Family new to skiing. Tell me what to expect pls.

[highheelsandbobblehats]

We've booked to go to Rauris in Austria in February on the recommendation of a friend who has taken his family there for many years.

Husband and I are both 37, DC are 8 and 6. None of us have skiied before, or visited a ski resort.

We're all booked into a local ski school and will have full day lessons (9-12 and 1-3, lunch is taken together so that we can eat as a family which I like).

So my question is then what? I've seen apres-ski banded around and Google tells me that that's essentially hitting the bar after a day on the slopes. Is this an adult only thing or do children go?

We hope to have an hour or so the slopes after ski school finishes to either ski as a family or use their toboggan run etc. I'm aware it'll be dark early though. Does it all shut down when it gets dark or will there be a chance the toboggan will be lit up?

We're not in a hotel resort, but have chosen a SC apartment in the town (5 minutes from the ski lift). It has a pool, so the DC have that if everything stops at 4pm.

Any information, advice and tips would be much appreciated. I'm fairly spontaneous in the moment and can be flexible about how the day goes, but I'm a planner too and I like to know the ins and out of everywhere we go when we plan a holiday. Helps with the spontaneity when you have all the information!

Thank you in advance.

That hour for lunch might be very tight if the restaurant next to the school school (where you will start and end lessons) is busy.

And yes you won’t be ‘skiing as a family’ much after that much lessons- is break early and go for a drink and maybe a swim etc before dinner

It’s exhausting all that mountain air but amazing fun

Don’t forget high SPF lip balm.

I'm taking everything everyone is saying on-board. We're both reasonably fit anyway. I go to the gym a couple of times a week already.
It won't surprise me at all if the kids are better than us within days. I'm okay with that though.

You will be spending the entire holiday sliding downhill on your face. The kids on the other hand will be doing black runs before the week is out
This really made me laugh.
I'm pleased that my husband has come around to the lessons before we go idea though, for exactly the reasons mentioned upthread, the getting to know the gear etc.

Also, when I saw ski as a family in my OP, I did mean it in a more gentle 'show us what you learned today then kids' way, not a 'lets race down the black run' way.

Said not saw.

I’m glad ur DH has changed his mind. It won’t be a case of paying twice to learn the same stuff. Your ski instructor in Austria will take note of what you already know/can do, and move on from there. Even expert skiers go for lessons!

Good news is that skiing on snow is much easier than a dry slope.

Just wanted to update this (I'm the OP). For Christmas from my dad and stepmum we got money towards a lesson over here. On NYE, we had a family lesson with a private instructor on a dry slope.
I was the most worried about my DH. if he tries something and doesn't like it immediately, he won't do it again (camping being a prime example). I was worried that he'd hate it on the dry slope so would spend the whole of our trip doing his own thing whilst the DC and I had lessons.
He really enjoyed it!! Came away saying that it was great fun and he'd been looking forward to Austria anyway, but now he was looking forward to it even more.
The rest of us loved it too. DS1 was a natural, which is no surprise and DS2 picked it up quickly with some determination. I came away the only person not to fall over (which in my competitive family resulted in some good-natured crowing )
34 days to go!

Am so pleased you did this OP. There’s nothing better than getting a head start & a feel for skiing before you actually go.

And now you can really look forward to your holiday

Take plenty of snacks with you. Shops in ski resorts are REALLY expensive

After lessons finish it's really lovely to be able to practice a bit as a family - only on easy nursery slopes if you're nervous. After that its usually off home for a warm up and a hot shower. All the apres ski seemed to suit the younger party animals as far as we could remember. It's a totally different routine to what normally happens at home - the nightlife is kind of 4 till 6. My main memory of learning as a beginner on our first week was that the best thing was being absolute beginners together as a couple. In same class, falling over together and laughing together. A friend joined us a few years later and had a miserable time because she knew no-one in classes.

We drive to Austria every year (this will be the 4th year of doing this) we go to seefeld we absolutely love it! I am still a novice but I haven’t got much confidence but I am not giving up! The kids on the other hand there 12 and I have twins who are 11 they are brilliant at it and so is hubs, sometimes in the afternoons he takes the kids on the big mountains while I zip around the baby slopes listening to tunes, it’s like heaven! The hotel where we stay, serve cakes from 4pm (all free) so it’s all a rush to get back lol we all have our own skies/boots as well. One of my twins is gonna try snowboarding lessons this year and she can’t wait. But you will love it, it’s so much fun

Three weeks today and we'll be there! We're so excited. The DC are asking daily now how long until we go.
Lovely to hear stories of laughing and learning together. DH and I have booked a private instructor to share whilst the DC are in ski school and I'm so looking forward to that time with him.

The great thing about having a private instructor is that later in the week you will get to know the routes in the resort that you are able to ski and you can bring your children on them with the knowledge that you are able to get down! I am bringing my 3 dd’s for the third year running next month, my youngest is 7. I have been skiing a number of times pre dds but like a PP says I am a solid intermediate with limited nerve! We always book a private instructor as a family so we can enjoy the holiday with each other, exploring the mountains together. My dds have passed me out and left me behind only a few days in.they generally wait at the bottom now with their dad for me to catch up! On day 4 of their first year they skied a red, I nearly had palpitations when I saw the sign post and had to follow! They have skied a black since with the instructor which I will never do! You will love it.