J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by iplanet77

Tony_H wrote:My mates went last season and had to pay 300 euros each to be helicoptered out of the resort as they got snowed in and ran out of food and provisions. The one who hired the car stayed another 5 days but no lifts or pistes were open. The snow record is, clearly, not bad.

Its not a huge area but would keep early intermediates and beginners happy, as long as you dont mind the fact you are in France of course )

Sounds like the same avalanche that kept us out of the resort for 2 days in Feb. When we finally got up there I was amazed at the amount of snow they had, there was about 2 meters of snow sat on the roof of parked cars and roudabouts that looked like great white towers where they'd cleared the snow off the road around them.

As for the resort, it was not too busy and very safe for kids. My only niggles were with the antiquated ski passes and the fact that our hotel was on the hill and not down in the town. We had to queue for a funicular several times a day to get to and from the hotel. This soon gets tiresome, especially when your kid forgets something just before their ski lesson.

ise wrote:

I think you're possibly shooting at the wrong target there, the shop ought to be sending you out with equipment that fits and is suitable for your level but it's the duty of the instructor to make you're you know how it all works. This is pretty basic instructor training, first morning stuff :D As an instructor you're the guy with the clients on the mountain and it's down to you to ensure they're OK with kit and basic issues like slapping sun cream on.

Point taken, the problem with this resort was the distance between the ski school and the hire shop. A 10 minute walk and 2 buses before you even get to see an instructor.

Had a totally different experience at the snowdome in Tamworth. The instructor inspected everyone's boots before we started and helped them fasten the boots and get the tongues in properly. For some people he even had to pull their salopettes out of the boot :)

Tony_H wrote:First timers get no help at all from the people in the hire shops unfortunately, they treat it like a sausage factory and get you out as fast as possible without discussing what might be right for you.

This is exactly what we experienced in Austria. In that resort the boot fitters knew little to no English, so no discussion was possible.

Tony_H wrote:
I would always suggest beginners take shorter skis as they help you control yourself easier and faster.

What would you ask for in the hire shop, beginners skis?

sami_glasgow wrote:yeah the hire people dont seen very helpful when boot fitting beginners/inexperienced people...a little advice on how tight the boot should be, and what pain should NOT be put up with, would go a long way

How much pain is acceptable? The boots I had in Austria were agony to walk in, although the boot fitters hadn't showed us to loosen the clasps when walking. When you talk about tightness, are you saying that there are different width fittings available for each foot size? If I remember correctly, it was the top of the boot that was too tight and did cut into my shin quite a bit.

My kids were about 8 and 10 when they tried boarding. The younger one couldn't even drag the board, the older one struggled a bit too. The instructor said they were probably too young and not really strong enough.

tino_11 wrote:I went off for 4 days alone on the nursery slopes and taught myself, by watching people and trying it out.

In hindsight, this is what we should have done. The problem was that our rep told us to swap our equipment for skis first thing in the morning and book into the ski school, for ski lessons this time. After we'd lugged all this equipment back through the tunnel to the ski school, they told us they were full all week. At which point we took all the equipment back again, much to the amazement of the ski hire man.

madman2swords wrote:This sounds like Schladming! We had to do a lot of walking with the instructor, skidding the board round in a circle and sliding down front side for 2 hours. Gave that up, went to the midstation at Hochwurzen and taught myself.

The skidding the board along business did come in handy later getting on lifts etc.

Stick with it - it will be worth it

We had to drag the board along on the flat for about 5 mins (5 minutes of agony) and then drag it up the hill to start the lesson. We spent about 2 hours trying to slide on the front and back edges. We didn't make any progress at all, nobody did really. People were telling me before I'd gone that I'd have to get a lift pass within a couple of days. At the rate we were going (the two of us that hadn't dropped out) I don't think we'd have needed a lift pass all week.

I thought the learning curve would be like ice skating. When you first stand up on those skates, you can barely hold your balance, so the last place you'd won't to go with them is the ice! The thing is with ice skating after that initial shock, most people seem to be able to get along and leave the side of the ice rink within a half hour at most. I thought snowboarding would be the same, but I found it a lot harder.

This was (a very crowded) Bad Hofgastein by the way.

Thanks for the replies. I'm doing my research now, I've even watched a few youtube videos.

I don't like putting people down, but now I think about it the instructors were a bit rubbish. They didn't have any tips or advice for anyone. They just repeated the same thing no matter how good or bad people were doing. Maybe it was just a language problem. Also there was only one group for everyone, whatever their age.

I can't see how initially you'd be able to do this without a partner. I found it impossible to stand up once the board got moving. As soon as I hit a piece of snow that wasn't completely flat, I was on the floor. Especially sliding on the heel edge.

I'm going to book a few lessons at the snow dome in MK. I really hate to give up on things and this has been bugging me for about a year now.

I took my family to Austria last year and we booked a course of boarding lessons for all of us. It turned out to be a disaster. The Crystal ski brochure states that board school is suitable for kids aged 4 - 12 years. My kids were 7 and 10 at the time, so we booked all four of us for 5 days worth of lessons. The instructor took one look at my kids and shook his head. He said my 7 year old daughter was not big enough or strong enough for snowboarding and my 10 year old may struggle. They're both average sized kids.

He was right, the warmup was to drag the board on the flat with one foot in the binding and my younger daughter was struggling to do that. I have to say both my wife and me found this bit really awkward and painfull. Neither my wife nor younger daughter could drag their boards up the slope to start the lesson and had to sit out within 10 minutes.

I carried on with the lesson with my 10 year old daughter, but it was very difficult. You had to pair up with someone to practice sliding on the toe and heel edge. The thing is although I could guide her down the slope walking backwards whilst she slid, there was no way she could support my weight. So I was on my own practicing this bit and found it impossible. The board kept turning and I ended up hurtling towards the other board school pupils that were sitting in a group at the bottom of the slope. One thing I did learn is that falling flat on your back is the only way to stop if you have no idea how to turn your board. It doesn't seem a good idea to me, sitting in the middle of a nursery slope with people coming down behind you with very little skill in stopping. This arrangement all seemed a bit dangerous to me.

After about 2 hours of this we decided to give up and talk to the rep about switching the kids to ski school. The problem was that ski school was full and there was nothing they could do. This left us with a whole week in Austria just trying to find things to do to kill time until we left. There was no snow in the village or on the sledge runs that week either.

I've always wanted to learn to board (my wife is not so keen), I was thinking about trying again on my own this year whilst the rest of the family ski. I can't see how you could do this without a partner though, to help you with your balance. Was this lesson typical of a first snowboarding lesson, is there another way to learn?