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OH Wants To Learn

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
So somehow there is actually a lady in this world who can put up with me for sustained periods of time, and she's decided that she wants to come skiing.

I am interested in asking... what is the best way to facilitate this without having too detrimental an effect on my own ski trips?

What I would really like is a kind of trip where OH can ski in group lessons (or maybe - as is common - morning group lessons and afternoons with the fellow learners) and I can ski in some kind of company myself. Obviously a bash would be the ideal but I can't remember what options there are for structured group lessons for noobies.

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas / advice? And does anyone remember if there are much options for beginners group lessons on any of the bashes. Obviously there's a level of ideal-ness in the MYAsHBash if it operates, but I was not really thrilled by Livigno to be honest and the transfer is very long.

I am thinking that a wise move might also be some basics lessons in Chill FactorE (our local fridge) to get the basics of standing up and some snowplough turns etc, it makes sense to me that time in resort should be spent doing things you can only do in resort... it seems a waste doing things in resort which you can learn in a fridge. So I'm thinking like, starting at 'low intermediate' kind of level - maybe linking turns kind of stage.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
From experience help her get her boots on & carry her gear, get her 100% sorted & in her class before you even think about yourself.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Having gone through the CF courses last year, I can confirm they’ll do the job. Having said that, it can be a lottery with the instructors. Some are fine, others seem to spend more time talking to other instructors and members of staff than watching the pupils.

I did the beginner, improver and developer all day courses. If she has never skied, she will have to start with the beginner course. She will be on the big slope (albeit from the bottom step) linking turns by the end of the day. To try and start on the “improver” course would probably be a step too far and could put her off, because they will expect her to be going from the top of the slope almost straight away.

If she can link snowplough turns and control her speed, she should be ok to start with the Improver course.

As you know, I did the BB after only having skied in the CF and got on fine.
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Tread carefully is my only advice Very Happy
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dp wrote:
So somehow there is actually a lady in this world who can put up with me for sustained periods of time, and she's decided that she wants to come skiing.


I was going to say she wouldn’t be allowed on the slope with her white stick and guide dog, then I remembered how big you are. Then I thought, what the hell. wink Twisted Evil
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@Awdbugga, beat me to it!
My piece of advice to you is don't give her any advice, even if she asks for it Wink
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I would definitely recommend the fridge both for confidence and to get to a reasonable base level - it will save potentially days of sidestepping and messing about on nursery slopes when in resort! It was some years ago, but my wife did a 6-hr day of 1:1 with a lady BASI instructor on a dry slope and that was great. At the time I was working with school groups in Italy so Mrs LY joined in with the older students in resort or went with the staff group. Sadly I have yet to experience any of the SH bashes but am sure someone will be along soon with helpful and knowledgeable advice on that option.
Our experiences of group lessons with tour ops have been variable, mainly depending on country and timings. More popular weeks can be hectic, but greater chance of a like-minded ski school group with the appropriate ability level. Also with a tour op there's more chance of finding someone else in the resort/hotel to get out skiing with whilst your wife is in lessons. You don't mention your own level of skiing, but maybe take the opportunity to grab a cheeky private lesson or two for yourself?

+1 for the advice about making sure your better half is all geared up, sorted with her group etc before thinking about yourself. Well worth investing time and effort doing everything possible to ensure a good time is had. Just guessing, but presumably your wife intends for you to ski together at least some of the time? That will be very different so be realistic about the type of skiing you will be doing, at least for the first couple of trips. If my experiences are anything to go by, before long you may find yourself chasing a rather determined wife around the mountain! Smile
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Awdbugga wrote:
Having gone through the CF courses last year, I can confirm they’ll do the job. Having said that, it can be a lottery with the instructors. Some are fine, others seem to spend more time talking to other instructors and members of staff than watching the pupils.


