is the daughter too young?
You really need to get them all skiing as IME these split type holidays never work and the non-skiers always get the bad deal
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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if they really definitely don't want to ski maybe they should do another holiday, completely separately? It's actually good from time to time to have a few days 1:1 with a parent and child.
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Easter next year is so late that you'll either have to stay right up in some bleak high altitude place, which will be miserable for non skiers, or down somewhere like Zell which would be nice for non skiers but leave the skiers a journey each day to a (possibly pretty crowded) glacier.
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My Daughter is 8 and has said she might try it, wife tried it and doesn't like it. They would be quite happy with some shops to walk round and a swimming pool/spa to spend time in.
Easter is late, and it would have to be a compromise without a doubt, but we would go as soon as the school breaks up flying out around April 4th.
I think the most important side of the trip is the lessons, ideally they need to be close to the hotel rather than a bus ride away.
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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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holidayloverxx, seen it, bookmarked it and started this thread because of it.
Not priced it up yet though.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Nunfa1, we have booked here:
http://www.markwarner.co.uk/ski-holidays/les-deux-alpes/chalethotel-berangere
In Les Deux Alpes for flying out 13th April 2014 (easter week). There are kids clubs for the kids to play in / with and a pool. From what I have read they have one of the largest glaciers if it is a bad snow year for going that late (I am keeping my fingers crossed on that front). There is also a pool in the hotel.
On lessons front if you book through Mark Warner they are with ESF however, in that resort you also have easiki (http://www.easiski.com/) with Charlotte Swift who seem to be well regarded on here, I am sure I read that she is especially good with nervous women - can anybody back that up? May be you could tempt mother and daughter to book a couple of private session to try it again for just maybe one or two days there (possibly at the beginning of the week in case they get the bug and want to book a few more).
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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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NickyJ, thanks for the link, I'll check it out.
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Nunfa1, meant to also say another reason I booked there with them for that week is they aren't surcharging for us having interconnecting rooms which our girls will be 4 & 7 we get on much better if they have their own room to sleep in but we feel they are too young to just be in there own room.
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You know it makes sense.
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Quote: |
I am sure I read that she is especially good with nervous women - can anybody back that up?
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Yes, Charlotte has done some special weeks with nervous women - but really, I think she's a good instructor at any level. She obviously didn't think I was nervous when she told me my skiing had deteriorated since the year before and asked me what had gone wrong.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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pam w, Claude B, I was more thinking of OP saying that "wife has tried it and doesn't like" I could be come tell of the mark but that sounds like she was nervous and didn't get on with traditional instruction, as I said I am making huge assumptions there.
I am planning in booking up with her for my trip there next year after what I have read here
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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NickyJ, I'd book early. Charlotte runs a lot of Hot Shots and Hot Tots courses over the 2 Easter weeks which takes up much of her time.
My daughter has skied with her the last 5 Easters and will do this year too. Not too sure about next year as she'll be 18 and busy with A level study. I'm hoping to be there from mid March to mid April though
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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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NickyJ, you're not far off the mark there tbh. She tried ski school with ESF and didn't get along with it at all.
With Easter being so late I am starting think about trying to do a long weekend instead and book the 3 of them in a private lesson. That way we could go for a full week the following year when Easter will be slightly earlier.
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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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Quote: |
With Easter being so late I am starting think about trying to do a long weekend instead
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you might find that a whole standard week (sat/sat or sun/sun) will be no more expensive, and easier to find, than a long weekend.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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pam w wrote: |
Quote: |
With Easter being so late I am starting think about trying to do a long weekend instead
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you might find that a whole standard week (sat/sat or sun/sun) will be no more expensive, and easier to find, than a long weekend. |
But it has to fit around school holiday's though And it would be easier to deal with a short break if the wife still didn't like it.
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Nunfa1, a short break would be fine provided it was all within one sat/sat week. Trying to get a deal over the Easter weekend itself might be difficult because most accommodation providers would see it as having to give up two potentially full weeks.
The other way to approach this might be to think about it as a holiday in the mountains. Your wife and kids could try a couple of private lessons with a recommended instructor (a world away from a great big group) and you could have a chance to ski (or have some lessons yourself if budget permits) but also set aside several days to do other stuff. Go snowshoeing together (you can often use lifts to gain a bit of painless height), have a family "introduction to cross country skiing" lesson, visit the spa, etc etc. A mountain holiday doesn't have to be just about skiing.
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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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Some of the hotels in L2A take bookings for stays other than a full week. Valentine (which is a nice place) was last January and Les Lutins always has done, some of the other smaller ones too.
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Hi Nunfa1, I would say Charlotte is one of the most recommended instructors that we repeatedly hear of here in the office.
We try to support the locals in resort who make the mountains such amazing places to visit - Charlotte is certainly one of those.
we advertise local ski biz free on our resort info pages - here you can see her and other local options
www.sno.co.uk/ski-resort/les-deux-alpes/ski-school-les-deux-alpes-snowboard-lessons-courses/
It doesn't get much more snowsure at Easter than Les 2 Alpes and, because of the upturned bowl shape of the mountain, there are great beginner/intermediate slopes up at the top where the late season snow stays great... much better than trying to learn on slush!
2 Alpes is known as the "upside down ski resort" for this reason.
Historic snow depths for Easter months over the last 3 years are pretty impressive www.sno.co.uk/ski/france/les-deux-alpes/easter/
A short break at Easter might not be great value - as Pam_W said, there aren't many accom providers who will book a short weekend there because they know it will prevent the rooms booking for two full weeks which are among the most peak in the winter. If you can spot a package thats well discounted, the cheapest way to get a short break is often to book a regular weekend to weekend, and use the flight and transfer at one end or the other, then plan to get your own easyFlight the other way, with a transfer from someone like Ben's Bus etc (we have a page of local transfer companies too, but better not add another link to our site!)
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks for all the ideas, very helpful. I should point out that if we do a long weekend it wouldn't be at Easter, it would be earlier in the season. If we go at Easter it would be for a full week.
I'll certainly put L2A on the list to look at.
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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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What about Alpendorf in Austria? Don't know Austria at all well but I've found what seems a good value hotel that's open to the end of April. It's in the Ski Armade area, is that likely to have April snow?
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You know it makes sense.
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They would be quite happy with some shops to walk round and a swimming pool/spa to spend time in.
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For a whole week? Really? I would have thought the eight-year-old in particular would be bored witless.
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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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Take a look at the Aquadome in Langenfeld (Oetztal). They have a hotel (probably not cheap), and the spa/sauna areas are incredible, as is the food in the restaurants. Skiing wise you've got Soelden just up the road (148km pistes, and two glaciers/glaciated areas so very snowsure) and Obergurgl (very high, very snowsure, open for skiing 'til early May), both of which they shuttle you to and from, pretty sure they have deals on the lift pass when you book accomm. For the non-skiers Oetz is a nice place (a little bit down the road), and Innsbruck is also close by if they want to check out the city/go to some 'proper' shops. There's other stuff going on in Oetztal too, depending on snow (just how late is Easter?) hiking/snowshoeing/biking and maybe whitewater rafting (think that kicks off late April-ish). There's also some educational-type/archealogical stuff, one of/the oldest preserved human corpse was found in Oeztal, I think they have some sort of centre where you can learn about that and prehistoric life in the area.
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