You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Or any other regular skiers 😀
Restarted family ski trips last year. We’re mostly intermediate skiers but son no 2 (14 years old) is Downs and struggles a little with balance. He did great last year, going to kids ski school every day and was able to ski (almost) unaided and stop and do basic turns by the end of the week.
However the resort we were in (Flaine) only really had one beginners area accessible by magic carpet, and he REALLY struggles with button lifts, so this was pretty limiting.
Looking therefore for somewhere (ideally France just coz we like it) which has an extensive beginners area which is accessible by either chairs or magic carpets or the like, just to make it more interesting for him (and us!)…
Any help appreciated…
Think Sainte Foy is still a button-free zone. Couple of conveyor belts for the school slopes by the village then a few big chairlifts covering the rest. Not a massive ski area but plenty of quiet blues to cruise along, some more challenging stuff for the others, loads of space between pistes to play in or some great off-piste (guide needed) past the top lift. Can drive/taxi to Les Arcs or Tignes for the day if you want busier and more variety.
Soz Tim. I doubt I'll be much help as our trips have tended to be extremely budget orientated...
So nearly always went to Austria or Italy, rather than France.
And often involved a scrum onto a packed ski bus each morning, rather that easy access.
And due to aforementioned budgetary constraints we never had the luxury of choosing resort based on availability of easy runs. Still recall the consternation when we found out that the only runs accessible to and from Arabia for our five year old were either red or black. Luckily the ski school were awesome, so it didn't matter.
T
Avoriaz and tignes have good beginner access.
Another vote for Avoriaz.
The 3 Valleys has lots of beginner areas too, more so Méribel and Courchevel from memory.
Gailo, Norway was the best beginner place I ever went. Went 3 times cos it was so good for the kid. Lovely resort too. If you fancy somewhere different, like 😊
Just remembered, I learned to snowboard in Avoriaz, so yep, there too.
Vogel, Slovenia. Sensibly priced so you can actually afford to ski and eat on the hill, beautiful, not too busy, close to good cross-country skiing (Pokljuka) if you fancy something different on the same holiday, and you can stay in Bled, which is one of the most beautiful places in Europe.
The beginner area (Jardin Alpin I think ) Courcheval 1850 use a lot of buttons but if easy blues can be skied by your son then there's 3 chairs giving access to long cruisy blues which are great for progression from green to blue.
If you stay in Courcheval village it's a fair bit cheaper and there's a bubble up and down to 1850.
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/x1WmF0qb/image-2021-06-16-130530.pn g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/x1WmF0qb/image-2021-06-16-130530.pn g"/> [/img][/url]
Val Thorens has a large central piste area running down the side of the resort. Its not all beginner slope but it's a pretty big space.
Hi Tim,
I did write a detailed reply, but realised that it had turned into a rather ****tish "look how many ski resorts I've visited" post, so I deleted it.
😝
There was however one bit if potentially useful info in there:
SNOWBIZZ in PUY ST VINCENT.
Awesome company, greatkids instruction and a very beginner friendly resort. Check it out.
We went there with the kids when they were 3/5 or 4/6 and it was amazing. We'd had loads of false starts in Ochsenkopf, La Plagne and Saalbach which pretty much made the kids despise skiing. Left them at the ski school in PSV with a huge amount of trepidation. When we picked them up at the end of the day the smile on the kids' faces was awesome. They loved it. Irecall the joy of skiing the first proper Run with my son after a couple of days. Mix of sheet terror ( for me) and complete unadulterated happiness.
Ah memories.
Great thanks all for the advice - lots to consider there. Determined to get him more confident over the next couple of years so we can ski as a family. The ESF instructors were actually really good with him last year, but of course the class he was in was all 3-6 year olds so he towered over them!
As a side question, would outriggers help with the balance at all, like ski poles/crutches but with mini ski's on the end, we were in a resort with a young British lad learning on them as he had a leg stability problem and he was skiing considerably better than me (not difficult of course!).
A good few of the French ski in ski out places I've visited have had nadgery paths back into resort that might prove a pain, Les Arcs 1950, Tignes (although we were in one of the lower satellite villages).
Skiwelt in Tirol. Area above Söll has beginner runs accessible by gondolas only and loads more from chairs. There are very few buttons in the whole resort.
We tend to stay in Hopfgarten as it's not as full of British as Söll, even from there you can access the Söll area purely by Gondolas (up then down the other side).
Yup tignes is good. Also arc 1800 has some nice blues but thay are a little narrow and tree lined.
Levasset (blue run) – La Plagne is wide and for Alps not busy.
Anyone else busting a gut to go next year.
Edit might be Les arcs for the tree run.
singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/ski-resorts-with-easy-access-for-beginners-generalist-to-the-forum-please/#post-11923564
Sainte Foy. 2 beginner areas one larger than the other. First chair lift is very geared to getting beginners up onto easy blue runs.
2nd chair lift is brand new and opens up the whole mountain. Off piste and backcountry are legendary and endless.
Some very good restaurants in resort or a short drive away some of the best in the region. Ski schools are excellent and a wide variety of accommodation. Sympathetic building has made it a 'low rise' resort with a pleasant aesthetic.
We've skied all over the world and now ski 5+ weeks a season here...
I live part time across the valley, feel free to pm me if you want more info or some details of accommodation etc.
