J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by tino_11

Tony_H wrote:
lol

Too many beers, Tino?????

Tony_H wrote:Simply to second what has been said - you will get a week on a package at a better price than you will get 4 days for. Leave it to the experts for your first trip - dont try going DIY. Thomson, Crystal, Neilson, Inghams - all offer excellent packages and learn to ski deals too.

I would suggest somewhere small too, as a learner you want to make sure you spend time learning the basics, instead of stopping for coffee in some expensive mountain cafe and admiring the view for hours: you can do that once you have been through the pain of learning.

However, I would avoid Bulgaria like the plague. You want to enjoy your first ski holiday, not have your card scammed, or a timeshare flogged to you, or trip over beggars, or be ill on the food. France, Italy, Switzerland and Austria all have small places to learn.

I would recommend Filzmoos, Galtur or Niederau in Austria, Val Senales in Italy, and Thyon or Nendaz in Switzerland. All in good areas with good snow records, but also smaller and quieter. Not sure about France, possibly Valmorel?

Beg, steal and borrow your clothes for a first time in case you dont like it. If you take to it, you can gradually build up your wardrobe and equipment. I ski'd for 5 weeks before I bought boots and skis. TK Maxx is the way forward for budget quality clothing, or try Decathlon stores with their range og Quecha stuff.

Let us know what you decide.

rose.rodgers@ntlworld.com wrote:My husband and I fancied a winter holiday in the snow but had never skied or snow boarded before. We found an all inclusive at Axamer Lizum with crystal. We booked the boarding package. The night we arrived the rep put us into groups and gave us instructions how to get the ski bus up to the mountain where she would meet us, arrange our equipment, put us in the right lessons etc. The rep did a bunk that night so we were up the top of the mountain with about 10 others from our hotel without a clue. Any way some-one came to our aid and got us sorted with equipment etc and put us in groups. I am 50 and was put in a group of 20 year old lads. the instructor was great, Dutch with good english and very good. We had all missed the first lesson because of the time it took to sort us out with equipment. After the first couple of days all the 20 year olds were making good progress my husband and I were fairly slow so we made the decision to drop out. We would either have held the others back or we would have tried to keep up with them and ended up doing ourselves an injury. So we bought the boards and boots down from the mountain found some slight hills and slopes in the village and taught ourselves, and had great fun in the process. Also the nursery slopes they were teaching us on were the bottom of the main slopes, every time you tried to do anything an experienced boarder came hurtling down on you. crystal did give us compensation against our next holiday. We have never looked back and have been the next four years.Having taught ourselves our technique may not be spot on but we certainly enjoy it.