Taking kids (4 & 1 yrs) skiing - Top tips please.....

[Mo2]

We've booked a last minute deal to go skiing end Mar/ early Apr in Kaprun, Austria, but this will be our first ski holiday since we had the kids (aged 4 and 19 m). We've booked nursery and kids club/starting to ski school.

Top tips needed to have the best possible time please!
What clothing combinations do we need for the kids (e.g. will we need to buy Moon Boots etc?)
In a family room - any advice/ experience...?
What should we not leave home without?

Also, I've posted on another thread, but if anyone has any ski gear to fit a size 5 year old (he's 114cm) or a 2 year old (86cm +) please get in touch!!

Mo2
xx

OH - they look great - just what I'm looking for! I'll e-mail you later!

Message withdrawn

yamamoto,

Schweizerhof sounds nice. We stayed at the Alphubel which is a family friendly hotel with creche/kids club, evening entertainment for kids and adults and a shuttle to the slopes. Because we live in Switzerland we drove down but there were other Brits who had done it independently like yourselves via Easyjet to Geneva or were on packages. ds did the Hannig sled run last year with the kids club but opted out of doing it at night with dh. Didn't get the opportunity to do it during the day this time - too busy ! We all enjoyed the Feeblick dry toboggan ride including dd who is just 2.5. Having done quite a few similar ones it definitely rates as the best and safest so far.

Downsides for us this time were the journey time(got stuck in 3 hour queue for the road/rail tunnel) and ski school for ds which was really busy (our holiday coincided with many national half terms) and didn't bring his skiing on as well as last year. Do you plan to return ?

Mo2 - Just seen this thread. Don't know if this would be any good but I just bought ds (3) a second-hand all-in-one snow suit, red, which is 104 cms and I'd be happy to loan it. Probably falls between your two, but if you think it might work, let me know. Glad you're getting a holiday.

LIZS
We went the week before 1/2 term (7th Feb) Resort busy but the slopes were very quiet, great weather all week. I suspect that next year we will return to Zermatt, which is our favourite, or go to N America for the Kids. Would love to go again this year but its not going to happen! What are you doing in ch?

yamamoto ,
missed you by a week as went 14th. Never skied Zermatt (yet!) and, Hotel Nicoletta has been recommended to us there, but have done New England (pre kids) and would love to take them there one day as seemed very family friendly. Dh is working out here for a few years but, because kids so young, don't normally get much skiing time myself.

Sorry, don't mean to hijack the thread Mo2.

Sorry Mo2, someone mentions skiing and I lose the plot! We found the cheapest Ski wear in the Gap sale. Moon boots and polo necks reduced to £5. Your going quite late so things should be quite warm! We found goggles best for the kids (can not break them and ofer protection when eating snow!)

LIZS always promised ourselves a week at the Alex in Zermatt, ate their last time and it looked great. Zermatt is the most romantic and beautiful place I know. Location is important, I think the Nicoletta is in the village centre. If you go make sure you try Zum see and chez Vrony mountain huts, still dream about them..

Wilbur - many thanks, but I think 104 will definitely be too big for youngest and too little for biggest! Many thanks for offering though!

Mo2, I went there with my youngest (2 1/2 now) in December.

The sport shop will rent you sledges. As LIZS says, check the snow reports -- the village was clear although on the last couple of days the runs to the village started opening. It looks like it has enough snow now (115 cm on the lower slopes).

I have a snow suit which fits my son 86/92. If you'd like to borrow that, let me know. It might be too warm, but if he's not used to the cold, then it should be ok, iyswim.

No experience with the ski schools, but the easiest skiing on the glacier is up at the top. You'll need to take a bus to the gondola, then another one up, but it's easy for beginners and kids once you're up there. This is if the runs in the village are closed, of course and if you'd like to go up to the glacier, which is nice.

Have fun! We stayed with Ski Esprit and although the chalet wasn't ideal, the people were wonderful and I recommend it.

Great JJ - thanks for all this info! Which chalet did you stay at, just out of interest, and why was it less than ideal? We're also going with Esprit, so it might be the same one!

I'm meant to be borrowing a friend's ski suit for the 2 year old - will see it later this week. Could I get back to you re your offer, if it looks like we need it? (many thanks! Where in the country do you live by the way?)

We were in .. oh, shoot, I'm an idiot. It was Crystal Holidays - Chalet Abendruh, but booked through Iglu.com (which is great for cheap holidays). The Ski Esprit place I saw (Chalet Sonnenalp) looked amazing. It was right down the street.

Feel free to get back to me. We're in Switzerland and I drove there with my youngest while my husband and eldest were in the US with his parents (too long a flight for too short a time with the young one).

Crikey - we had a lucky escape then - we've booked for 2005 now as well, and Chalet Abendruh was one of the ones we considered, but I thought it looked a little 'old' and 'tired' (is that what was less than ideal for you?)

We're going with Esprit to Chalet Mara in April this year, and Chalet Mara next half term.

holiday showdown on ITV now features skiing with little kiddies!

Whoops. Meant Chalet Hofer next half term (Feb 2005)