Latest posts for the topic "Private lessons"

Private lessons

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:31:34 GMT

For my wife's 3rd (and final) attempt at skiing she is planning to take lessons at Xscape in Glasgow prior to the real thing in January - this year she is fitter than ever, feeling confident and has seen a new jacket that can only be purchased for a skier.

Options that seem to be available are 1 hour private lessons @ GBP150 (!!!!!) or group lessons @ GBP25-GBP35 per hour.

In the past she has had some lessons in resort and a few on a dry slope - each time she has failed miserably probably down to a lack of confidence rather that an inability to snowplow.

Does anyone have any recomendations based on a knowledge of Xscape that would give her the best chance of catching even a mild dose of the ski-bug?

Although she is positive, she is not really too desparate to ski but feels that she is missing something not being able to see our daughters (6 & 11) speed their way down an isolated mountain without fear.

Re:Private lessons

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:25:56 GMT

I've not had experience of Xscape but I can offer some experience of private lessons. There has been huge discussion on here in the past about pos and cons of group & private but I'll leave that aside.

As a price comparison my wife and I had 3 half day private lessons in Switzerland for approx GBP350 for both of us.

So far as the benefits of a private lesson for the nervous skier are concerned I would say go for it but not at that price. Unless, of course your wife wants to make sure she is confident before you commit to paying for a holiday.

My MiL came with us two years ago and had no previous skiing experience. She did not get on with group lessons at all because the group advanced too quickly for her ability and she gave up after day one.
Last year we went back to the same resort, same slopes but this time MiL had private lessons. The change was incredible. OK, she wasn't flying down red runs by the end of 3 days but she was confident enough to get down the gentle slopes.
So MiL felt like she had skied with all of us in our group we spent a session with her on the nursery slopes doing very gentle skiing.
A private one to one lesson will allow your wife to progress at her speed and only do what she feels she is confident to do. No pressure to keep up with the group.

Hope this helps

Re:Private lessons

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:51:37 GMT

Going to Xscape will be better than going to a dry slope, of that I am sure.
Group lessons can pass you by somewhat, so I would suggest looking into private lessons. Maybe consider doing a crash course at Xscape and then booking private tuition in resort. A friend of mine paid something like GBP50 an hour for private tuition, but you might be able to halve the cost by going with another person for example.
I would say that learning the basics, ie how to stand up when you fall, snowploughing to stop and control speed, getting your skis on and off etc is well worth doing before you hit the lessons in resort so that she can concentrate on learning and enjoying it too.
Best of luck.

Re:Private lessons

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:05:05 GMT

Too expensive at GBP150 an hour, they will price them selves out of the market at that rate, try a dry slope or wait till you get to resort, as Tony as previously said expect to pay Euro35 to Euro50 per hour 8)

Private lessons

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:10:14 GMT

snowplough wrote:1 hour private lessons @ GBP150 (!!!!!)

:shock:

For 2 of those you could have a long weekend on a real mountain as a warm-up instead. You know you want to... 8)

Re:Private lessons

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:14:55 GMT

GBP150 per lesson, crikey whose giving the lesson Bode Miller? :lol:

Re:Private lessons

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:37:47 GMT

Mmm. thought it was a tad pricey - ESF usually c70euro for 2 hours.....
It's just that she it keen to know if she can have the kit before we go.....really it's just the shopping that motivates her.

Re:Private lessons

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:53:59 GMT

I think thats your problem right there. Avoid the ESF at all costs even a confident skiier is very rarely lucky enough to get any decent input unless your lucky enough t get a British Instructor but within the ESF they are as rare as rocking horse poo.

A private lesson with the ESF is not gaurenteed to be any better unfortunatly.

Which resort are you going to? Many of the bigger French resorts now have British companies that use British,Australian and NZ instructors.

Re:Private lessons

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:00:01 GMT

L2A which is where I learned a couple of years ago with......ESF!
Just goes to show that it's probably luck of the draw on where, when and who you get as an instructor no matter which company....I had a pretty intensive week with 6 half day group lessons and 2 private lessons (I was really useless) with 3 different instructors who were all great.

Re:Private lessons

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:59:30 GMT

I learned to ski with ESF in Val Thorens. It wasnt the instructor who was the problem, it was the retards they put me in with )

Re:Private lessons

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:27:59 GMT

On days one & two my fellow trainees would have pointed me out as one of the retards! From day 3 it clicked!

Re:Private lessons

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:51:40 GMT

Before my first ski holiday I went to the Snowdome in Milton Keynes on an 8 hour learn to ski in a day course. It takes up to approx 11 people per course at around GBP150 for the day. I went in September and it was only me and one other guy so we got on really well as it was almost a private lesson. My friend went in October and was the only person on the course therefore 8 hours private lesson. My other ski companion didn't get round to her course until December when there was 11 of them - though she still got on well.

So my tip is if you want to go to the Snowdome go now whilst it is still quiet.

