J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by AllyG

Thanks Mike,
I was planning on spending all day there, on the slope, to include a mogul lesson.

How can they do a special coaching lesson on moguls if they don't have any?

Ally

Hi Karen,
I've never stayed in a catered chalet, but I have stayed in hotels with the kids.

I think, like most things, you get what you pay for. We stayed in the four star hotel, the Heitzmann, in Zell am See, Austria, one year. It wasn't even that expensive really, because they did a one child for free offer. Anyway, the food was fantastic. It was several years ago now, but we still talk about the food. I have never eaten anything so nice, ever, before or since. There were about 6 courses at dinner and it used to take us about 2 hours to eat it all. The children were only young, but they soon learnt that everything, whatever it was called or looked like, was delicious. Even things like spinach. They did a formal sit down dinner, but they told you in the morning what was going to be on the menu that night, and if you didn't like it they'd find you an alternative. My children and I are all vegetarian, and they managed to feed us all week, on the most amazing food I have ever eaten. What a fantastic chef.

Breakfast was a buffet in the dining room. And breakfast and dinner were included in the price, but drinks (tea and orange juice in our case) weren't.

We've also stayed in a four star hotel in Obergurgl, and the food was OK but nowhere near the standard of the Heitzmann. And we stayed (our first ski holiday)in a very cheap hotel in Borovets, Bulgaria. The food mainly consisted of potatoes and cheese, which actually we quite liked, but no-one else did, and the hotel dining room was empty every night, apart from us.

Hope this helps,

Ally

I am thinking of going to the Manchester snow dome for a lesson on mogul ski-ing, as a birthday present to myself, in June. It is a long way from here (West Wales), and will involve staying in a hotel overnight, and will probably turn into a big family outing with shopping etc.

Has anyone been there? How good are their moguls and their lessons? I've been to the one in Milton Keynes and it didn't have any moguls at all, that I could see anyway.

I am hopeless at moguls, and worried because my last ski teacher in Val Thorens said I should go up to the advanced group next ski holiday, and I know if they go down a slope with moguls I will be left miles behind, and get put back down into a lower group. If I don't improve on them before the ski holiday next year I might as well just start in the intermediate group.

Any advice much appreciated,

Ally

Well,
Maybe somebody should try and organise a car sharing scheme for future holidays? It sounds as though several people here drive to France.

As far as global warming goes, I think 4 people in a car is the same as the train, and someone else here did some costings on a car (I've forgotten who it was I'm afraid) and as far as I remember it worked out at about £100 per person as long as you have 4 people, which is cheaper than the train.

A lot of the French resorts seem to be quite close together, so they wouldn't even have to go to the same resort.

Even if we wanted to fly, we live about 100 miles from Cardiff airport, the nearest one, and Cardiff doesn't fly everywhere and the places it does go to cost more than flying from Bristol, which is further again.

We usually spend nearly 5 hours on a train getting to London, spend the night with my elderly parents, and then have an 8 hour train journey (usually broken by changing stations in Paris) followed by a one hour bus transfer to resort, and then drag our suitcases through the snow to our self-catering apartment.

So, naturally we don't bring skis or boots with us.

We are thinking about going to Courchevel 1550 next year, and limiting ourselves to window shopping, apart from buying milk, pasta, toilet paper and other essentials, as we have heard everything is very expensive there.

Ally

I am 47 and I live in Wales. It takes us a day and a half to get to the slopes in France, by train, because we live 250 miles from London. We go by train rather than fly because we are trying to help control global warming.

Hi Ski&Dive,
I've got to go out now, but no I haven't tried sand ski-ing - it sounds like fun.

My elder daughter went to Geilo in Norway for her first ski holiday, and she said it was great, and the instructors were fantastic. So I can see why you like it there.

Ally

Hi Ski and Dive (male).

Where do you usually ski? When I was a child I skied at Sauze d'Ouix and Saalbach, and since I've been an adult I nearly skied in Borovets, Bulgaria, but I broke my shoulder 2 weeks before the holiday and 2 days before Christmas practising in a lesson on a dry ski slope, because I hadn't skied for 30 years.

And then I did actually ski at Zell am See, which we all liked very much, Obergurgl, Val Thorens (twice), and La Rosiere.

We are thinking about going to Courchevel (1550) next February half-term and staying in a cheap self-catering apartment.

But I am not a very good skier. I still snow-plough when I'm nervous and I'm rubbish in moguls (I end up sitting on them).

Ally

What's that?