Beginners snowboarding alps...
Discussion
We really want to go somewhere in the alps as a family (myself and wife and 3 and 8yr old girls) and have a go at snowboarding.
We want to
drive there. is this sensible? I assume February is a good time to go but what about the driving?
stay for maybe 10 nights ideally in a chalet which we can self cater. Not mentally expensive. I have seen some which look really nice for 3-4k for 10 nights and i have also seen some for 130k for 10 nights
3-4k for 10 nights would be good.
Any recommendations?
Open to all suggestions. We aren't going to try and become pro, just want something fun to do as a family in the alps with some snow
We want to
drive there. is this sensible? I assume February is a good time to go but what about the driving?
stay for maybe 10 nights ideally in a chalet which we can self cater. Not mentally expensive. I have seen some which look really nice for 3-4k for 10 nights and i have also seen some for 130k for 10 nights
3-4k for 10 nights would be good.Any recommendations?
Open to all suggestions. We aren't going to try and become pro, just want something fun to do as a family in the alps with some snow
r159 said:
I would get some lessons in the uk before going.
This every time - if you can get yourself to any of the indoor snow slopes they are a brilliant extra to the beginner's first trip - a course of lessons there will be the same as having done 1-2 weeks in the Alps, and an ideal setting for 3 & 8 year olds as you can see how much they like it / sample it without having to be out in the snow all day / etc. - really valuable way to dive in for all of you1. When?
In many ways Feb. ISN'T a great time to go. Yes, at least in theory you have the best chance of 'nice' snow - but it can also be very cold and because it's half term somewhere in Europe all month, busy and expensive. With an 8 year old you're probably stuck with that though so looking at either Christmas/Feb half term/Easter, at which point Feb is generally the best bet for nice snow (at least in theory). And in recent years the whole "Feb = nice snow/cold" thing has been flipped on it's head, with 2 out of the last 3 half terms being hot (+6 overnight lows last year!).
Easter is early next year though so you might want to look at going then, rather than Feb - less change of being really cold, cheaper, and less crowded.
2. Is driving sensible?
In short, yes. In fact for Feb half term all in all I'd say it's the best option as you can easilly be looking at the best part of £1,000pp for UK/Alps flights.
There are 2 approaches to driving - nail it all in 1 shot or include some overnight stops. You're looking at at least 12hrs behind the wheel, even with a good run to one of the closest resorts. Add some rain and snow to the mix, dropping to to 110kph on the autoroute and crawling up the mountain roads and it can be a lot more.
You'll know best what will work for you/your family but having done it with friends and their young children overnight stops both ways made it almost enjoyable for all! Looking at you're profile you're SE so can potentially grab the 8 year old right out of school and get on the road/through the tunnel/down to somewhere like Saint-Quentin on the Friday. With a fair wind you can be there in time to pop out for dinner too.
3. How long?
Certainly peak weeks almost everything's set up for 7 night stays. You can get 10 nights - but would probably be paying for 14, as the property is unlikely to find someone who wants the other 4 nights.
4. Where?
French alpine skiing is basically anywhere south and east of Geneva and the closer to Geneva the closer to the UK. Depending on your budget/expectations, and based on the age of your children of the resorts I'm familiar with I'd take a look at Avoriaz. Part of the Portes du Soleil ski area, one of the closest to the UK and a reasonably recent mountain top, purpose built resort - so doesn't look TOO ugly and car free, with a good (non-speedo) swimming pool and horse drawn sleigs as taxis around town. You'd want to be around the middle of town as the youngest would be at the lower end of the centre/the older and adults the higher end of centre for ski school.
In many ways Feb. ISN'T a great time to go. Yes, at least in theory you have the best chance of 'nice' snow - but it can also be very cold and because it's half term somewhere in Europe all month, busy and expensive. With an 8 year old you're probably stuck with that though so looking at either Christmas/Feb half term/Easter, at which point Feb is generally the best bet for nice snow (at least in theory). And in recent years the whole "Feb = nice snow/cold" thing has been flipped on it's head, with 2 out of the last 3 half terms being hot (+6 overnight lows last year!).
Easter is early next year though so you might want to look at going then, rather than Feb - less change of being really cold, cheaper, and less crowded.
2. Is driving sensible?
In short, yes. In fact for Feb half term all in all I'd say it's the best option as you can easilly be looking at the best part of £1,000pp for UK/Alps flights.
There are 2 approaches to driving - nail it all in 1 shot or include some overnight stops. You're looking at at least 12hrs behind the wheel, even with a good run to one of the closest resorts. Add some rain and snow to the mix, dropping to to 110kph on the autoroute and crawling up the mountain roads and it can be a lot more.