To be fair, this advice carries into mountain resorts too. You get good and bad instructors, regardless of how the snow is produced!\

Quote:

I did the beginner, improver and developer all day courses. If she has never skied, she will have to start with the beginner course. She will be on the big slope (albeit from the bottom step) linking turns by the end of the day. To try and start on the “improver” course would probably be a step too far and could put her off, because they will expect her to be going from the top of the slope almost straight away.


I wouldn't want any less - I'd always want her to do the courses in order and not try to skip any.lessons. When I learned to ski (at SkiDubai), I did the beginner course twice, until I felt more confident. What I meant by starting at linking turns - is starting at that stage in resort... having reached it indoors.

Quote:

As you know, I did the BB after only having skied in the CF and got on fine.


And whilst I know this is the truth... you did do quite a lot of practice!! wink


Last edited by After all it is free Go on u know u want to! on Tue 24-07-18 0:07; edited 1 time in total
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@dp, now is the time to learn indoors, when the slopes are quiet and group lessons are probably not full, I'd guess there are promotions to be had too - and cheap lift pass offers to practice with...
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dp wrote:

And whilst I know this is the truth... you did do quite a lot of practice!! wink


Deliberately, to maximise my time on the mountains. As you said, why spend time and money paying for basic lessons in the resort, when you can do them in the CF and have more fun in the mountains.
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If she is going to visit the CF regularly, or even if she just intends to do the three all day courses, she should become a member. It only costs £70 for a year at the moment, through July and August. As a member you get 30% off all lessons and lift passes. I virtually got my membership back just doing one of their all day courses.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Thanks all, I appreciate the advice on getting the best from CF

But still, advice on what kind of trip will work best for us is my main interest at the mo! I highly doubt I'll get her to a standard indoors where we can ski together in resort, without more lessons.

Not least because she needs to learn proper technique without picking up any ramshackle technique from me!!!
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
dp wrote:
Thanks all, I appreciate the advice on getting the best from CF

But still, advice on what kind of trip will work best for us is my main interest at the mo! I highly doubt I'll get her to a standard indoors where we can ski together in resort, without more lessons.

Not least because she needs to learn proper technique without picking up any ramshackle technique from me!!!


Ermmm. Don’t know how to put this Dave. It almost sounds like you wouldn’t be willing to make sacrifices to your skiing in resort to suit her needs/standards. As an old sweat who has been married for 41 years, making a relationship work is all about compromise. Surely you could forgo hammering it down reds and blacks or going off piste for one holiday; for the pleasure of seeing the smile on her face as she cruises down her first tree lined blue alongside you. It would be priceless.

She can get to a standard indoors where she can ski reds. She might not break any speed records, but it can be done. It just depends how much practice she is willing to put in.

Either way, I’m glad she wants to go skiing with you. I wish my wife was physically able to.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
That isn't really what I said, is it? I'm absolutely willing to ski with her on holiday. You've read my post the wrong way.

It's nothing to do with making compromises. I appreciate that it's theoretically possible to reach an acceptable standard skiing indoors. That isn't the issue. The issue is that she does not have the time to commit to skiing indoors to reach that standard any time soon. Not because the standard is high, but because she doesn't have much time at all to commit to the fridge. I am under no illusion about making compromises so we can ski together. But there is no plausible way that she will be able to put enough time into the CF between now and winter 2019 to ski independently in resort. Lessons in resort is something we are going to have to do.

There's also the issue of expense. Psychologically, she's much happier committing the money to a holiday, including lessons; than to committing it to lessons on weekday evenings in a big tin can in Manchester. Which is not unreasonable either.

I appreciate that you had the time and the drive to learn to ski to an acceptable standard indoors and I'm not questioning the principle, but yours and her circumstances are not the same and just because it worked for you it doesn't mean that it's a fix-all formula.

Also whilst I applaud the standard you reached indoors, do not underestimate the importance of lessons outdoors. You've had one week's skiing - which is great. But as you progress, you'll almost certainly begin to identify gaps in your technique which can't be solved in the fridge, which you'll need to address with lessons on the mountain.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
dp wrote:
That isn't really what I said, is it?


