options for family ski holiday which are less exhausting?

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I'm a high level skier - regularly raced in the past. No instructor qualifications but very competent. Yesterday I skied on a dry slope for 2 hours and I feel broken today- very sore muscles all over and can hardly walk! I'm reasonably fit- can swim for 30 mins continuously- but have a vague undiagnosed autoimmune thing where I need a lot of rest periodically just to cope with life.

I love to ski and am desperate for a family ski holiday (kids are 8 and 5 and have had lessons on indoor snow). But would it be a waste of money? How could we plan our holiday to allow for rest periods or is it not worth it? DH is a beginner. Thanks

I’m sure your ski muscles are just rusty. Plus skiing on a dry slope is 10x harder than lovely slippy snow. I’d be terrified on a dry slope (too narrow for the amount of turns I need to slow me down). Plus more worried about injury on brushes. Snow more forgiving for sure. And I’m a rubbish skier but love it!

I find that when on ski holiday with DS we naturally do less skiing anyway.

In France most non French children's ski lessons are 2-2.5 hrs so I tended to get a burst of intensive skiing in whilst DS was at Lessons in the morning, we'd meet up and get the ski lift to a restaurant, have lunch then pootle down and maybe do a few more runs but usually finish by 3. Then we'd go for a crepe then swimming in the heated outdoor pool before dinner.

I can recommend Montgenevre as a nice resort for beginners that also has some good long intermediate runs.

Oh and when at an actual resort you'll have more breaks anyway with chairlifts and queues.

Maybe look at companies such as family ski and ski en famille as well as chilly powder where they have a resident nanny so you aren’t hiking kids and skis over town. Also you don’t have to worry about
Doing a long morning ski whilstthe kids have ski lessons and supervised lunch then ski with them or play in the afternoon can work well.
I have heard people be very complimentary about snow biz in put st Vincent. Smaller ski area so maybe less taking

You probably need a pre ski exercise class or gym programme. Also if you have not skied in a while the equipment has changed and your technique may benefit from a one to one lesson. Puck a resort with plenty of cafes on the slopes, chairlifts/gondolas and other activities in resort like an indoor/outdoor pool so you can take a break as required.

Great advice thanks!

Have you thought about skiing in Lapland nice ski runs for beginners and wouldn’t have to ski every day could go see reindeers northern lights maybe a visit to Santa can bee some cheap deals if you just skiing and not to the completely over Santa resorts.

Yes to exercise before you leave! Tons of squats. I guess budget is everything, but there are some amazing resorts out there for families. I think you are right to consider what else the place has on offer for when you don't ski, skiing is so hard for beginners, your husband may hate it, so you need something to do with the rest of the time in your day. We have children of similar ages, I'm a poor skier but really enjoy it, but we rarely do more than 5 hours on a ski holiday with up to 5 days of skiing, We are lucky too to have local mountains we go to every weekend during the winter so don't need to "acclimatize" to how tough skiing is (we're in North America). Whistler, for example, has a cinema, brilliant for a change with the kids when they've had tons of fresh air. Banff and Lake Louise have dog sledding and the hot springs, Steamboat springs is supposed to be amazing for families as is Big White.
Nielsen ski brochures are a great place to start, I would also definately recommend if you can stretch to it, ski in ski out accommodation as there is nothing worse than lugging your own and your kids stuff back to the hotel or waiting for a bus in -25.

As the North American resorts are largely new, they tend to be set up really well with ski in ski out for most hotels. If you are tired easily too you might consider a condo arrangement where you can make the kids a snack in the kitchen and also close a room off if you need to nap. Again, North American rooms tend to be huge, so what you sacrifice in character you make up for in functionality. They also do events for kids, art cafes for the kids and at least East coast Canada do maple syrup events in March. My ideal would be West Coast Canada, a few days in Vancouver ski Grouse mountain, out to Whistler for 5 days then home. Within Europe, you could also consider a day out, some Austrian resorts have trains to the nearest gorgeous city, like Vienna, which is a fun thing to do when the kids have had enough. You sound like an amazing skier, hope you feel a little less stiff soon!

Club med can be good for this. You have lunch in the hotel, so can take boots off and chill for a bit before heading back on the slopes.

Kranska Gora is a small resort with day trips if you don't want to ski every day eg Bled, Venice