You'll know best what will work for you/your family but having done it with friends and their young children overnight stops both ways made it almost enjoyable for all! Looking at you're profile you're SE so can potentially grab the 8 year old right out of school and get on the road/through the tunnel/down to somewhere like Saint-Quentin on the Friday. With a fair wind you can be there in time to pop out for dinner too.
3. How long?
Certainly peak weeks almost everything's set up for 7 night stays. You can get 10 nights - but would probably be paying for 14, as the property is unlikely to find someone who wants the other 4 nights.
4. Where?
French alpine skiing is basically anywhere south and east of Geneva and the closer to Geneva the closer to the UK. Depending on your budget/expectations, and based on the age of your children of the resorts I'm familiar with I'd take a look at Avoriaz. Part of the Portes du Soleil ski area, one of the closest to the UK and a reasonably recent mountain top, purpose built resort - so doesn't look TOO ugly and car free, with a good (non-speedo) swimming pool and horse drawn sleigs as taxis around town. You'd want to be around the middle of town as the youngest would be at the lower end of the centre/the older and adults the higher end of centre for ski school.
If 3 is too young or not really depends on the child and family - I've been skiing in groups with 6 month old babies in them.
At 3 they are unlikely to be having ski lessons as such, but rather be in Club Piou Piou which is a nursery with snow. They will be outside sliding on skis on a flat area part of the time but with an indoor areas the instructors will take them the rest of the time/if it's ecpecially cold or unpleasent out. The whole idea is for them to enjoy it while giving parents a chance to get some skiing in or attend ski school themselves.
The rest of the time is really about playing in the snow/etc. Depending how the rest of the family take to it that might be enough for everyone else, but there's always the option of adults taking it in truns to do a bit more, either with or without the 8 year old.
With young family ski holidays the emphasis tends to be very much on the 'holiday' rather than the 'ski'.
At 3 they are unlikely to be having ski lessons as such, but rather be in Club Piou Piou which is a nursery with snow. They will be outside sliding on skis on a flat area part of the time but with an indoor areas the instructors will take them the rest of the time/if it's ecpecially cold or unpleasent out. The whole idea is for them to enjoy it while giving parents a chance to get some skiing in or attend ski school themselves.
The rest of the time is really about playing in the snow/etc. Depending how the rest of the family take to it that might be enough for everyone else, but there's always the option of adults taking it in truns to do a bit more, either with or without the 8 year old.
With young family ski holidays the emphasis tends to be very much on the 'holiday' rather than the 'ski'.
//j17 said:
If 3 is too young or not really depends on the child and family - I've been skiing in groups with 6 month old babies in them.
At 3 they are unlikely to be having ski lessons as such, but rather be in Club Piou Piou which is a nursery with snow. They will be outside sliding on skis on a flat area part of the time but with an indoor areas the instructors will take them the rest of the time/if it's especially cold or unpleasent out. The whole idea is for them to enjoy it while giving parents a chance to get some skiing in or attend ski school themselves.
The rest of the time is really about playing in the snow/etc. Depending how the rest of the family take to it that might be enough for everyone else, but there's always the option of adults taking it in truns to do a bit more, either with or without the 8 year old.
With young family ski holidays the emphasis tends to be very much on the 'holiday' rather than the 'ski'.
Yep agree....much better put than I did :-). Hence my comment on looking at Ski Esprit who specialise in family run chalets and cope with babes in arms through to teenagers with their child care / ski / snow board lessons etc. It wasn't clear from OP whether everyone was learning or if the adults are already skiers / boarders either .... an independent managed/booked holiday for 10 days with everyone a beginner is quite a tall ask (IMHO) .... I'm an experienced skier but I wouldn't have wanted to arrange everything from scratch with kids in tow for the first time...which is why we tried Ski Esprit and were very impressed so continued to use them from 4 - 13 years old kids.At 3 they are unlikely to be having ski lessons as such, but rather be in Club Piou Piou which is a nursery with snow. They will be outside sliding on skis on a flat area part of the time but with an indoor areas the instructors will take them the rest of the time/if it's especially cold or unpleasent out. The whole idea is for them to enjoy it while giving parents a chance to get some skiing in or attend ski school themselves.
The rest of the time is really about playing in the snow/etc. Depending how the rest of the family take to it that might be enough for everyone else, but there's always the option of adults taking it in truns to do a bit more, either with or without the 8 year old.
With young family ski holidays the emphasis tends to be very much on the 'holiday' rather than the 'ski'.
