Messages posted by : AllyG
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I've been having lessons for about 6 years, and I still have a great deal to learn. I've had private lessons and group lessons. I found the private lessons much more expensive, but more concentrated/focussed, whereas the group lessons are generally more fun and relaxed and cheaper, but you don't learn as fast. So I suppose it's just a matter of personal preference which you choose.
Ian, Most of the group lessons I've been in divide people between beginners, lower intermediates, upper intermediates, and advanced. But there is a huge difference between, say, the bottom of the lower intermediate group and the top of it, so most ski schools sub-divide each class up by testing their pupils on the first day. So Dmiff would go into the lower group of the lower intermediates. As Ian said, I would also be rather wary of being taught by a friend. My second day back on snow after 30 years a friend of mine encouraged me to go down a red slope (saying it was very easy and more like a blue) and I got stuck. Luckily for me I managed to 'escape' back onto the blue. But it was a demoralising and frightening experience. Ally |
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What you really need to do is get a look at the detailed accounts for a chalet business before you start up on your own account. I bet they don't make much money. You could buy the accounts for a British limited company, although I don't suppose they'd be that detailed - but it would give you an idea.
We have two self-catering cottages here in the U.K. and it is difficult to make much of a net profit. There are a lot of hidden expenses that people don't usually think about - like T.V. licences, public liability insurance, painting, renewing carpets and bedding, replacing the things holidaymakers break etc. etc. And I should think the fuel bills for a ski chalet in winter must be astronomical. Plus, the ski season is quite short, and although some places seem to be able to get customers in the summer the prices are much lower. We use an agency to whom we pay 22.5% commission plus VAT for publicity, bookings etc. And having to do the cooking as well would be an awful lot of work. The staff in the chalet hotel we stayed in worked extremely hard - up at about 6-45 a.m., bed at about midnight, and a few hours off in the afternoon to catch up on missed sleep or go ski-ing themselves if they had enough energy left. As someone has already said, it would be a very good idea to go and work for someone else before burning all your boats and buying your own business. I reckon you'd have to do it because you love the life-style and can manage to live on the bare minimum, profit wise. It's never going to be a money making scheme. I'm quite sure you'd make far more money teaching. Best of luck with the new venture! Ally |
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Johnrobbo, Some friends of mine have just returned from a week boarding in Niederau. They have been several times, and are good intermediates (can cope okay with black runs). They seem to spend a lot of time in Auffach (if I have spelt it right) which I believe you get to on the free bus. I haven't been there myself, but I believe there is about 70 km of piste, and it's only about a 12 minute drive from Hopfgarten which connects with the whole skiwelt area of over 250 Km of piste. I hope you have a great time :D Ally |
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Katie,
It's definitely worth shopping around for the best bargains. I had a look on teletextholidays.co.uk (whom I've used in the past) and they have what looks like exactly the same holiday to Pila for £231 on the 9th January with 'Hello Sunshine' holidays. I don't know, of course, if there are any hidden charges because I haven't gone as far as phoning them, but it does look like a real bargain. And I've never been to Pila, it was just a cheap holiday and it looked an okay sort of place. The ski area is a bit small but Crystal do an away day excursion to neighbouring La Thuile or Courmayeur for an additional £31 plus I assume whatever the upgrade costs on the Pila local lift pass. Ally |
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Katie,
I don't know about the Czech Republic (because I haven't skied there) but Bulgaria isn't a lot cheaper than other countries in Europe now. The prices have gone up a lot in the last few years. I had a look just now to compare lift passes and package holidays. Crystal has a last minute half board package holiday to Pila in Italy on the 9th January for £280, whereas equivalent last minute holidys to Borovets in Bulgaria are around £220. And a 6 day Pila local lift pass (70 Km of piste) costs £152 with Crystal, whereas a 6 day lift pass for Borovets costs £115 also with Crystal. Good quality ski and boot hire in Pila costs about £100 whereas poorer quality hire in Borovets costs about £50. So the total difference in price for the holiday, lift pass, and ski and boot hire is about £150 for the week. Total price for the holiday in Pila = £532 Total price for the holiday in Borovets = £385 If it was me I'd rather save the £150 some other way, than go to Bulgaria again. And, of course, a regular holiday booked ahead of time would cost a lot more than this, to Bulgaria or anywhere else. I think the best thing you can do is pick a week during your holidays which is not a school holiday week, and wait for a last minute deal to come up for that week so that you can go at short notice (just make sure wherever it has snow and is good for intermediates). You can save several hundred pounds that way. Ally |
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You mean you still don't know? http://www.j2ski.com/ski-chat-forum/posts/list/3101.page Ally |
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Snapzzz,
I don't know, but I'd always imagined it was Joy to Ski. Ally |
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Black, red, and blue sounds fine to me Sm4sh. And in any case, as I said before, no-one in Borovets is going to be worrying about how stylish your ski clothes are.
Keep the Dare2B ones if you prefer them. At least you will have made a decision and you can get your money back on the other ones :D I hope you have a great time and get really hooked on ski-ing, like everyone else on here. Ally |
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