To not understand the snobbery around skiing?

I'd say that's a big misconception. I often chose skiing over a summer holiday as a child. It would be our only trip away from home for the year. And I know quite a lot of others who prioritise it over a beach type summer holiday. It's can be much cheaper than a Spanish AI or even a French chalet type stay.

@LewishamMumNow no worries.

Sorry, meant to quote the thing you were responding to

TBF that's obviously not what the thread is about!

It doesn't put it into perspective at all. Disney is out of a lot of people's price range and they could only ever dream of going there.

Surely the expense issue is not so much about the cost of a ski holiday compared to say Disney, or an AI package in the Med, but the fact that it is a Winter holiday, and for most people who do it, a second (or more) holiday?
None of the people I know who ski regularly do it instead of a nice summer holiday, it is as well as. Most people I know only have one holiday a year and they prioritise a Summer holiday, especially if they have youngish children. They could probably afford to swap their Summer holiday for a ski break but not do both. Regular skiers are, in my experience anyway, well off enough to do both, which is why skiing is still seenas the preserve of the wealthy.

@LewishamMumNow i was genuinely curious as we can't afford to go abroad to ski anymore

I didn't realise you were the thread police!

TBF that's obviously not what this thread is about.

Ski-ing is so much more than an all inclusive! I went on an all inclusive in Feb for 2 weeks in Canary Islands for just under 2k for me and three kids (one a baby). Find me somewhere (anywhere - even Eastern Europe) where you can go ski-ing for "only" twice that for a week, including all equipment, insurance, etc. And that is just a week, and as a pp said, almost always not the "main" holiday.

But if he'd assumed that you would not have had the opportunity to go skiing because of your background wouldn't that have been classist as well?

What's the snow like and is there any guarantee of a decent number of runs?

It depends where you live! We are about an hour from Cairngorm and can pop up for a day very easily. We tend to spend a week in Aviemore in February which is obviously more expensive.

My school organised a trip to the seaside because so many students had never seen the sea! We definitely weren't going abroad.

And yet people think skiing is for the elite but have no issues with people going to Disney.

Disney is a once in a lifetime holiday for many people, it's not generally something you do every year.

Your post didn’t include any travel. If it does in fact include flights, then I’d be very interested if you posted the link to this incredible unicorn of a ski package.

One of the main issues with skiing is that you want guaranteed snow - so yes, you could pay less and go to Scotland or a cheaper resort at a lower altitude, but you then run the risk of nothing being open, or only being able to do a handful of runs.

If you go when it's cheaper (ie late or early in the season) you could well end up not being able to ski half the mountain which kind of defeats the whole object for most people.

Indeed - skiing in the Alps/France is pricey, but my kids went to Finland and Austria with their schools. Cost was around £700 (admittedly a 3 years ago), they stayed in hostels, 4 to a room, and obviously had school coordinated group lessons where the teacher from school wasn’t good enough (the head of biology taught my eldest to sk). You can still do that as young adults if you can face the dorm set up. As a family, been to Italy as well, but they did do France last year (L2A). That was exorbitant and will get me pilloried here if I list the cost. Some years the kids have skiied and we’ve gone camping, but as my DH grew up caravaning he has vetoed any more tents/cabins now the kids and we are older. He works hard, we have only few years left when the kids will want to go away with us (and are still bound my school/uni holidays) so yes, we do more than one holiday a year, not least so that I can come too.

Essentially, people who are sporty and like being outside in the air after a year in school buildings/company offices often like ski holidays; other people who get fed up of grey British winters and unpredictable summers, and maybe the constant running around after their kids, like a week of guaranteed sun and low maintenance entertainment by a pool/beach (I’m the outlier in my fam, as that’s me). It just different strokes. Different budgets, different interests, different wants from a holiday and different periods family life. There’s no need for the inverted snobbery that British people seem to have for the concept of skiing.

Do you not realise £3k is a fortune for a lot of people?? Disney is too. But for a lot of people who want a once-in-a-lifetime holiday, Disney offers more value than just skiing. Especially for young children.

This was true at my state school too- but my parents sent me because there was no way that themselves could afford to ski themselves taking a family of four skiing is different from one kid on a coach trip and sleeping in a hostel dorm in the Valle d’Aosta

( my mum went to boarding school in the alps so can ski well, but married down by a long stretch so skiing was no longer part of life once she’d married)

It's a multiple holidays issue. We are a moderately chilly island so most people prefer a waem summer holiday and not many would be content for their only holiday to be in winter in a cold place.

Most people cannot afford two big family holidays a year. So unless you are well off you would have to really really like skiing to go regularly.

This misses the point. Apart from the people who are purist about skiing as a sport, it's as much about WHERE you ski.

So our DC have school friends who ski at least twice a year in the right resorts in the alps, US is also acceptable.

My DD told me that 'everyone' does Cornwall before the state schools break up for two weeks in July, France or Tuscany in August, Lakes/Euro city break or similar October half term, Carribean at Christmas, then skiing at Feb half term and Easter.

A lot of families who ski, know a lot of other families who ski. Plus I can't tell you how many of DCs friends we used to run into in Cornwall after the private schools break up.

FWIW, I've never skiied and can't imagine a worse holiday 😁

DH grew up skiing. I don't ski and neither do most of our DCs. We have horses, which is more a lifestyle than a sport / hobby.

Did you miss my post where I quoted an actual holiday with prices from a package company? Which included all the extras?

I despair at mumsnet sometimes, people just want to play ignorant.