I sort of think it is! You said
Quote:
what is the best way to facilitate this without having too detrimental an effect on my own ski trips?

Awdbugga gave you a perfectly good answer, ie lots of practice in a fridge. And the word, "detrimental" in relation to a holiday with someone you're in a relationship with, doesn't bode well. Frankly, I'm not sure it's a good idea unless your relationship progresses to the stage where she is in ski lessons in the morning and you can't wait to share skiing experiences with her in the afternoons, to delight in her learning, whatever standard she has reached, rather than thinking her "detrimental" to your own enjoyment.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Again, not what I said... I was kind of looking for holiday advice not relationship advice.

I think awdbugga misunderstood the nature of my post. I was saying that she won't reach an independent-skiing level indoors (due to personal constraints), awdbugga took it as me saying she wouldn't be able to ski with me due to me setting the bar too high. It's not an unreasonable misunderstanding of what I was getting at.

In any case don't think what I said was unreasonable. I would like her to be in lessons. I am not going to try and teach her myself, because I'm not an instructor and I want her to have a solid grounding from proper instruction.

Lots of practice in the fridge isn't feasible. It's just not. I've not told anything of our personal lives on here, so it's not up to anyone else to say that this is the right route forward. I'd like her to do a basic course in the fridge - to establish that she actually does like skiing (before committing £££ on a foreign trip), and to cover the basic subjects to make mountain time a bit more productive - but honestly we do not have time in our lives to be frequenting chill factor until she is skiing independently. Some people have that opportunity, we just don't, it doesn't mean that she or I are any less committed.

I think it's a perfectly reasonable thing to ask whether there is a trip anyone recommends which can give her a good week without being detrimental to mine. Such a question doesn't represent a failure to make compromises. I explained what I meant by that. I want her to be in lessons, but I want to be able to do ski with other people when she is in lessons. Is that really unreasonable?

I thought I asked a valid question about opportunities for trips where there might be lessons available for beginners and some social interaction for experienced skiers. A little bit of fridge advice was well appreciated, but you seem to be very keen to make sweeping judgements about my attitude to my relationship on the basic basis that I want to enjoy a ski holiday too; which I had not previously realised was such a crime.
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Might be easier to pick a resort and ask if people think it isn't suitable, some places have quite a big jump from the beginner area to the next stage.
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If you don’t mind slumbing it a little, UCPA (Action Outdoors) with a twin room, could work. Book a half time beginners course for her. And an advanced, expert, offpiste, ski touring or something course for you. Then depending on whether her lesson is in the morning or afternoon (they post the schedule at the start of the week), you can join the morning or afternoon session of your lessons. I think you always come back to the UCPA centre for lunch (at least we did in Val D’Isere). Then ski together the other half of the day. You’ll miss half of your outings, but otherwise it’s a win-win - she gets tuition and you spend time together.

I guess any other all inclusive type thing would work, like Club Med (never been), where they will have different level group lessons. Although I expect they don’t do as much gnarly stuff as the expert UCPA courses attended mostly by the French and Swedes.
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Another thought, build in a day of cross country skiing at the end of the week. Assuming you’re not an expert at that already, could be fun to learn something together also. I’d advise a lesson.
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The PSB would be ideal. Your OH can take lessons in the morning, and ski with her new snowHead friends in the afternoon, or with you. As long as she has grasped the basics, that is, linked snowplough turns, she will be fine on the bash. Tignes has loads of easy beginner slopes, easily reached from the Marmottes or Borsat lift via Fresse. There are blue runs to return to Val Claret or Le Lac, or a download on a gondola to either.
Naturally there is any amount of more advanced terrain for you to blast round.
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@dp, We did something similar last year. Six of us booked a chalet in La Tania. We had two near beginners - week 2-3 skiers who had skied a couple of times before but not recently. They were at the snowplough turn down gentle blue stage. Definitely possible to get to that standard in a fridge. We booked them into lessons with NewGen for the week, set them up with gear, showed them around and how to find everything, and then buggered off with Claude for half the week. We did ski with them, but not a lot. It worked really well because everyone skied at their level most of the time. Crucially, they had each other to ski with and so they didn't feel abandoned and we didn't feel like we had to constantly look after them. Neither were anyone else's partner so there wasn't that dynamic but assuming your girlfriend isn't excessively high maintenance I still reckon it would work. I think a group dynamic takes the pressure off compared to a couple dynamic. So, has your girlfriend got a mate that wants to learn?