Also at MK Snowdome they have a ladies ski morning where you have 2 hours skiing for a reduced price (which inclues coffee and biscuits) and there is an instructor on hand to give tops which could help build confidence after the initial course.

Re:Private lessons

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:23:21 GMT

clairehb0 wrote:there is an instructor on hand to give tops which could help build confidence after the initial course.

Claire - are you saying these ladies are topless :shock: :shock:

LOL
Allie

Re:Private lessons

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:14:23 GMT

snowplough wrote:On days one & two my fellow trainees would have pointed me out as one of the retards! From day 3 it clicked!

You and me both!

Re:Private lessons

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:15:23 GMT

acarr wrote:

clairehb0 wrote:there is an instructor on hand to give tops which could help build confidence after the initial course.

Claire - are you saying these ladies are topless :shock: :shock:

LOL
Allie

I read it as though they were giving out free fleeces or something

Re:Private lessons

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:21:17 GMT

Snowplough, apologies for my typing error it is TIPS they give out in MK not TOPS. The very nice lady instructor who has been there for years looks about 70 years old - you really dont want to see her skiing topless!

Re:Private lessons

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:36:42 GMT

Now I understand......clear as mud!

Re:Private lessons

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:23:13 GMT

Lessons: slow way to gain moderate confidence and decent skill.

Beer: fast way to gain supreme confidence and get back to the bar to help make you think you have skill.

Fractured skull and broken coller bone: excellent method by which to unstich your bad habits and learn to get through a week without hitting the deck once by doing it properly.

I tried all 3 ......

• option 1 lasted 45 minutes
• option 2 lasted 3 years
• option 3 will hopefully last a lifetime

I'm sure I will stray occasionally mind :)

Re:Private lessons

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 11:34:53 GMT

A couple of years back I had a private lesson and it was brilliant fun. The instructor made sure I ski-ed rally hard for a couple of hours and made me do a few exercises to improve balance, feel etc. I felt I really learned a lot whilst, just as importantly, having a good laugh with him as well.

Although pricey,I would say it was well worth the money and would recommend anyone, whatever their ability, to have a private lesson or two in resort.

Re:Private lessons

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:03:18 GMT

I have never had a private lesson..... I feel one comming on 8) 8)

Re:Private lessons

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:52:27 GMT

I am a slow learner. My first year of group lessons got me ploughing just about confidently. The second year I took group lessons again and fell behind. Not helped by having to stop on the penultimate day and go to see the man I was due to marry 10 weeks later in hospital. He had suffered a terrible broken leg.

Year three I was worried about my confidence due to husband's break the previous year. I booked private lessons in Sauze. Best thing I ever did. I was confident as I had the instructor's full attention and I managed to get rid of the bad habits that were mainly due to lack of confidence. Year four we had an hours lesson at Chill Factor before we went back to Sauze where my husband and I had the same instructor I'd had the year before. Again a great idea, he gave my husband his confidence back and it was fun to learn together, just the two of us.

Year five, I didn't bother with lessons, bad mistake. I got lazy and hit a few bad runs, denting my confidence. Next year about 3 of us (at a similar level) are going to hire an instructor to give us a couple of days of private lessons. The bonus is I get to learn which runs are suitable for me whilst having someone there to boost my confidence.

I heartily recommend private lessons in resort. I felt they were much better value than learning indoors at home. They may be more expensive than group lessons but I get far more out of 4-6 hours that way than 10 or more in a group.

Re:Private lessons

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:05:33 GMT

I had private lessons several years running from BASI teachers in France. Very good value for money, I learned loads and still remember the things I learned.

Re:Private lessons

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:39:12 GMT

My lessons with ESF were in Val Thorens over Xmas 2001. I hated it for the first 3 days, just couldnt manage to do a snowplough turn at all, but then it clicked once we started doing parallel turns. I used to spend every spare minute for the last 3 days skiing when the lessons were not on. I did a lot of falling over as I was always trying to push myself and try really hard. Confidence is not something I am or was short of. Ability and experience was, sadly.

My next trip was to BKK with Skidaddle. There was 1 red run open, a white line cutting through the glorious spring countryside. In the mornings this was like a sheet of glass, and from about midday onwards it turned into a river. Skiing was hard enough for anyone, let alone a beginner like me with one weeks worth of lessons behind me. The first morning we were as badly hungover as I can ever remember being, something which resulted in a comical moment in the cafe which included Skidaddle lying down on a table trying to sleep and me being sick thanks to some squirty cream. Therefore, skiing would have been hard enough at the best of times, but when you were rubbish like me with a hangover, it was almost pointless. 3 days we were there, and my first day I managed just 2 complete top to bottom runs, which would now take me in the region of something like 5 to 10 minutes I would guess. I was soaking wet, my head was banging, but I was hugely determined and persisted with it for 3 days. Looking back, those 3 days probably taught me more about skiing than any other experience I have ever had.