//j17 said:
1. When?
In many ways Feb. ISN'T a great time to go. Yes, at least in theory you have the best chance of 'nice' snow - but it can also be very cold and because it's half term somewhere in Europe all month, busy and expensive. With an 8 year old you're probably stuck with that though so looking at either Christmas/Feb half term/Easter, at which point Feb is generally the best bet for nice snow (at least in theory). And in recent years the whole "Feb = nice snow/cold" thing has been flipped on it's head, with 2 out of the last 3 half terms being hot (+6 overnight lows last year!).
Easter is early next year though so you might want to look at going then, rather than Feb - less change of being really cold, cheaper, and less crowded.
2. Is driving sensible?
In short, yes. In fact for Feb half term all in all I'd say it's the best option as you can easilly be looking at the best part of £1,000pp for UK/Alps flights.
There are 2 approaches to driving - nail it all in 1 shot or include some overnight stops. You're looking at at least 12hrs behind the wheel, even with a good run to one of the closest resorts. Add some rain and snow to the mix, dropping to to 110kph on the autoroute and crawling up the mountain roads and it can be a lot more.
You'll know best what will work for you/your family but having done it with friends and their young children overnight stops both ways made it almost enjoyable for all! Looking at you're profile you're SE so can potentially grab the 8 year old right out of school and get on the road/through the tunnel/down to somewhere like Saint-Quentin on the Friday. With a fair wind you can be there in time to pop out for dinner too.
3. How long?
Certainly peak weeks almost everything's set up for 7 night stays. You can get 10 nights - but would probably be paying for 14, as the property is unlikely to find someone who wants the other 4 nights.
4. Where?
French alpine skiing is basically anywhere south and east of Geneva and the closer to Geneva the closer to the UK. Depending on your budget/expectations, and based on the age of your children of the resorts I'm familiar with I'd take a look at Avoriaz. Part of the Portes du Soleil ski area, one of the closest to the UK and a reasonably recent mountain top, purpose built resort - so doesn't look TOO ugly and car free, with a good (non-speedo) swimming pool and horse drawn sleigs as taxis around town. You'd want to be around the middle of town as the youngest would be at the lower end of the centre/the older and adults the higher end of centre for ski school.
I like THE Avoriaz/Morzine area, but I've found it pretty hard going with beginners, so wouldn't be my first choice. It does have the benefit of being easy to get to though, so swings and roundabouts. Les Arcs or Val Thorens I'd avoid, because they have rather too many long flat bits. Not Deux Alpes either.In many ways Feb. ISN'T a great time to go. Yes, at least in theory you have the best chance of 'nice' snow - but it can also be very cold and because it's half term somewhere in Europe all month, busy and expensive. With an 8 year old you're probably stuck with that though so looking at either Christmas/Feb half term/Easter, at which point Feb is generally the best bet for nice snow (at least in theory). And in recent years the whole "Feb = nice snow/cold" thing has been flipped on it's head, with 2 out of the last 3 half terms being hot (+6 overnight lows last year!).
Easter is early next year though so you might want to look at going then, rather than Feb - less change of being really cold, cheaper, and less crowded.
2. Is driving sensible?
In short, yes. In fact for Feb half term all in all I'd say it's the best option as you can easilly be looking at the best part of £1,000pp for UK/Alps flights.
There are 2 approaches to driving - nail it all in 1 shot or include some overnight stops. You're looking at at least 12hrs behind the wheel, even with a good run to one of the closest resorts. Add some rain and snow to the mix, dropping to to 110kph on the autoroute and crawling up the mountain roads and it can be a lot more.
You'll know best what will work for you/your family but having done it with friends and their young children overnight stops both ways made it almost enjoyable for all! Looking at you're profile you're SE so can potentially grab the 8 year old right out of school and get on the road/through the tunnel/down to somewhere like Saint-Quentin on the Friday. With a fair wind you can be there in time to pop out for dinner too.
3. How long?
Certainly peak weeks almost everything's set up for 7 night stays. You can get 10 nights - but would probably be paying for 14, as the property is unlikely to find someone who wants the other 4 nights.
4. Where?
French alpine skiing is basically anywhere south and east of Geneva and the closer to Geneva the closer to the UK. Depending on your budget/expectations, and based on the age of your children of the resorts I'm familiar with I'd take a look at Avoriaz. Part of the Portes du Soleil ski area, one of the closest to the UK and a reasonably recent mountain top, purpose built resort - so doesn't look TOO ugly and car free, with a good (non-speedo) swimming pool and horse drawn sleigs as taxis around town. You'd want to be around the middle of town as the youngest would be at the lower end of the centre/the older and adults the higher end of centre for ski school.
