J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by msej449

For us, it isn't a matter of cost any more. We just don't think that it's a holiday to share a place with a bunch of people we've never met before and won't meet again. We like our privacy and doing what we want and not having to make small talk. Worst case scenario is having a bunch of Yahoos in the place who dominate the conversation and make the whole holiday a nightmare. But this is just a personal preference and I appreciate that it's just as likely that you'll enjoy the shared experience. It's just not for us.

I was in the same position three years ago. I'd recommend choosing your skis on the basis of having worn them for a couple of days at least. Our hire shop gave me a discount if I bought after renting, and were helpful about trying different types every day ('though not all seem to be - some just want to rent to as m any as possible). What I found was that I simply couldn't relate the magazine reviews to the skis in question - all those I'd read rave reviews about (or which were recommended by a UK shop) just didn't seem to suit me when I actually tried them. So find a resort shop which is happy to let you try different ones out and try them out.

One of the other threads was asking about Livigno in Italy. Although it's a long way (4 hours+) from the airport its remoteness means it's less crowded, especially at the weekend or if lower resort conditions are poor. The big benefits are it's got an excellent series of graded learner slopes, very friendly Italian instructors, and a special tax status that makes it cheap. It's also high. The shops and restaurants are fine as well. But we had to get a 3.30am coach back and the 4 hour transit can be tiring.

Chamonix is a great place, but I'm not sure that it would suit a diverse group (in terms of both age and ability differences). How about somewhere that was also a spa, like Lukerbad or Ovronnaz? Perhaps you should look for somewhere like Verbier, which has very good pedestrian access (right up to the summit at 3330) where non-skiers can meet-up with skiers easily. Alternatively, consider staying in a valley village or on a lake and then driving to different resorts for the day. Or having two cars: one for the skiers and the other for cultural/food/wine excursions? The village suggestion is good - Samoens in France and St.Luc in Switzerland are attractive Alpine villages with chairlifts to their ski areas but pleasant for anyone left behind.

Pros: Livigno is high and usually has very good snow. Some sort of tax status means it's cheap, even for Italy. Very friendly instructors. Very good learner slopes, especially for snowboarding. Remoteness (beyond Bormio) means don't have weekenders that much or big influx if a bad snow season. Can go on day trip into Switzerland.
Cons: Very long transfer (4-1/2 Hours!); Bergamo airport often liable to fog; Milan even further away; 3.30am departure home; have to bus between west side and east side - often busy; lift system a bit ageing, can be cold (-24C first time I went!).
In all, very good for beginners or mixed ability groups, good snow conditions, reasonable for any non-skiers but you might not like the long transfer and could get stuck in Bergamo airport if foggy. In a good snow year you might think it wasn't worth it but in a bad year you'd be glad you chose it.

I appreciate that this may be your only break from cooking and for some people holidays and self-catering are a contradiction in terms. But we've self-catered for years now because the family like the freedom of an apartment compared to a hotel, and while we do go out for some meals, it's often a good opportunity to get the family to really help with both cooking and clearing-up in a way they would avoid at home. But I undersand if this isn't for you. We explained to our kids (plus their friends) that helping-out was intrinsic to being able to afford to go at all, plus meant we could have more space than in a hotel - it seemed to work.

We do both: Fly for short trips and drive for longer ones. We stay overnight down but do it in one go home, as you gain an hour, and psychologically, if you're within 4 hours or so of Calais/Boulogne you generally feel like pressing-on anyway. Doing it in one go is better if you have 3+ drivers. It isn't as expensive as you'd think to add people to your car insurance for just the trip period. Best way we've found is to insist on changing drivers every 2 hours, even if they don't feel tired - they will later. While 'taking a nap' en route works in the summer - it doesn't in the winter as the car quickly gets too cold. Bear in mind that if it's foggy/snowy/raining then it's much more tiring and you may wish you'd stayed somewhere overnight.

It may seem silly at first, but think about getting winter tyres: these aren't just for snow - they have a shorter stopping distance as the temperature falls below about 7C - up to about 25% better once you're at -5C or more, which is useful in the UK. In theory of course, they don't cost any more if your summer tyres are in the garage, but you have to budget £50 or so for swapping them. But if you have a relatively expensive car then £100 year for swapping tyres may be reasonable.

Snow chains really are for the most extreme conditions and the problem in the Alps is that everyone else is on winter tyres while you are on either semi-slick English summer tyres. Chains are not good for mixed tarmac-snow-tarmac conditions. Moreover if you do opt for them, make sure that they actually fit - a lot of Engligh cards have lower-profile wheels and tyres than European ones and the chains foul the suspension /steering. Look at your handbook or ask your garage: on my car the 17" wheels fitted as standard in the UK haven't got enough inside clearance to take coventional chains, compared to the 15" ones fitted to Alpine versions.

It depends what you want, really. Villars is OK, but there a lots of other Swiss resorts I'd favour. There's a fair amount of good intermediate skiing around Veysonnaz and Les Collons (near Sion) which would probably appeal to kids and I'll bet they're a lot cheaper. Ovronnaz is a thermal resort, south-facing up from Riddes if you like swimming a lot, but has rather limited lifts and ski area. La Tzoumaz has a new 8-man telecabine and connects to Verbier but is a lot lot cheaper (plus a small swimming pool) but your child would have to be comfortable with skiing very long blues. La Tzoumaz also has a 10km sled run which is a hoot (as long as you're both happy getting very wet. Champery is a very nice town but can be busy - Morgins is next to it but cheaper, however, the skiing can be challenging.