If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Recommendations for intermediates and 3yo/non-skiers?
I'm trying to find a european resort for late March that will give good
intermediate level skiing and also have enough activities to satisfy my 3 year and her mum who is a reluctant beginner skier. Things that I think would help are sledging areas at the resort, swimming pools and ice rinks to keep the child happy, with a half decent selection of cafes and shops to keep mum occupied! I'd like to try my daughter on skis, but even if she's up for it, she would probably only have the stamina for an hour or so. I know some compromises are probably going to be necessary, but I'd like to have opinions on where to start looking first... thanks! |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Recommendations for intermediates and 3yo/non-skiers?
|
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Recommendations for intermediates and 3yo/non-skiers?
mark writes:
I'm trying to find a european resort for late March that will give good intermediate level skiing and also have enough activities to satisfy my 3 year and her mum who is a reluctant beginner skier. Things that I think would help are sledging areas at the resort, swimming pools and ice rinks to keep the child happy, with a half decent selection of cafes and shops to keep mum occupied! I'd like to try my daughter on skis, but even if she's up for it, she would probably only have the stamina for an hour or so. I know some compromises are probably going to be necessary, but I'd like to have opinions on where to start looking first... thanks! We went to Val Thorens over Christmas/New Year with our son who was 3 years and 2 months at the time. Things to say: - he liked shovelling snow with his small plastic sledge a lot more than sliding on it! Burying a parent particularly good fun. We had much more fun after there had been fresh snow. - We did get skis for him but that wasn't a success. He'd been keen on the idea of skiing, but got put off the first time he fell (on a flat bit of course), got cold and tired quickly, found the boots and the helmet-and-goggles uncomfortable, etc. We'd vaguely thought we might find an instructor for him for a lesson, but didn't in the end because we didn't feel we could arrange it so that there was a decent chance he'd be good tempered at the lesson time. Maybe next year. - finding a bit of snow just off-piste under a lift was a good move, he could shovel and try to understand how the lift worked and wave to the people on the lifts and watch for Daddy... - he got a free ski pass which was good even though he never used it with skis on, because it let him go up and down in gondolas, which he loved. - no sledging area as such (well, there's a toboggan run but small children aren't allowed), but lots of people sledging on odd bits of snow in the village, at the edges of the village pistes, down access roads especially after lifts shut, etc. Not hard to find places. Free "magic carpet" lift somewhat useful. - swimming pool and "fun park" - large area of cushions, 3 ball pools, bouncy castle, trampolines etc. - which he loved, in the sports centre. - you can only spend so much time in shops and cafes with a 3yo, however many there are (maybe you were talking about mum on her own, which is another matter!). Best thing we did was to choose an apartment with a balcony overlooking the village slopes, spent a lot of time there and didn't feel cut off. (Residences Village Montana.) VT has plenty of restaurants etc. but no really cafe-ish cafes where I'd have been happy spending hours; lots of shops but they're all the same. I think a non-skier would have to take plenty of books, or be very keen on people watching. - watching diggers and snowploughs and snowcats is fun :-) Previous year we went to Flaine, which also worked well; VT a bit better though. HTH, Perdita |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Recommendations for intermediates and 3yo/non-skiers?
wrote:
I'm trying to find a european resort for late March that will give good intermediate level skiing and also have enough activities to satisfy my 3 year and her mum who is a reluctant beginner skier. At least for the kid, there is the resort "Lindvallen", in Salen, Sweden. They do group teaching of kids in age groups 3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12 and 13-16. I think they are really good with kids (mine are 2 and 6), but my only personal experience other than that, has been in Austria 20 years ago, so YMMW. Salen is about 300 km south of Are (where they ski WC at the moment). Its not the alps though, not much sun, not many shops. I am uncertain about the conditions end-march. Regards, Mads -- Mads Bondo Dydensborg http://www.madsdydensborg.dk/ I don't say this lightly. However, I really think that the U.S. no longer is classifiable as a democracy, but rather as a plutocracy. - H. Peter Anvin |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Recommendations for intermediates and 3yo/non-skiers?
On Jan 22, 11:43 am, "
wrote: I'm trying to find a european resort for late March that will give good intermediate level skiing and also have enough activities to satisfy my 3 year and her mum who is a reluctant beginner skier. Things that I think would help are sledging areas at the resort, swimming pools and ice rinks to keep the child happy, with a half decent selection of cafes and shops to keep mum occupied! I'd like to try my daughter on skis, but even if she's up for it, she would probably only have the stamina for an hour or so. I know some compromises are probably going to be necessary, but I'd like to have opinions on where to start looking first... thanks! There are many places I could suggest like those already listed or Les Deux Alpes. One important thing to remember though is that the week of 31/03 is chucker everywhere in France. 24/03 is cheap with lots of availability and won't be busy. 07/04 is fine too. 4-star residences with pools in big resorts like Tignes or Val Thorens are available on Ski Collection. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ XS Peak Retreats http://www.peakretreats.co.uk Ski Collection http://www.skicollection.co.uk |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|