Help me pack for a teen in March pls

[Ulezz]

ds is off skiing with the school in March.
I’ve never been skiing so have no idea.
School have given us a list but I need more info from seasoned skiers please.

They will be away for 7 days with 2 days spent travelling.
Will a normal sized suitcase suffice?
are proper ski socks needed? he is in men’s sizes, they seem to be about £10-15 a pair, will 5 pairs be needed?
what to wear under salopettes and ski jacket? He’s got 2 sets of long Johns and thermal t shirts…will they do and would you advise one set for each day (ie do I need to buy more)

We have goggles, hat, ski gloves, a neck warmer, one ski jacket and one pair of salopettes.

Thank you so much

I would buy 3 pairs of ski socks from decathlon: www.decathlon.co.uk/p/adult-ski-socks-500/_/R-p-307876?mc=8553178&c=BLUE
These are excellent and as good as many premium brands. If you want to spend less and buy an Amazon type multipack 4 for £15 or whatever then do, it would be fine, just super thick not ideal but most marketed as ski socks would be fine.
I’d send three thermal long sleeve tops (a spare could be quite cheap from decathlon or M&S or wherever - even ones he already wears for sports etc would be ok (assuming he’s a teenager and sweats a bit, learning can be hot work) but 2 long John are fine - plus a couple of fleece or mid layer- he probably has something that would work already. I’ve seen boys wear hoodies and sports sweat tops. You can spend a lot on merino and technical gear if you like, but you don’t need to. Everything else you list is fine, presumably they hire them a helmet. Some waterproof or sturdy trainers (snow boots might come in handy but in March they may not be necessary). Any normal suitcase will be fine. A packet of chocolate a day might go down well on the slopes! And the usual few casual clothes.

3 pairs of socks- decathlon ones are fine

sunglasses for lunch/around town

normal suitcase

2 sets of thermals is plenty, in spring I don’t wear long johns and a normal long sleeve tee shirt is fine most of the time.

suncream that will fit in his pocket

a basic moisturiser and lip balm for afterwards (the sun and wind is be harsh on your skin) you get a little pocket all in one set.

few hoodies, if the weather gets warm he may ditch the coat altogether (I usually ski in a hoody most of March and April).

causal clothing for the evening.

Mini packets of Haribo to stash in his pockets. My DH is 40 and still enjoys a Haribo hit on the lift, so never too old.

We have our own helmets. He'll be given a hire one if he doesn't have one, but he may prefer to have one where his own sweaty head is the only one that's graced it. You can pick up an adult one on Decathalon for about £20.

Also, re socks. Lidl has ski stuff in the middle aisle at the moment. I replaced DS1s and DHs socks from there on Friday (both in adult sizes). They are £4.99 a pair. Two to three pairs are fine for the week.

Are they travelling by coach? This advice comes from travelling by coach internationally as a teen with Guides. Our coach trips were 24 hours long.
Something he can listen to (music subscription so he can download playlists to his phone so it can be used offline), a charging cable and powerbank in his hand luggage, and a neck pillow. Also, hard boiled sweets (pear drops, lemon sherbets, etc) for sharing round.

You don’t say how old he is (just he’s in men’s sizes), but I wouldn’t send my teen with just two tops/socks. At half term it was great weather and mine needed fresh most days. If he’s younger it might be ok but it would be quite smelly for a teenager so I’d stash an extra! As noted above normal long sleeve etc will do the job if you don’t want to buy. My boy wears two layers under his jacket no matter what, even in March/April you can get cold weather and snow, but depends how he feels the cold.

Layers are key. For skiing you need socks without ridges longer than ski boots, I use my hiking socks but they were £20 for 2 pairs anyway. Lidl, Aldi etc have ski socks sometimes. Have normal underwear including a t shirt under the ski underwear and re use, I only have 2 sets. Then a fleece for over then jacket, he can adjust depending on temperature. Sunglasses with a strap are helpful too, if weather is fine i don't wear goggles

Snow boots or hiking boots for after skiing.
Definitely ski socks - at pair can last two days - at a pinch 3.

The school list will cover the basics.

Decathlon is your friend for cheap but suitable ski socks and a cheap thin fleece. Springtime can mean slushy snow, so an extra pair of ski gloves is always useful. Haribos and mini-choc bars are a good idea - although most school trips seem to include a daily packed lunch of a sandwich/roll, piece of fruit, choc bar and a carton of drink.

Suncream and lipbalm are essential - the sun can be fierce in the mountains. Sunglasses too - for the mountain and when travelling/walking around town.

This is great advice thank you everyone.
He is indeed a smelly teen (14) so will make sure to pack some extra thermals.
He has some sports skins he wears for football so they may be an option.
didn’t even think about packing sweets and choc but this is a great idea thank you, especially as he is travelling by coach

Sports skins will be absolutely fine. My DC wear a mix of those and thermals.
You may find that he chooses not to wear anything under his salopettes. DS1 and DH maintain that the salopettes alone are warm enough.
On day 2 of our last holiday (Christmas), DS1 discarded his base layer top, too, choosing instead to wear a football shirt under his jacket. If your DS runs hot, he'll probably ditch the base layers early on.

I also recommend flipflops for the evening when the boots come off.
And ideally a separate jacket for the evening (whatever he wears at home) as the ski jacket is an expensive thing to snag on something.

Hoodie/comfy clothes for the evening.

I'd also always take an eye mask and earplugs.
Don't forget an adaptor plug (name-labelled).
What are they doing for lunches?

Ps assume he's hiring skis and boots there. Helmet? If wearing a helmet you don't need a hat (except perhaps for evenings)

He can double up wear on things like t shirts by wearing a clean one in the evening then using it over a base layer to ski in the next day.

Also school ski trip standards and family trips are very different! I imagine that a room with 4 or more skiing teenagers will smell unpleasant but they will all smell the same. When we ski as a family the boys always have clean base layers daily- because we take 2/3 pairs each and do a quick wash in the machine every day. On the school trip the same volume of base layers / socks lasted a week with no washing. They didn’t seem to care.

Good idea to double up on the t shirts!
he’s got skins so will utilise those but I am sure he’ll be the teen that comes back having wore the same pair all week!
all meals will be catered for at the hotel (and with a packed take out lunch) but will pack some protein bars.
great tip for the eye mask, ear plugs and flip flops too.

thank you all so much, you’ve helped me add things to my list that I hadn’t even considered!

For sunscreen, make sure it's one designed for use at altitude like Piz Buin mountain or similar, with spf 50. Normal sun cream won't be sufficient if it's sunny. Small tin of blue Nivea is useful to slap on in the evening - face is likely to be bit wind/sunburnt after a day on the slopes.