J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by samhay1011

Hi went earlier this week with my 6yr old daughter and had an absolutely fab day the fashion show was great as was the teaching slope and the rail jam and quarterpipe shows. WOW I couldnt believe the 5 & 8 yr olds on the quarter pipes with their tricks how fantastic. My dd is now a big ski fan she is even willingto give up x mas pressies for a ski holiday ( would only be 3rd this yr if we make it before x mas!) Just thought Id see what everyone else thought of the show and if they know of any similar coming up ideally in London area :)

We went to Les gets last year with Esprit holidays - a family specialist Les Gets (France) is lovely its not too long a flight and a short transfer and they also have an ice skating rink in the village and a special part of the mountain that adults can only go on with kids - based on indians and cowboys real fun. My daughter was with ESF ski school through esprit and she came on leaps and bounds. They also do a snow club and creche - snow club runs in the afternoon after ski lessons and they do lots of fun things then in the evening they do cocoa club in chalet so you can eat your meal in peace. Esprit are a really good child friendly co to go with and you will share a chalet/hotel with other families who will also be holidaying with their kids and so are far more understanding. try contacting Esprit and have a look at where they go etc etc. Other kid friendly companies are Ski Famille& Ski beat. Try letting your older child having dry ski lessons before you go tht helps a lot as well - All in all have a great time.

Everyone above ahs good advice - also try looking at e bay especially for your child as they grow out of each piece of kit every season. Next do some great ski stuff - remember they have a sale just after x mas and usually have ski stuff in the sale - their gloves I buy new and are only £8 a pair and are very good - Ive also had some good ski stuff from M&S also from e bay and in the sales again just after x mas and had some very good bargains from there - and lastly but not least local papers you might get a bargain in there as well - Think 1 jacket and 1 pair of salopettes each with a tl;east 3 pairs of thermals (long johns and vests - again M&S are very good and reasonable) gloves/mittens each and plenty of good ski socks - M&S again sometimes they do 3 for 2 as well and you can mail order them - a good pair of socks is your most valuable investment as they will provide warmth cmonfort and protection for your shins - also have you thought about dry ski lessons before you go a very worthwhile investment it helps you hit the ground running so to speak once on the snow - I know there is a dry slop in Aldershot but maybe there are others nearer to you. Have fun its great - dont spend too much on your gear first time it has been said you either love it or hate it skiing unfortunately Im hooked enjoy and have fun its great!

try decembeer time onwards ie ski season!!

Hi Im looking at skiing in Courchevel this yr and came accross a reasonable deal in La Tania next resort on but apparantlylinked - Is it possible to get a lift from La Tania to Courchevel without skiiing? or if you have to ski a nice blue one to strat off with - I have a little one with me and I dont want to tire her out before we start the day - having said that shes a better skiier than her parents (us) but we plan on skiing with her all day this yr rather than have her in 1/2 day ski school.?? Any reccs greatfully received - We will likely try and get something last min though due to last yrs poor snow conditions dont want to spend a fortune and not ski to the last if you know what I mean - also Are there pleanty of reasonable priced restaurants on the mountain there ? Went to Les Gets last yr and to be honest it will take some beating

Hi as a beginner I would wholehartedly reccomend Les Gets in France Its a beautifull resort not built up cheap lift passes (go for the local lift pass only) its got lots of mountain restaurants for a much needed hot choc/vin chaud stop off the people are very friendly its got an ice rink in resort for something else to do plenty of lovely little shops and is very pretty and also has many tree lined runs therefore much more scenic. One thing though it is quite low so be carefull with snow cover they do have cannons which is good and reduce the lift pass price if all the runs arent open. ESF ski school is ok - we went with the holiday company Esprit holidays and you can get some great last min baragins for 1 adult 1 child and their child care is excellent and you will be sharing a chalet with other families so you can relax. my dd had lessons with esf through esprit and they were limited nos in the class (8) and all from our chalet so all english which made a big difference as for lessons with yourself we used a guy for private lessons I cant remeber his name but if I do ill post it on here and he was english and fab - If you have allready done some dry skiing you might be as well having a couple of provate lessons and be off on your way although for a 1st time ski trip grp lessons have the bonus of like ability skiiers and you can ski together after the lessons as well. One thing before you go get fit! it really makes a difference and enjoy it we have been late comers to skiing having gone only in the last 2 yrs - but having said that I snook in an extra trip at easter this yr as I am totally hooked ENJOY :-)

Hi you could see if the resort has a dedicated website to look at webcams and obviously sign up here for snow reports/forecast as well. As for lift passes if the resort is open (likely) then they will sell you lift passes in resort - same goes for equipment. It might also be worth looking into a website snowrental - i think you could try it from one of the tabs at the top of this page - I got a huge saving off my equiment on line ( well from what Esprit ski was going to charge me at least) same with lift passes and lessons - go direct its amazing how much money you can save rather than through your tour operator for all the ancillaries. ( I saved somewhere in the region of £300+) just with a few clicks!
Finally have a great time and I hope you have lots of lovely fresh snow and beautifull sunny days! :-)

just a quickie - my Oh and I both had 3 hrs of private lessons this yr and boy were they worth their weight in gold - our instructor tailored our training/instruction particularly to each of us each indibidual has different learning strategies and strengths/weaknesses etc by having a lesson just the two if us with one instructor we really came on - I even learned the basics of carving - look for your tracks in the snow they will t ell you how you ski and what youve been doing /where your weight is etc...... Anyway - look up on the net where you are going and then find ski schools and then look at the different schools/costs etc... We were lucky in Les Gets and booked a lesson with Joe of alpine learning curves and he was really good - what he said made a lot of sense . Anyway enjoy the hols and dont get injured !