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Help! Beginners off to Morzine, Le Viking - book skis/lessons/pass in advance?
Hi All,
Heres hoping you can advise us on our first skiing trip in Feb 08! We (2 families) have never skied before but are planning a few lessons before we go in Feb 08. However, we are finding all the ski lesson, boot hire, pass options etc a tad bewildering. Can you help?! Between us we have 5 children (aged 2,4,4,8,10) and will have them booked into the relevant childcare/ ski lessons provided by Crystal Ski at our hotel. Our main qu's a 1. We can prebook skis/boots but our lessons internet research warns that there are a lot of hire places closer than where Crystal Ski hire shop is so you sdnt bother booking in advance. Is this advisable with a half term holiday? Does it work out cheaper? Prebooking we will pay £67 per adult for ski/boots and this will entitle us to free child skis/ boots worth £53. Does that make sense? 2. Prebooking local lift pass is £112 (adult). Wd this be cheaper locally when we arrive? 3. We will be booking lessons but are keen on having a private instructor for the 4 (or maybe 5 inc. 10year old) of us instead of the group 8-12 lessons. Crystal Ski tell us we cant do this (presumably as they want us to book group lessons through them). I assume this is rubbish so can anyone recommend private tuition that can be based from/ close to our hotel? We have morning childcare only and ideally want lessons from 9.30 to 11.30 for 5 or 6 days. I have found info on a few companies that do lessons but as we are new to this it would be good to have recommendations. Is there anything else you can help us with that we should know? Your hints/ tips would be much appreciated! Many thanks Beccie |
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#2
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Help! Beginners off to Morzine, Le Viking - book skis/lessons/pass in advance?
On Sat, 13 Oct 2007 13:22:46 -0700, Rebecca
wrote: I think the Morzine website might already be able answer some of it: http://www.morzine-avoriaz.com/?langue=en&saison=hiver |
#3
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Help! Beginners off to Morzine, Le Viking - book skis/lessons/pass in advance?
"Rebecca" wrote in message oups.com... Hi All, Heres hoping you can advise us on our first skiing trip in Feb 08! We (2 families) have never skied before but are planning a few lessons before we go in Feb 08. However, we are finding all the ski lesson, boot hire, pass options etc a tad bewildering. Can you help?! Between us we have 5 children (aged 2,4,4,8,10) and will have them booked into the relevant childcare/ ski lessons provided by Crystal Ski at our hotel. Our main qu's a 1. We can prebook skis/boots but our lessons internet research warns that there are a lot of hire places closer than where Crystal Ski hire shop is so you sdnt bother booking in advance. Is this advisable with a half term holiday? Does it work out cheaper? Prebooking we will pay £67 per adult for ski/boots and this will entitle us to free child skis/ boots worth £53. Does that make sense? Assuming you're going at half term I would recommend that you use the Crystal services. Hiring boots etc can be done yourself, but at half term it will be a bit of a bunfight - especially as you won't know the ropes. Prices seem reasonable as well. If the hotel is a little way from the slopes it may well be worth hiring ski lockers at the slopes. The walk to and from the hotel can be very tiring in ski boots and carrying ski poles (and 4 year olds!). There are free busses and a little train, but they can get very busy at peak times. 2. Prebooking local lift pass is £112 (adult). Wd this be cheaper locally when we arrive? as above - also unlikely to be much cheaper - Crystal will get a cut, but this should be from the ski pass company not from you. The only problem is that they may have chosen a poor exchange rate and you might be able to save some dosh there. IMHO probably not worth the hassle of doing it yourself. You don't need a full area ski pass, just Morzine/Les Gets - you won't even get to ski half of this. 3. We will be booking lessons but are keen on having a private instructor for the 4 (or maybe 5 inc. 10year old) of us instead of the group 8-12 lessons. Crystal Ski tell us we cant do this (presumably as they want us to book group lessons through them). I assume this is rubbish so can anyone recommend private tuition that can be based from/ close to our hotel? We have morning childcare only and ideally want lessons from 9.30 to 11.30 for 5 or 6 days. I have found info on a few companies that do lessons but as we are new to this it would be good to have recommendations. Check the website for ski schools. IIRC there is a highly recommended kids nursery come ski/snow experience. Again at half term it's no good waiting 'til your there. I would book the 8 and 10 year olds into group lessons as they tend to enjoy skiing with their peers more than being stuck with adults. In the latter case they either get exasperated by the adults going too slowly or go into their shell, get stressed and won't do it. It's tricky enough learning yourself, you don't need any further hassle! Learning to ski in a small group can be quite frustrating, the pace which people pick it up, and are comfortable at skiing, can vary dramatically. In group lessons they will often have many classes at the 'same' level and the pupils are sorted beforehand into similar abilities and speeds. If you progress more quickly (or more slowly) than others in your group there can be the chance to change groups to something more suitable. IME the initial sorting is usually about right. If you have learnt the basics beforehand ( 5+ lessons) you are not beginners and should book lessons for 1 week skiers. In any case private lessons are often arranged at lunchtime, when the instructors are between classes. This might sound a bit xenophobic, but if you do organise the lessons yourself, make sure they are in English, and if possible with a native English speaker - I'm sure there are British ski schools in Morzine so start there. The nuances of skiing can be quite difficult to get across in a foreign tongue Is there anything else you can help us with that we should know? Your hints/ tips would be much appreciated! IME lunchtime at half term is a nightmare - what I tend to do is take a break for hot chocolate around 11 and take some snacks - mars bars, cereal bars, choccie biscuits etc to keep us going til a late lunch after 2 when it quietens down a bit. Your ski lessons may dictate these times. Many thanks Beccie Have fun Paul |
#4
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Help! Beginners off to Morzine, Le Viking - book skis/lessons/pass in advance?