Since then, I have tried to improve my own technique, conscious of what my own faults and weaknesses are, and I think I do alright now, but thats down to having gained a lot of experience over a short space of time with 3 trips each season in the past few years. I am sure I would benefit from a private lesson, although I have also benefitted from skiing with good skiers, being offered advice from them, and following them to mimic their stance and movements. Personally, I want to simply enjoy myself and maximise the time on the slopes. Like Tino, I quite like going fast and doing as much as I can in the limited daylight that is available, but each time I go I try to improve something, and I think I have dont quite well.
Confidence and knowing your own limits are massively important factors.

I think the moral of my story is that chucking yourself in the deep end, if you have either the confidence or drive to want to succeed, has been my way of developing. I think you need a really tough experience to make you realise how awful you are. I probably went from lessons ability to being thrown down a difficult red in horrible conditions without my full senses working, but it did me no end of good.

I am thinking about having a lesson in order to tidy up my technique though.

Re:Private lessons

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:13:41 GMT

I'm also happy to sing the praises of private lessons over group. Last year, my OH and I spent a fortnight in Sauze, having previously learnt the basics in group lessons the year before. The first week we were both in group lessons, but were split up. I was placed with a more advanced group (heaven knows why! :shock: who all had several weeks experience and the only thing I really learnt was to keep up! (Oh, and that I could pretty much hurl myself down anything, survive and most importantly, thoroughly enjoy it, which was great for building confidence though not a lot of use for improving skills!) :wink:

The second week, we had 3 x 2 hour private lessons with my husband's instructor from the previous week, who was fantastic. He worked on completely different things with each of us, but used a variety of slopes (including the Olympic run at Sestriere) to give us a change of scenery. On the steeper pitches (which were purely for my benefit as my OH is infinitely more sensible), he coaxed my OH down and improved his confidence no end, whilst I was allowed to pick my own way down with an inane grin on my face. :D

The main things that I improved upon were un-weighting my skis as I turned (which I'd successfully mastered the week before, but needed to seriously tone down as I looked a bit like Tigger :lol: , pole planting (which I'd been told not to do the week before which seemed a bit odd) and keeping my weight forward, all of which made things so much easier. It really does help to have someone who is concentrating just on your faults (or at most a couple of others), rather than being with a large group where nobody really learns anything at all.

My next challenge is to have a go at skiing moguls and powder, both of which I think I'm going to need lessons for, or at least someone who knows what they're doing to give me few pointers and prevent me breaking my neck!

Re:Private lessons

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:43:05 GMT

I've been ski-ing since 1973 and in that time have had many group and even more private lessons.

I still have at least one on each trip; money well spent in identifying flaws that you didn't know you had and taking steps to eradicate them. Good instructors spot the little things and help you put them right. As I said, money well spent (but GBP150 a pop does sound a bit steep!)

Re:Private lessons

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:43:27 GMT

Ian Wickham wrote:I have never had a private lesson..... I feel one comming on 8) 8)

Get thee to Starski up in Chinaillon and ask for an "off piste" afternoon with Bastien... :wink: ...the steeps off the back (North face) of Le Lachat are an amazing place to have a "lesson". The lesson began with kicking a gap in a cornice... :shock:

I was way out of my comfort zone but once I'd stopped hyperventilating, and got down the first pitch ok, had a blast.

With a half decent instructor you can learn more in an afternoon 1-to-1 than you would in a week of standard group lessons. I think the instructors doing private lessons will usually be among the best at any school too.

Re:Private lessons

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:45:12 GMT

Admin wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:I have never had a private lesson..... I feel one comming on 8) 8)

Get thee to Starski up in Chinaillon and ask for an "off piste" afternoon with Bastien... :wink: ...the steeps off the back (North face) of Le Lachat are an amazing place to have a "lesson". The lesson began with kicking a gap in a cornice... :shock:

I was way out of my comfort zone but once I'd stopped hyperventilating, and got down the first pitch ok, had a blast.

With a half decent instructor you can learn more in an afternoon 1-to-1 than you would in a week of standard group lessons. I think the instructors doing private lessons will usually be among the best at any school too.

Yep your right thats what I'm going for next year, thanks for the tip 8)

Re:Private lessons

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:33:42 GMT

Quick update....Mrs R had her 1st (group) lesson at Xscape yesterday and has started to dream about ski-ing! The groups are a maximum of 10 for GBP27 for 1 1/2 hours but she was one of only 3 so got plenty of coaching.

She has now booked for a follow up next week without any encouragement....just a little concerned that all of her dreams (out loud) involved Jamie the grungy instructor!

For a very nervous 3rd time beginner Xscape seems to be a good option.

Re:Private lessons

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:04:24 GMT

snowplough wrote:Quick update....Mrs R had her 1st (group) lesson at Xscape yesterday and has started to dream about ski-ing! The groups are a maximum of 10 for GBP27 for 1 1/2 hours but she was one of only 3 so got plenty of coaching.

She has now booked for a follow up next week without any encouragement....just a little concerned that all of her dreams (out loud) involved Jamie the grungy instructor!

For a very nervous 3rd time beginner Xscape seems to be a good option.

Well done keep us posted on her progression 8)