I'm in two minds about the fridge thing. I made huge progress on shorts skiing regularly at Hemel a few years ago. But, I had already skied a lot and definitely had the bug. I was driven to improve and that motivated me to keep going. But I hate skiing indoors. I mean, really hate it. I can't imagine I would have been motivated to learn in that environment as a beginner before I became obsessed. So I see the rationale that it's nice to get the basics so you can progress faster when on the mountain, but equally I think it's a lot nicer to learn in the mountains! As long as you pick a school that has enough classes running and is flexible about moving people according to progression then I think learning on mountain is fine.
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Choose to go in late Winter / early Spring when the days are longer, sunnier & warmer.

Choose a resort where your accommodation is as close to the slopes as possible.

Choose a resort with plenty of off-snow activities in case she hates it. She can still have a great winter holiday.

Choose a resort which has a restaurant up on the mountain with great food and fantastic views at a reasonable price which has a long, wide green or blue piste back to the village.

Get private am lessons for your OH and leave her in capable hands.

Or accompany her on the private lesson to document her progress - pics and video. You really have to know your OH for this but it does show her progress on a daily basis and can create a wonderful memento of her first week on snow. Tread lightly.

If you don't accompany her, go play.

Meet her at the above restaurant for lunch.

Take all the time she needs for lunch, then ski with her for the afternoon.

Have her ski only the runs she has skied in the am with her instructor.

If she doesn't want to ski - tired, crap weather - accompany her on the lift back to the village.

Get her sorted, then go play.

Suggestions

Madesimo, Lombardy, Italy
http://www.madesimo.com/en/valchiavenna-in-winter/The-Ski-Area-of-Madesimo-and-Valchiavenna.html

Civetta, Dolomites , Italy
https://www.dolomitisuperski.com/en/ski-area/civetta
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I would highly recommend a course of lessons before going the first time. If she is not convinced - the reason is that any new sporting activity requires slightly different muscles, doing a 6 week course for an hour a week (for example) will start to exercise and build those muscles, going straight in 6hrs a day everyday for a week will wear out and strain those muscles.

As to where? This is going to be slightly less important that when, getting good snow will make the experience much nicer and easier for the first time, so aiming for when you should have best snow BUT also when it isn’t too busy which can also make for a poor experience. I guess very late Jan or early March is going to give the best compromise between busy and snow.

The first place we ever skied at (aside the dry ski slope) was Mayrhofen, our lessons were all on the Ahorn we had a fantastic time and were absolutely bitten by the bug as a whole family. It was helped by having fantastic weather which you can’t predict - they had a massive dump of snow just before we got there and then bluebird days very day.

There are quite a number of places I would say would be suitable which is why I guess you aren’t getting many recommendations- from where I have been La Plagne / Les Arcs and Mayrhofen would be suitable. Would have thought Chamonix or Les Get would equally suit but I haven’t been there yet.
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Choose a resort that has some easy runs that you will both be able to do together. I'd also suggest that you know the runs before you take your wife on them, I've taught plenty of people where their other half/family member has taken them on a run they didn't know, and wasn't suitable, so I had to go back quite a way to build up their confidence and technique again and get them back enjoying the skiing. Definitely speak to her instructor about which runs would be suitable before going out.

