First time ski weekend - advice please!

[fellrunner85]

Advice wanted, please...!

My DH has a big birthday in December this year and I'd like to take him away for a weekend, skiing. Both of us have always wanted to try it but never had the chance. We're both fit (running, climbing, biking) but complete ski novices.

So! Wise women of MN. Is a ski weekend a mad idea for complete beginners?
How do we book something all-in when we have no clue what we're doing? For example, is there a way to book flight, hotel and ski classes altogether, as if there is I'm struggling to find it...

And where would you recommend, for a fancy-ish 3 night break? Flying from Manchester, ideally.

All tips very gratefully received.

Skiing is fab but the first couple of days are a bit boring-you won’t be drinking schnapps in a mountainside bar. I’d be tempted to book a night near a snow dome and have 2 intensive lessons in the uk. Over a weekend you’ll struggle to get a ski school so will have to have private lessons which means much of the day (unless you both take to it very quickly and confident reading piste maps) you’ll be on the baby slopes with loads of small kids. Try it here then book a week if you like it. It will be much cheaper!

Sorry I sound like a negative Nellie. Places we have done is alpe d’huez, Andorra soldeu (also done pas de la casa but not for couples), les arcs 1950. Another consideration is the transfer time from airport/train station to resorts. I think it’s an expensive no but others may have ideas to make it more fun. Also need to look at snow in December as lots of places don’t fully open until Christmas.

Most ski companies like O’Neill, crystal, mark warner, club med run sat to sat which is why you are struggling to find a package. We usually go independently and have done for 4 days but 3 days would be one day of skiing and a ski pass is quite expensive that way and you’ll need to hire a car/get a ski bus.

Driving up a mountain at 11pm without snow chains (thanks hertz) is the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done and that was after doing alpe d’huez on a coach-I kept my eyes shut!

Definitely do a course at chill factore near Manchester beforehand. Ideally get yourself coming down the main slope and you will get so much more from your ski weekend.
Choose somewhere close to the airport and book flights so you get 3 days on snow.
I would recommend using an agency like Ski Independence or Ski Solutions and they will put the whole thing together and arrange passes and kit and everything if you want to make life easy (also you will have increased flexibility under many booking terms now). My first ski trip I only did 2 days and I was completely hooked!

Our trips normally look like this
Day 1- travel, check in, ski hire etc
Day2-6 ski school/DH skiing
Day 7 Family skiing
Day 8 travel home

The first day of lessons is just getting used to the equipment, lifts etc. The second day is getting more interesting. (I'm a bit of an expert on beginner ski school, having been through it four times and not improved. Luckily, Dh has now reached the conclusion I am unteachable so I now get to spectate!)

For ski weekends I have always stayed 3 nights, skied 3 days and never taken a bus or driven in winter. If you want fancy maybe look at Megeve? It’s been suggested to me before for a weekend. Samoens also has some lovely hotels and Les Gets great for beginners although less fancy.

Definitely do a lesson in an indoor slope before you go. Just the basic snowplough stop and turns will be enough. Then you’ll actually be able to try easy pistes whilst away instead of being on a short nursery slope. As it’s just a weekend away you’ll probably need to book private lessons. Then, if you’re feeling up to it, you can practice your skills in the afternoon. If not then you can enjoy a cosy bar with a view instead.

Location wise you don’t want somewhere with a long transfer if it’s just a weekend. Morzine isn’t too bad from Geneva? Really good range of pistes for all levels. Wouldn’t say it was fancy though.

Definitely agree with doing a Beginners Course at the Chill Factore - my children did it, something like 6 or 8 hours of lessons and they were flying down the main slope. Means you'll get more out of your holiday.

When I've done weekends, have flown late on Thursday then skied Fri, Sat, Sun, flown home very late on Sunday night. It's exhausting but brilliant.

Just a word of warning - December is early season so you'll probably need to go high to have the best chance of snow. Definitely recommend a specialist company putting everything together for you.

Unless you’re both complete naturals, 3 nights isn’t really long enough for a first time skiing. Is a week out of the question? It would open up a lot more options in terms of destination and ski tuition.

If it has to be 3 nights...you won’t be able find ski school for 3 days so you’ll need to book private lessons (TBH that’s no bad thing, we often book private lessons for DH and I rather than group ski school - it’s a bit more expensive but you progress faster and get more tailored tuition). I would definitely consider some lessons before you go to get the basics and make the make of your time there.

Resort-wise, you’ll want somewhere with a short transfer. Anywhere in Portes du Soliel is worth a look as it’s a short transfer from Geneva (though it’s some of it low-lying -I’ve been Morzine twice in peak season and it’s rained! December might be a bit early).

Weekend ski packages can be pricey and hard to come by so you might be better DIYing it (we’ve booked AirBnB accommodation before when we’ve been for a weekend). You can book private lessons independently, prob better to sort out in advance. I’ve done 3 nights before - booked an early flight, been on the slopes before lunch, two full days then skied until mid afternoon before catching an evening flight back. Easier to do when you already ski and know what you’re doing though!

A couple of left field suggestions that we have done as a short break: Are in Sweden or Oslo. Oslo has a small ski park outside the city centre which is ideal for beginners (a big Alpine resort is a waste of time when you’re starting out as you’ll only ski on a tiny fraction of it). You can get English language private tuition and combine skiing with a city break (nice city hotel and restaurants!). Are is one of my favourite places to ski and very doable booked independently if you’re prepared to do a bit of research.

