J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Wanderer

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned ski school yet!

While it is lovely to ski with the tiny tots, the novelty can wear off pretty quickly, especially if there is loads of fresh powder up high :twisted:

I put mine into ski school from just under 4 years old. They are a lot less inclined to whinge and moan with an "official" teacher than with their own parents :shock:.

Most of the ski kindergartens are really well set up with lots of little tricks to keep the kids amused and distracted from the fact that they are learning (properly - are you sure that you are sufficiently knowledgeable to teach the kids yourself :!:)

Most importantly, the kids usually have great fun and enjoy the company of other kids their own age.

Provided you get a good instructor, preferably with good english, it can be a good way to go and leaves you free to enjoy the mountains. :lol:

... a few years ago, we were stopped half way down a piste by the pisteurs in Tignes. Then a helicopter came in and threw explosive onto the mountain above the piste. It didnt bring down any snow and then they reopened the piste having decided the snow was stable:shock:

I've never seen a bunch of people so anxious to get down a piste :lol:

I'd agree with the others who recommend going independent. Ideally you want a very early morning flight to a "ski" airport to enable you ski for a few hours on arrival day and a late night return to allow you ski most of departure day. Obviously, this works best with resorts close to the airport. Generally, its best to hire a car to maximise ski time but many resorts can be reached by train as well but this is less flexible.

Traditional resorts are more likely to have accommodation that will take you for a few days.

I've been doing it for a few years to Soll via Munich. If you are flexible on dates and accommodation it can work out quite inexpensive.

Good luck with your searches :wink:

This is the 3rd extremely short and, it seems to me, pointless Survey this poster has put up in the last month.

Could he, by any chance, be a spammer just trying to promote Survey Monkey?

You could also check out www.ResortHoppa.com

AFAIK, they are a UK base booking agency that uses a wide variety of bus companies in the resorts.

Dont know the resort. Any good?

Hi Wilf

The price of ski hire in some resorts does seem ridiculous, especially Switzerland. However, before you rush off to buy consider all the costs (and hassle)involved between the cost of purchase, airline charges - €80 return out of Ireland with Ryanair or Aer Lingus, maintenance costs, repairs, etc. A decent set of skis is not cheap - you will get stuff for a couple of hundred quid but for any decent quality skis you probably need to push the budget up closer to £500. I bought a pair of skis last year on an impulse. The ski shop was doing a special offer on the same type of skis that I had hired for the week (only €200 for brand new skis plus poles and bag). I had felt really comfortable with them so I went ahead. Now, I am kinda sorry I did and am wondering whether it is worth the trouble of bringing them with me this year:(.

On a final point, forget about trying to keep up with your son. You might achieve that this year but in another year or two, you will just be some sad old guy he leaves behind in his tracks :twisted: :twisted:

jbakes87 wrote:I'm paying £25 each way with easyjet this year! Absolute joke! Need to make my hold bag as light as possible as combined I can only take 32Kgs between the ski bag & hold bag, and I've gotta try and get 2 pairs of ski's and a hold bag under 32 Kg's. Got a feeling I might have to wear most of my clothes out there lol.

... think thats bad :!: Aer Lingus and Ryanair charge €40 each way :evil: :evil: :evil:

They really do take the ****.