Whilst lessons before you leave will undoubtedly help, the mountains are nothing like an indoor dome, and whilst there are some that manage the transition perfectly fine (Awdbugga being one), from experience, they are most definitely not the majority.
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Like @Gämsbock said, if you can get her to bring another beginner friend, things get a lot easier. I brought my OH to Livigno for the first time in 2012. She'd never been on skis. I got her and her friend into the standard group lessons and they ended up in a group with 3 or 4 others. I think they paid under 100 euro for the week, for about 2 or 3 hours each morning. As far as I could see, the instruction was great. They both loved it and came on rapidly. I skied hard in the morning with my friends, then we all met for coffee and a proper long lunch after ski school. In the afternoons I skied with my OH and we tended to stick to slopes she was familiar with. I contented myself with having a relaxing afternoon, working on wee bits of technique, stopping for coffee and buns, and taking videos etc. The one time I took her somewhere she hadn't been in lessons it led to a stand off, and a 'get your f*&#ing hands off me' moment - lesson very swiftly learned. That blip aside, we both loved the trip and have been every year since, with the gap progressively narrowing to the point where we can now ski together happily on most pistes. I would stress the importance of the 'holiday' side of it though - plenty of eating and drinking, maybe a visit to a spa etc.

I know you're not fussed on Livigno, but the lessons being so cheap, the reliable snow and grooming, and the quality of the mountain restaurants makes it a great place to learn. As Mike pow says, Madesimo might be a good shout, with a much shorter transfer.


Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads on Tue 24-07-18 11:58; edited 1 time in total
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Obergurgl would be pretty good as well.
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@dp, on the subject of bashses, I am not sure the main bashes are ideal until she is at least early L4 on the snowheads scale and will be confidently coping with group lessons. Once there, they are perfect as again you have the group lessons set up at the right level with other snowheads and ready made ski partners. I was in an apartment with a never ever on the EoSB a few years ago and I didn't get the impression it really worked out.

But, you could get her to learn the basics in the fridge, then do a week in the mountains to get up to parallel, then do the EoSB.
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Why not get an hour private in the fridge, see if she takes to it?

With any luck she'll be coming out saying she wants to buy skis and boots, then you are away on a happy relationship. The worst that could happen is she might say she wants to try snowboarding.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Do you only ski at bashes or do you do other trips?

To me it seems you are overcomplicating things but then I don't do bashes. Before I had children I would just go on different group trips with friends or friends of friends. If a beginner came along, they'd just do morning lessons and ski with some of the group in the afternoon. The first time I skied I went with a mate. I did lessons in the morning and we skied together in the afternoon.

I'm not a big fan of fridges myself but it sounds like that's not really a goer anyhow.

If she takes to it and nobody really knows until they get out and do it, she'll be scooting around the resort with you in no time.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I totally understand why @dp doesn't want his partner learning his habits -after all snapping skis, fracturing pelvises and getting caught in mini terrain traps aren't the most fun.

The most important thing I would think is maing sure she has the best chance of having fellow learners to ski and progress with. The MyASH would be ideal - if it happens this year - otherwise the best thing I can think of is TO package weeks which are specifically targetted at beginners/improvers or signing up for a week with New Gen, BASS etc etc
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
If say go for indoor lessons first and squeeze in asany practise visits as time permits. Then 1/2 day lessons in resort and ski together pm. That also means you don't need as extensive an area as you'll be heading back to meet up for lunch.
With that in mind the MyasH at Livigno (if it's on) starts to work but I understand your reservations. Alternative bashes would mean arranging your own lessons but that's not beyond you. PreBB might work. Short transfer, bus to/from lifts, good food on and off the mountain, not too big a group etc.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@Dave of the Marmottes, Laughing You forgot the late-night "debating", oversized yard sales and blue-run meltdowns!

@dp, Personally, I find it best to go on a bash with your partner, then not see them for the entire week except at tea time. The complete lack of encounters reduces the available time for disagreements to pretty much zero Toofy Grin
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
@dp, assuming that this is not just an 'imaginary friend' then this thread is useless without pictures!
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dp wrote:
Thanks all, I appreciate the advice on getting the best from CF

But still, advice on what kind of trip will work best for us is my main interest at the mo! I highly doubt I'll get her to a standard indoors where we can ski together in resort, without more lessons.