Sadly, I think a week would be pushing it, @Bubbinsmakesthree - we can get the in laws to take the DC for three nights, but not a week... and I'd rather not take them with us, as then it turns into a very different type of holiday (ie a more stressful one!)

I've been checking out Chill Factore lessons and will get booked in post-lockdown. Having lessons in advance seems pretty unanimous!

These suggestions are all so incredibly helpful, please keep them coming.

A long weekend can basically cost the same as a packaged week, just FYI.

But, for ease of everything, yes, Ski Weekends / Ski Solutions / Momentum Ski will be a lot easier to work with. They’ll package up flights, transfer and accom. Lift passes and lessons and hire can be very easily booked online - ski school will advise on passes. One private instructor for the 2 of you is probably the best way about it as group lessons are mostly weekly.

Morzine, La Cluses, Les Gets, Chamonix, Flaine, all under 2 hours transfer.

Jealous!

If you are set on doing a long weekend I would try and do it over as many days as possible (Try Thurs eve to Monday) as it takes a while to get sorted with lift passes and hire etc which eats into your weekend. As its your first time I agree a package would be a good option as there is a lot involved.

If you think you are both going to be a simillar ability you could get private lessons for 2 hours each day in the am in resort, have a break for lunch then practice what you have learnt for the afternoon. Its hard to get a group lesson on a Sat in a lot of resorts and they tend to run for a few days so you may not find a group course that fits your days there. Although it would be good to have lessons before you go, having a much bigger space to practice on up in the mountains and some in resort practice and a local instructor is really valuable too so I dont think lessons before hand should necessarliy be a deal breaker.

I agree Megeve flying to Geneva would be a good option for you its an amazing resort but not cheap. Combloux is close to Megeve and a bit cheaper with some good beginner runs but Dec is a bit risky with snow so you may want to go a bit higher. Avoriaz would also be good as its quite high up and some good beginner areas.
Stamford Ski do weekends in Megeve and they can sort you out with everything you need re passes, lessons, hire etc they may be worth a try.

Bear in mind that early snow can be unreliable and resorts not fully open before Christmas/New Year. You may need to arrange private lessons in advance.

How old are your DC? A family ski holiday is very different to a 'normal' holiday. We don't see that much of our DC. They go into ski school at 0930, we meet them for lunch 12-1 and then they go back to ski school 1-3.
DH and I were in private lessons for three mornings. The rest of the week we either skiied or hung out in the bars/spa.
I do understand what you're saying about being away without them though. We went to Reykjavik for three nights a couple of years ago to see the Northern Lights, and it was amazing to have that time together and follow our own schedule with no responsibility.

As others have said, if you're set on keeping it as a long weekend, definitely get yourself to Chill Factore, and get confident doing turns and stopping. I'd advise going for some recreational practice after you've finished your course so that you can practice and get a feel for doing it without tuition. Then when you get out to the resort spend half an hour or so on the nursery run first thing in the morning, just to find your ski legs. Then you can head up to find some bigger runs with confidence.

You need to find flights that leave late
Both sides to get three days in. EasyJet used to have a flight that left Liverpool at 5ish and Geneva at 9pm. Might be same from Manchester. Hire a car and drive to a resort. You will want to go somewhere high to get almost good snow in Dec but the high resorts tend to be 3 hrs plus drive from Geneva (tigers, alpe d’huez, Les arcs. There are nearer airports to these ski areas to fly to but generally flights are only on weekends. You could also look at flight to Turin in Italy and then drive to Cervinia which is high up. Book accommodation through something like booking.com or Airbnb.

Booking it all yourself will work out much cheaper than through a tour operator but not much less than a full week.

Tignes not tigers!

We went for a long weekend with a company called ski weekends to Flaine in a catered chalet. Was excellent definitely recommend

@EggyPegg We don't put our children in ski school on a family ski holiday, we go at Christmas so want to be together as a family, so its not always the case that you don't see your children on a ski holiday.

OP I would love an adult only ski weekend with my husband OP and think its a great thing to do for a big birthday so don't worry about leaving the children behind for a couple of nights. Just H and me partaking in apres ski with a bit of luxury, yes please ! Just take the advice from the responses about prep you can do before you go & choose the resort wisely to get the best out of it!

You need to go somewhere that has a short transfer. We stayed in the heliopic in chamonix with ski weekends for my DH's 40th. Had an amazing time.

I think a weekend is a great way to get a taste for it before you commit to a whole week!

I love skiing, I usually go for a week but I've done a couple of weekends too. They can be quite full-on. I did one to Courmayeur a couple of years ago and the Ski Solutions guys were really useful. Not sure how good the resort is for beginners but they had good prices and will have other resort reccos - www.skisolutions.com/ski-holidays/italy-resorts/courmayeur/weekends. There are some good French resorts near Geneva like la Clusaz too - my friend always goes there for weekends and seems to work well!

I've only just seen this post, did you ever get to go skiing? I'd recommend booking a short break with Club Med, they often have short breaks available. We always book with www.skiline.co.uk they are Club Meds biggest agent in the UK. Expect to pay around £900 for 4 nights, but remember this includes ski pass and lessons. Club Med are all-inclusive, so all meals and drinks are included too..

I hope you love skiing, its my families favorite thing