On Sat, 13 Oct 2007 13:22:46 -0700, Rebecca
wrote: Hi All, Heres hoping you can advise us on our first skiing trip in Feb 08! We (2 families) have never skied before but are planning a few lessons before we go in Feb 08. However, we are finding all the ski lesson, boot hire, pass options etc a tad bewildering. Can you help?! Between us we have 5 children (aged 2,4,4,8,10) and will have them booked into the relevant childcare/ ski lessons provided by Crystal Ski at our hotel. Our main qu's a 1. We can prebook skis/boots but our lessons internet research warns that there are a lot of hire places closer than where Crystal Ski hire shop is so you sdnt bother booking in advance. Is this advisable with a half term holiday? Does it work out cheaper? Prebooking we will pay £67 per adult for ski/boots and this will entitle us to free child skis/ boots worth £53. Does that make sense? 2. Prebooking local lift pass is £112 (adult). Wd this be cheaper locally when we arrive? 3. We will be booking lessons but are keen on having a private instructor for the 4 (or maybe 5 inc. 10year old) of us instead of the group 8-12 lessons. Crystal Ski tell us we cant do this (presumably as they want us to book group lessons through them). I assume this is rubbish so can anyone recommend private tuition that can be based from/ close to our hotel? We have morning childcare only and ideally want lessons from 9.30 to 11.30 for 5 or 6 days. I have found info on a few companies that do lessons but as we are new to this it would be good to have recommendations. Is there anything else you can help us with that we should know? Your hints/ tips would be much appreciated! Many thanks Beccie Beccie, My own experience of the Viking was four years ago with two kids. Excellent hotel and location half way up the mountain. Food was good and plenty of organised evening activity for the kids. You get to and from the town by cable car. Ski school meeting place is outside and ski hire shops in town are much of a sameness. You'll need to get down early on day 1 in order to get back up for lessons. I've used BASS for the kids. Never used ESF. Half term is busy but the slopes can take it. You need to book early. Stan |
#5
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Help! Beginners off to Morzine, Le Viking - book skis/lessons/pass in advance?
1. We can prebook skis/boots but our lessons internet research warns
that there are a lot of hire places closer than where Crystal Ski hire shop is so you sdnt bother booking in advance. Is this advisable with a half term holiday? Does it work out cheaper? Prebooking we will pay £67 per adult for ski/boots and this will entitle us to free child skis/ boots worth £53. Does that make sense? Would not say £67 is particularly cheap. Smaller specialist Peak Retreats which also features Morzine charges £49 for 7 days good standard skis, boots & poles for adults, £29 for under 6 and £38 for kids under 12. You also get free helmet which is strongly recommended for children (although not really not for tiny ones staying in kindergarden). see http://www.peakretreats.co.uk/ski/morzine.htm (click more in Skiing section for more info) So with Crystal you just pay the Free child in the high adult rate but if you get 4 kids free then go for it! 2. Prebooking local lift pass is £112 (adult). Wd this be cheaper locally when we arrive? Morzine-Les Gets lift pass (don't book Portes du Soleil pass for anyone below intermediate) is 141 Euros per adult so £97 3. We will be booking lessons but are keen on having a private instructor for the 4 (or maybe 5 inc. 10year old) of us instead of the group 8-12 lessons. Crystal Ski tell us we cant do this (presumably as they want us to book group lessons through them). I assume this is rubbish so can anyone recommend private tuition that can be based from/ close to our hotel? We have morning childcare only and ideally want lessons from 9.30 to 11.30 for 5 or 6 days. I have found info on a few companies that do lessons but as we are new to this it would be good to have recommendations. You can of course have private instruction for your four children! The only thing to bear in mind is that most ski school use their instructors for group lessons in priority during the lucrative half- term weeks so you may not be able to get a top slot. usually lunch time (12.00 -14.00) is allocated to private lessons. To be honest I think your kids will learn much better being with other kids rather than with just their siblings. They will be far more motivated in a group even if they will of course get less individual attention. The little ones will be far better in the kindergarten than with older children. If you want an idea of price, Peak Retreats charges £78 for 6 half- days children's lessons it arranges in conjunction with the ESF. All that said you will need to check that whatever you find can be available from close to your hotel as meeting point for most ski schools tends to be down in village. Is there anything else you can help us with that we should know? Your hints/ tips would be much appreciated! Half-term is going to be very busy in Morzine so do make sure you book everything (ski lessons, equipment hire particularly) in advance. It's the French school holidays too and the resort is very popular with the Brits. Assume it's the Palladien-Altitude Viking you are staying at ? As that hotel is really far from everything and only accessible by the telecabine you may be best to leave it to Crystal to arrange it all though! |
#6
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Help! Beginners off to Morzine, Le Viking - book skis/lessons/pass in advance?
"Rebecca" wrote in message oups.com... Is there anything else you can help us with that we should know? Your hints/ tips would be much appreciated! Many thanks Beccie Yes - if you're first-timers then you may not be aware just how much being fit before you go can improve your experience. No need to go mad; just some regular, non-impact exercise like cycling will get your fitness levels up effectively. Oh, and do this everytime (not just your first)... Bon Ski! RM www.mountainpassions.com - an Online Magazine with Altitude. |
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