Advice for next year

[nervousskier24]

Looking to book a holiday for next year. Would be dh and & I who have not skied for 20 years (we have probably each done about 5 ski holidays pre kids) and DS who would be 16/17 and not skied before. DH has a lot more confidence that he'll still be good at it than I do!

We would be looking at dh and I doing refresher lessons over here and DS doing beginner lessons at a snow dome in preparation.

I'd like an idea of suitable resorts and a rough idea of prices. We'd be looking at half term 16-23 feb or Easter which I fear may be a bit late as it's 29 March - 22 April

I am assuming that DS and I may still need lessons on the holiday? DS wouldn't be happy if he was put in with a load of small kids. Would he be old enough to be in a class with me?

DS would be able to join adult class, but you won't be at the same level.

As for resort, depends so much on your budget and likes and dislikes? And of course, this year is really bad for low to mid alttude resorts- so no idea what will happen next year? Hisgh resorts are going to become more and more expensive as people aim aim to garantee snow.

Do you have a country in mind? And are you planning to plan the whole thing yourself and rent a flat/stay in Hotel? Self drive? Own flights?

Your question is so so vague, difficult to really help.

Sorry no country or budget in mind really but I do want to do it reasonably cheaply and then if we all love it we can spend more the year after. Basically just want a resort that's good for beginner skiing I guess.

Definitely flying and I don't mind either way if it's a hotel, apartment or air bnb type thing. Happy to book everything separately if it's cheaper, we'll need to hire all equipment other than clothing.

For cheap & high, Cervinia in Italy is good, otherwise we're just back from Morzine in France which was lovely and there were gazillions of ski schools. No snow whatsoever in the village though and pretty patchy until you got 'up the mountain' in Avoiraz where it was a winter wonderland.

Les Arcs in France is good. All the resorts at different altitudes are interconnected and you can get pretty high up: Les Arcs - Ski Resort Les Arcs – France

Thanks I'll look at these recommendations am I right in assuming half term has a better chance of snow than Easter holidays?

That’s the traditional view. But the First week of Easter hols last year had largely better snow than Feb. You’ll be fine with either and so long as you’re high enough the first week of Easter is a quieter, cheaper and more relaxed time to learn to ski. An older teen will learn fine with adults although someone who’s been on 5 trips is not a beginner. Snow dome is a great idea!

A 16yo would be with young adults or adult group, depending on numbers. He might prefer private lessons though and make quicker progress.

Montgenèvre could be a good option. The village is at 1800m so it's pretty snow sure, but cheaper than some of the bigger French resorts. Lots of greens/blues, including a green run all the way from the summit to the village, so even beginners will get the whole mountain experience and won't be stuck on the lower slopes.

Getting your DS through the real beginner beginner stage in the UK is a really good idea. Even after a 20 year break I think you'll be surprised how quickly it cones back if you do a few sessions in a snowdome in the UK. I wouldn't say you'd definitely need lessons - it depends on whether you are happy just enjoying the experience at the level you're at, or if you want to continue to progress. A few private lessons for all three of you in the resort could be a good option. If you prefer group lessons I'd expect your DD would be in an adult lesson, but that the ski school might try to arrange the groups so that he was with other teens/young adults.

This resort is inexpensive relatively for skiing and lots of not too hard slopes www.pilaski.co.uk/booking/prices

At that age unless DS wants the social side of a group his age then a couple of private lessons are brilliant. We did it last year after 4yr break and we had a guy for 2 hours he gave us so many tips worth his money. And 2 of us were good skiers we all learnt stuff.

Easter 2025 is too late for all except the higest resorts (or maybe Norway) as Easter Sunday is April 20th 2025.

For context, most Austrian resorts in Tirol and Salzburgerland will close on Sunday 7th April this year - the weekend after the Easter weekend.

February half-term opens up hundreds of options - you could literally go anywhere in France, Austria or Italy - but of course prices are higher as most of Europe has a winter holiday week in February.

As returners/beginners you don't need to book an expensive resort with hundreds of km of pistes - just somewhere with enough to keep you happy while everyone gets used to being on skis. So for this trip stay away from Courchevel/Three Valleys, or St. Anton or KItzbuhel and look for somewhere less fashionable. Usually I'd recommend the Ski Circus (Saalbach/Hinterglemm/Leogang/Fieberbrunn) but that's where the World Championships are being held in mid-Feb. 2025 so unless you can find a very good deal with one of the Tour Operators that go there, accommodation in Saalbach is probably going to be even more expensive than during a usual half-term week.

Look perhaps at Westendorf, Soll, Maria Alm or Lofer in Austria, or Kronplatz in Italy. Or go further east to Kranjska Gora in Slovenia, just over the border from Austria (but stay away from Bulgaria, however cheap it looks).

Easter holidays in our area start April 5th next year, so you could consider that week but go high and somewhere north-facing. We have been to Tignes mid-April in previous years and had fantastic snow: in past couple of years they've had more snow in March/April than in Jan/Feb. But it will become more risky as we see temperatures rise - and prices will rise accordingly.