Not least because she needs to learn proper technique without picking up any ramshackle technique from me!!!


If i equate this to skiing with my 6yr old son, I think a similar approach could work.

I started off with a 2hr private lesson in a fridge just so that we wasn't overwhelmed in resort, had an understanding of what boots feel like and the sensation of sliding down a slope. That is all i hoped to achieve and the fact that he could link 2\3 snowplow turns, ride the magic carpet and a small drag without falling was a massive bonus.

In-resort, we went to VDI at Easter, I wanted to go at Easter to maximize the chance of good weather and VDI because its an amazing resort that is good and snow sure.

In terms of lessons, we were with Esprit, but what really made that work was small group lessons in English rather than being Esprit. I think you could achieve the same with other English speaking schools as well as ESF Prestige.

He would ski in the morning, we would then meet for lunch and I would then take him on some greens in the afternoon.

So i guess in summary - I would select a nice chalet in a great resort in the Easter time frame, and invest in small group lessons in the morning, great mountain lunches and then some nice fun cruising in the afternoon.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@Scarlet, ...and their reputation doesn't get sullied by association.
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Rookie error! Tell her she’ll get cold wet feet then send the little lady to a spa for ‘treatments’. Job done Madeye-Smiley
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dp wrote:
I highly doubt I'll get her to a standard indoors where we can ski together in resort, without more lessons.

Just on this specific point. I can ski with virtually anyone. The restriction is purely on me. For example I have skied with my MiL a few years back when she was about 60 and though experienced quite timid. It meant I had to ski a little more conservatively, take a break or a longer break than I perhaps normally would, ski slopes that I might find a bit dull or certainly not very challenging. But it was nonetheless a nice thing to do. As long as somebody can use the lift system and ski blues, easy reds (which doesn't take that long IME) you can happily ski together. Skiing with someone better than you is actually a good thing and a great way to progress. Just need that person to be aware of your limitations and choose appropriate routes. Which I am sure you can do Happy
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@spyderjon, It's a good point, and one backed up by a conversation I had with @dp (to which there was a witness), but which I'm too nice to repeat here wink

@adithorp, moi? Little Angel
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@Scarlet, I didn't actually say that... but if the cap fits...? NehNeh
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Hi Dave,

My 6p: Small to medium chalet well located for beginner; March; group of 6; 3V in a central big resort with easy greens and blues good for newbies and lots of options for instruction??

Stating the bl**ding obvious: isn’t it a given that making good and quick progress learning to ski does take measures of not just effort and willpower, etc. but time and money as well? Ideally one’d also have fitness, sportiness, guts, stamina, youth, keenness to learn and willingness work at it through difficulties. Even at this early stage OH’ll have some personal objectives. So many questions . . possibly a bumpy road/

+1 on @jjams82’s ‘tread carefully’.

Which resources OH has in spades, or in short suit, affect what choices forward can work for you both. Your posts give no clues on the others, but the time and money seems to be genuine constraints - a big minus – but just being willing to give it a go does suggest having some sort of mettle - so that’s a big plus! So a mixed bag; hoping for you both she’s got the other assets and gets the bug first week. Then the time/money will mysteriously appear to be no problem, and you’re off!

+1 on the wisdom from @Gamsbock and @Mike Pow and on plenty of that from others.

+1 on choosing the right part of the season. For me the hardest thing is putting myself in an OH’s shoes/ski boots. People differ so much. Weather and price? Me, I don’t care. Several of the female - and male - skiers I’ve skied with have insisted they want warm temperatures, sunshine and blue skies, and hate freezing cold, snowstorms, whiteouts etc. Kind of ruled out Jan and Feb for the first six years. One person would never ski if it was actually snowing or noticeably cold. So on the usual non-democratic decision making basis, this meant a lot of skiing had to be set for March. For others it was school holidays that decided it. Fortunately we could all afford it anyway, but you’ve mention money constraints? How tough is OH? When would be the least unsuitable/unacceptable times of season to suit the beginner, bearing in mind peak prices? How about going through some ski holiday porn together?