Les Menuires would be my suggestion, lots of nice wide runs near the resort, and it's nice and quiet.
CrutyRammers said:
I like THE Avoriaz/Morzine area, but I've found it pretty hard going with beginners, so wouldn't be my first choice. It does have the benefit of being easy to get to though, so swings and roundabouts. Les Arcs or Val Thorens I'd avoid, because they have rather too many long flat bits. Not Deux Alpes either.
Les Menuires would be my suggestion, lots of nice wide runs near the resort, and it's nice and quiet.
I'd say you're thinking more "early intermediate" than "beginner" (I'm reading the OPs post as "We've never skied"). In my experience most resorts are fine for beginners - resorts know 'new blood' is escential so make sure they are suitable and true beginners will probably only use 2 or 3 different slopes in their first week.Les Menuires would be my suggestion, lots of nice wide runs near the resort, and it's nice and quiet.
Have been to Avoriaz with beginners and most of their week was spent between beginners assembly area/the Proclou blue/bits in down - which was more than enough for them. And was in Morzine with beginners this Feb - and never want to do the frigging penguin park again in my life!
m3jappa said:
Thank you and yes that does sound like a good idea to do some lessons! I will look into it.
I used Tamworth (the only indoor snow one at the time) after 6 lessons I was able to go out on the first day we arrived and have a mess about before the lessons started properly.Having skied for over 10 years before trying snowboarding, one week away was enough to put me back on skis...it just wasn't for me. Make sure you have padding in... its the falling on the same bits that gets tiresome (arse and wrists). Skiing gives you opportunity to hurt a greater variety of body parts.
shunt said:
You say snowboarding, I'd suggest learning to ski first, it hurts less. I'd also steer clear of France, it's an expensive dump. Try Austria instead, much nicer accommodation and people.
I disagree. The learning curve is steeper initially but there's no point learning to ski first. Getting some lessons in the snow dome will make a huge difference too.(That said the only people you see boarding now are middle aged Brits who haven't worked out that skiing it where it's at these days.
)On the week vs 10 days debate. With a 10 day holiday you don't resent losing the odd day to the weather/fatigue.
Highly recommend driving, we tend to drive through in one hit now that the kids are older but while they were still in single digits we preferred to break the journey with a cheap hotel in Reims. Driving in one hit gets you to the resort in time for a bonus day on the slopes but not ideal with little kids as you’re unlikely to be able to check in to your accommodation until later.
For a first trip I’d look at Samoens. It’s got access to the Grand Massif so loads to go at but it’s not covered by the usual package companies - If you’re driving anyway, you might as well go to somewhere that you can only go to by car if that makes sense.
The village is low down and it can be a bit of a queue to get the first lift up in the morning but with young kids in tow you’re unlikely to be aiming for the first lift of the day anyway… (caveat that it’s a few years since we’ve been, the kids prefer gnarlier slopes and livelier resorts these days!)
For a first trip I’d look at Samoens. It’s got access to the Grand Massif so loads to go at but it’s not covered by the usual package companies - If you’re driving anyway, you might as well go to somewhere that you can only go to by car if that makes sense.
The village is low down and it can be a bit of a queue to get the first lift up in the morning but with young kids in tow you’re unlikely to be aiming for the first lift of the day anyway… (caveat that it’s a few years since we’ve been, the kids prefer gnarlier slopes and livelier resorts these days!)
Bill said:
shunt said:
You say snowboarding, I'd suggest learning to ski first, it hurts less. I'd also steer clear of France, it's an expensive dump. Try Austria instead, much nicer accommodation and people.
I disagree. The learning curve is steeper initially but there's no point learning to ski first. Getting some lessons in the snow dome will make a huge difference too.(That said the only people you see boarding now are middle aged Brits who haven't worked out that skiing it where it's at these days.
)1. Easier to get upright on skis than a board. You'll be stood on skis in about 5 minutes/falling frequently and painfully on your bum for a good few days with a board.
2. Once up though it's easier to 'falling leaf' down a slope on a board than snowplow down it on skis.
3. Getting parallel on skis/making turns on at least one edge is probably about equal, and often about the end of 'week 1' for most people.
4. From there it's easier to become a solid intermediate boarder than skier, as once you can turn both ways you can more or less go anywhere/get down anything (after a fashion).
5. But from there it's much easier to progress and become an advanced skiers than boarder - to the point they really stand out when you see one.
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