Best skiing resort for a complete beginner?

Can someone please suggest the best ski resort(s) in Europe for a complete
beginner.

I am looking to go skiing for a week in January / February and would like to
learn while at the resort.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Many thanks
John Scale

NewsGroups wrote:
Can someone please suggest the best ski resort(s) in Europe for a complete
beginner.

I am looking to go skiing for a week in January / February and would like to
learn while at the resort.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Many thanks
John Scale


There are so many... do you have a preference for country, type of
accommodation, facilities for good skiers or non-skiers or any other
ideas to help narrow it down?

Just about any large resort will have a big ski school and English
speaking instructors able and happy to teach beginners.

I learned to ski in Tignes, that was fine - cheap accommodation, very
convenient for the slopes, enough long easy runs for when I got up to
speed. I think Andorra is popular for beginners too, it is inexpensive
and has ample terrain and I'm told a lot on British instructors (not
that you need an British instructor, but at least you are guaranteed he
or she will speak English).

The ski club website (www.skiclub.co.uk) has brief run-downs of resorts,
including comment on suitability for beginners. www.ifyouski.co.uk has
similar info.

On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 13:35:14 +0000, Steve Haigh
wrote:

NewsGroups wrote:
Can someone please suggest the best ski resort(s) in Europe for a complete
beginner.

I think Andorra is popular for beginners too, it is inexpensive
and has ample terrain and I'm told a lot on British instructors (not
that you need an British instructor, but at least you are guaranteed he
or she will speak English).

I beg to differ. The best instructors are those whose native language
is your own (presumably English in this case). Some of the things you
need to do with your body are quite subtle, and there are very few
continental instructors whose English is advanced enough to explain
these things. So although those French/Austrian/Swiss/Italian
instructors are quite possibly better skiers, and potentially better
instructors, than their British/Australian/American counterparts *they
aren't for a native English speaker*.

Cervinia Italy

Richard

In message , Clive Backham
writes
(not
that you need an British instructor, but at least you are guaranteed he
or she will speak English).

I beg to differ. The best instructors are those whose native language
is your own (presumably English in this case). Some of the things you
need to do with your body are quite subtle, and there are very few
continental instructors whose English is advanced enough to explain
these things.

I don't think anybody, British or otherwise, can explain skiing in mere
words.
I'm not much more than a beginner myself; I've done four weeks with a
variety of British and other instructors. English-speaking local
instructors are easier to learn from because their limited English
prevents them using words too much. Instead they have to show you in
gestures and demonstrations. They draw a mental picture for you, which
is much easier for your brain to process into instructions for your
body.

Since you'll find instructors with adequate English in any large resort,
choose one with good easy runs for the second half of your week.
There's a specific search for beginner-friendly ones on
www.skiclub.co.uk
Book your lessons in advance, not through a tour operator, and keep your
sense of humour handy at all times.
--
Sue ];(

On Fri, 7 Nov 2003 00:29:31 +0000, Sue wrote:

In message , Clive Backham
writes
Some of the things you
need to do with your body are quite subtle, and there are very few
continental instructors whose English is advanced enough to explain
these things.

I don't think anybody, British or otherwise, can explain skiing in mere
words.

I don't believe I ever suggested that. Of course the techniques need
to be demonstrated, but it is also helpful for the instructor to be
able to describe how it should feel, and it helps if they have a full
command of your own language.

Since you'll find instructors with adequate English in any large resort,

There is also the danger that you could get lumbered with one of the
instructors whose English is woefully lacking. Unless you're prepared
to pay for private lessons, you'll get whoever is taking the group
that you are assigned to. Maybe you have been lucky, but most of the
French and Italian instructors I've been with said little more than
"do what I do", or "follow me".

"Clive Backham" wrote in message
...

snipped

Maybe you have been lucky, but most of the
French and Italian instructors I've been with said little more than
"do what I do", or "follow me".

I think you're the one who's been very unlucky. My experience of French,
Italian and Austrian instructors has been very much better than this.
___
Michael MacClancy

Try courchevel 1650 and the british ski school called New Generation.
All their instructors are English and they have had really good press
in the Sunday Travel sections of the big broadsheets.

Their website is :

www.skinewgen.com or .co.uk

They are very good and I have been skiing twice and each time took
lessons with them. I am now a confident intermediate which is a
combination of my ability to learn and their ability to teach.

You dont have to go to Courchevel either as they have schools in other
resorts as well.

With regards to what is the best resort, it does not really matter as
you are a beginner and you wont be able to ski all the runs in a
resort in one week plus you will still be learning how to get out of
the plough and into parallel turns.

Hope that helps in my humble opinion

Regards


Djuro

"NewsGroups" wrote in message ...
Can someone please suggest the best ski resort(s) in Europe for a complete
beginner.

I am looking to go skiing for a week in January / February and would like to
learn while at the resort.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Many thanks
John Scale

"NewsGroups" wrote in message
...
Can someone please suggest the best ski resort(s) in Europe for a complete
beginner.

I am looking to go skiing for a week in January / February and would like
to
learn while at the resort.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Many thanks
John Scale



I would strongly recommend that you have lessons on a dry slope before
going. You'll learn the basics from someone who you can be sure speaks
English and you'll also probably go straight into a more advanced class than
'beginners' when you get to the resort.
___
Michael MacClancy

In , Michael MacClancy typed:
"NewsGroups" wrote in message
...
Can someone please suggest the best ski resort(s) in Europe for a
complete beginner.

I am looking to go skiing for a week in January / February and would
like to learn while at the resort.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Many thanks
John Scale



I would strongly recommend that you have lessons on a dry slope before
going. You'll learn the basics from someone who you can be sure
speaks English and you'll also probably go straight into a more
advanced class than 'beginners' when you get to the resort.

I was going to say that, but decided it would probably incite anti dryslope
responses

However I've just started teaching my first beginers course of the season
and all but one of them have already booked their holidays.


--
Chris *:-)

Downhill Good, Uphill BAD!

www.suffolkvikings.org.uk