+1 on some form of pre-trip learning if you can, but it’s only optional IMO. The non-optional bit is to get to the mountains . . The best timetable for pre-trip learning - which I’d certainly go for myself - depends on working backwards from ‘when will we be in the mountains?’ I’m glad I had my dry-sloping done over a few sessions just before I went on the snow for the first time - there was little chance to lose what little I’d learned before going. How much pre-trip learning? Could be anything, from nothing to lots, in one chunk or split into hours here and there, depending on your circumstances. Not a deal breaker IMO. However during the pre-trip period there’s the chance to get fit for skiing – so is it necessary? If OH isn’t sufficiently in shape it could be a big mistake for her not to do it as it can seriously reduce your enjoyment. First time, I made sure I did get fit first time, and enjoyed myself despite the exhausting routine of struggling and falling over twenty or so times a day. IMO it’s a good supplement, some hours on which may get more bonus in resort for the time spent than if additionally spent on only pre-trip learning. Also it can cost nowt and fit into everyday routine . . .

+1 on going in a small to medium sized group for the absolute beginner.

My own experience was, when I was a learner I went with a group of far more experienced skiers as the sole newbie, on a one-week-a-season basis for several years. These were 3V, Paradiski and Espace Killy chalet holidays. It seemed to work for everybody’s skiing at whatever level. There was so much skiing and instructing on offer. When based in Meribel and Courchevel in particular, I found there were loads of options for me for lessons, including private at short notice, and plenty of areas to ski even as a green/blue newbie, unaccompanied, or with other newbies. Les Arcs looks to me now like it might be good for beginners, but I wasn’t actually there as a true beginner. VdI and La Plagne were OK for me only once I could actually get around a fair bit on my own. In retrospect I’m glad I didn’t start off there. There must be plenty of other resorts that could work though.

Being part of a group of 6 had flexibility through the week, so I only skied alone when I wanted to, and got a fair bit of challenge when I wasn’t. And in group lessons you can pick up people to ski with!

Forming a group to go with could have benefit, self-catering or chalet to suit your tastes. I’m sure a bashes could work but it depends on the particular person being up for it. With the chalet type of holiday, you can get lucky and in my experience are less likely to be unlucky if you avoid the big chalets. In a chalet the options of who OH and you could ski with could widen out to include previous strangers and it’s pretty non-threatening. Having someone else to do all the catering is a big plus if you’re a sh*gged out beginner. It sure worked for me. In a group everyone can chip in some time with the beginner(s). You wouldn’t get all the blame! Or credit. Myself, I also picked things up and got helped a fair bit from outside the group I went with. From the group I went with, it wasn’t exactly nothing - they could ski, but despite how smart they all thought they were, none of them knew how to impart things that would be useful at the time to a beginner who couldn’t ski but who was trying very hard, which was very annoying for all concerned! It’s an interpersonal art. Maybe you’re both naturals – it can happen - and that magic’ll simply happen between you. It’s understandable people, and you yourself, saying don’t/won’t give OH advice, or try to do any teaching yourself, but myself, I’d just see how it goes, and adapt how much you try to help and how to suit.

++This especially: in my experience, the best things your friends can do for you when you’re an absolute beginner, are not teaching you to ski as such: they’re helping you with the strangeness of the equipment, reminding you how - and when - to get on and off a chair lift or a drag, deciding where you should ski, choosing routes and coffee/lunch stops, making sure you don’t get lost, picking you up and collecting your equipment, smiles and encouragement, covering your back against the idiots, and most of all simply being there with you as good company while you’re racking up all those hours on the snow you need to do to find your ski legs yourself. Take the weight off the beginner. Are you up for it, and if not, have you or she got some mates who are?

I wish you the very best of luck.

BTW all the questions above are supposed to be merely food for thought, so no replies are needed and it’s all too personal anyway.

. . . again stating the bl**ding obvious, if OH becomes a Snowhead, she also will read this thread at some point . . .
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