So, we survived our newbies skiing holiday without any broken bones or equipment and can even boast that we vaguely mastered the skill. The children may have lapped my husband and I on the blue piste course we set ourselves, but that's because we learnt the proper parallel turns. Honest! While they zoomed down and deployed the occasional snowplough to come to a teetering halt near a heart-stopping edge, we took our time and did it properly (in between furtive glances and whispers to each other that it looked a bit steep!)
Here's where we stayed and here are my top tips to anyone else considering taking up the sport with young children at the tender age of ... my own several decades.
1) COST: I always thought that skiing was what posh people did, having overheard the odd "We're off to Val d'Isere skiing... oh yes, a yacht in Porta Banus for the summer" in my youth. It is indeed, an expensive pursuit. There's the accommodation, the flight, buying or hiring the gear, the lessons and the not-to-be-missed apres ski. But there are ways to cut the cost.
First, we flew on a budget airline at hideous o'clock in the morning. That was tolerable, and for the kids, added to the excitement.
Second, we opted for skiing classes in the afternoon, which were not only cheaper but as most of the other learner skiers wanted to be on the slopes in the morning so they could enjoy a lazy lunch and then a snooze, conatined fewer people. Therefore, we learnt quicker. In theory! Other ski schools in the area included BASS, ESF and Ski Morzine.
Finally, we begged and borrowed as much kit as possible and asked for ski-related items for the kids Christmas presents. I shopped with the expert skier friend who had organised the trip and cajoled us into joining them and took her advice and guidance on indulging in really good ski jackets with all the pockets, snow skirts, warmth and water-proofness required, but I bought them in the sales online or from TKMaxx. Then, we were given or lent goggles, gloves, socks and thermal layers.
2) KIT: Those layers are vitally important. As someone more adept at dealing with warmer climes, for the first two days of skiing I returned chalet-bound barely able to feel the tips of my fingers and toes. The next day, I added another layer. And the next day, I added another and also went to a ski hire shop and bought some proper ski socks. A hideous orange and grey nylon-type combo, they have padding on the ankles and shins and are made of some miracuous fabric that kept my chillblained toes warm at all times. Fluffy tube socks are no good. Nor are woolly ones. This is one area where you need to splash out 20 Euros or more - even if you buy just the one pair and rinse and repeat for the rest of the week, as I did! Later in the week, as my skiing got better, I was spending less time standing around and more time moving, so I actually got warm and had to take off a layer. But because all my tops were then and thermal, it was easy just to bung it in a rucksack and carry it. You might want to invest in mitten liners as well as waterproof gloves or mittens and it's handy if they've got elastic round them to keep them on your wrists so they don't get lost or fall off when you're adjusting your goggles mid chair-lift!
3) BOOTS: Once you've got the right socks, you must get your ski boots fitted properly and clicked into place on the right settings on your ski bindings. The boots have to fit very tightly so that you can be properly balanced on your skis without your foot sliding or ankle turning. It's vital that this is done properly to avoid too much discomfort. They're awkward to walk in at the best of times and DON'T FORGET not to tuck your long johns or anything else inside your boots other than socks as this can lead to nasty blisters.
4) PREPARATION: A reasonable level of fitness is a great help for novice skiers. My sons regularly play football and run about like lunatics so that's a tick. My husband's doing the London marathon so, although injury was a worry, he was fine. And I'm a British Military Fitness addict so, although I used different muscles, at least I had the necessary stamina for climbing endess steps wearing moon boots and carrying skis, poles and other daily paraphernalia. Aside from this, we had had one dry ski slope lesson here. There's also a massive snow sports centre in Milton Keynes and others in Scotland. Just to know how to do up your boots, clip on your skis and snowplough (or pizza and chips, as the kids were taught) saves you part of a lesson once you're out in the cold reality.
5) SENSE AND SENSIBILITY: Having graduated from novice to 'debutante' to someone able to navigate down a blue piste, fall over and get up again without anyone noticing, I count my lucky stars. As well as our initial lesson near home, our friend took us up in the cable car on day one of our holiday and showed us where to put the skis on the outside of the cable car; how to zap your ski pass in the turnstile and where the 'baby' slope was. Our ski-lesson class mate was not so lucky. Her 'friends' took her down the mountain via the blue pistes on day one. Already suffering from vertigo, she was terrified and ended up taking off her skis and walking part of the way down. She completely lost her nerve on day two of the classes and gave up, preferring to stick to the magic carpet or travelator and practice on her own. Don't do this. Don't push yourself too quickly or show off and, if in doubt, fall over. On the other hand, do try to stay confident and practice what you've been taught in your lesson. And, you WILL fall over, even our instructor did once, so don't worry about it and DON'T keep your lip balm in your trouser pocket or you end up with a corker of a bruise when you land on it!!
6) LUXURY: We scrimped and saved to pay for our trip, which included breakfast, a four-course dinner each night as well as cleaning service, airport transfers, minibus lifts into town and a luxurious outdoor hot tub in which to soak away those aches and pains. It was glorious to have that too look forward to and completely made the holiday. I only wish we'd been able to bring our resident chef and chalet maid home with us... but, back to reality!
There's some other useful advice on this link .
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