Another vote for Ste Foy, an excellent set up for young families and beginners. I've skiied for a long time and have no family but would be happy to return to Ste Foy
In fact @ollie_the_brave I might message you later in the year, depending how the covid situation goes I'm considering spending a few weeks in resort so we'd be looking for a long term rental. Ste Foy is not the only option but it's a place Mrs NBT really likes
Further afield., Passo Tonale in Italy is excellent, as it's in a pass the beginner slopes are in resort with the steeper slopes further pit, rather than the traditional valley town setup where the beginners are on the plateau up the mountain and the slopes back home are all quite steep
Not France, but Obergurgl in Austria.
Lots of blues and less queues than France in my experience.
Friends of the inlaws have gone to Austria- their son has Down's and said the ski school he went to was brilliant with him. I'll do some asking to find the resort name.
Brill thanks all!
@toby1 interesting idea re the outriggers and we’ll consider it. My sense is he might struggle to process all the required inputs but certainly worth a try!
Poss a bit early to be booking but literally can’t wait to get back on the slopes.
Another vote for ste foy. Felt nice and calm but still a lot of fun
I am afraid I need to disagree on one forum member - please do not book SkiWelt.
I am also a Hopfgarten lover and visit every year but it’s decidedly un-beginner friendly and suits confident skiers. The best blue skiing is very snow dependent. At the end of the day the blues become borderline dangerous as more confident (but less able) skiiers use them as motorways as they don’t have the ability to ski the bumpy reds.
Don’t get me wrong - I love SkiWelt. But better resorts exist for your needs!
A while since we've been but La Rosiere has the green runs coming down into the centre of the village IIRC. Lots of skiing across into Italy for pasta lunch and Europop bars for the more adventurous although can be done on blue runs. Also if weather is poor there are round down through the trees below the village.
Also look for smaller places. We had a great holiday in one of the villages that links across to Valloire on the Galibier pass. Much better value than the high mega resorts.
Pas de la Casa.
Cabin to practice slopes.
Shallow wide slopes with covered magic carpet at the side.
It was a long time ago but Valfrejus and Valmorel were very pleasant resorts and largely chairs (I think). I had an excellent private session with an instructor in Valmorel who demonstrated admirably how to navigate the resort based on sunbathing potential on the chairs.
BTW re that comment on cost of Austria v. France. Is Austria really cheaper?
. Is Austria really cheaper?
In my experience yes, very much so. Though that may be partly to do with my German connections making the Austrian options much easier to plan.
I think that out of our 7 or so Feb Half term ski weeks, the only one that came out over £700 or so each was the one to France. The Austrian well ok, Tyrolean ones including St Anton, Wolkenstein, Arabba etc were all significantly cheaper.
Levi in Finland is great for beginners and very laid back.
Depends if you want a big ski area or not. Grand Bornand fits the bill with very few drag lifts and lots of mellow runs. We did a week there with kids who loved it. Went back the following year and still really liked it and didn’t feel we were missing out on lots of motorway miles.
If you stop in Chinaillon you can be slopeside too. Can send you a link to a lovely chalet on a green run if you’re interested.
Obergurgl isn't one of the cheap Austrian ones
Austria is generally much cheaper than France when you are there.
Still around €4.20 a beer and you can eat on the mountain for under €10.
Check out Hochkoenig in Austria, 1hr from Salzburg, 2hr 15m from Munich. No queues except for Feb half term.
Very good range of beginner slopes with magic carpet etc.
I’m biased because I have a place there but happy to help with any questions.
Puy st Vincent as mentioned but we booked through mount vacation, super cheap an dgreat place for beginners we have been with our kids 3-4 times they love it
We went to La Rosiere last year just before the pandemic hit, our (then) 3.5 year old had afternoon lessons learning to ski and loved it. There are a lot of travellators and tame runs, although there are a few tows. Main runs back to resort are easy blue and have high speed chairs.
Firmly crossing fingers about skiing again this winter. We missed 2019 as our 2nd son had just been born, first year missed in over 20 years, I swore I wouldnt miss another winter in 20 years, and now missing 2021 as well... First world problem I know, but as a lifelong skier its the thing I look forwards to most. Hurts even more when you see how good the snow was this year.
We’ve been skiing extensively in Austria and IMO Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis has the best blue pistes with chairlift and gondola accessand it’s fairly high up so snow sure.
Italy, Sella Rhonda area, if hes done a week and will be having lessons then cruisey blues will be accessible .
La Rosiere is ok, Some antiquated chairs tho
Austria, Fiss i liked, empty mid week
Its hard to remember back to being a learner
The scandi resorts tick boxes but can be uber cold and suffer flat light.
Pyrenees??? Down south but snow sure.
Tricky, but good on you for letting your lad get out there and experience stuff many haven't.
Lots of love for Austria. Only done France and Italy in recent history. How big are the resort's and do they have enough to keep you interested for a week? My daughter is 8 but likes to ski, so it is first and last lift type of thing. She is not good enough for off piste yet but reds and some black runs are fine.
Not been there for 20 years or so but, try looking at Serre Chevalier if you want France. Wide expansive shallowish runs down to the lift area leaving plenty of room for others to get by without having that motorway feeling at the end of the day. Plus the area is massive and has something for all abilities. The lift pass also used to cover a day in Sestiere Italy.
Pass de la casa & Sol Du are also good bets for beginners/novices. Both of these places do/did have a lot of button lifts though, again I haven't been there for 20 odd years so may have upgraded their infrastructure in that time.
We were booked for Samoens last year at Easter, but it was cancelled due to covid. I'd picked it as it had recommendations for beginners (my kids have never skied). Not been myself.
Another Austria (Tyroll) fan here. Kirchdorf was good, costs ok and it had a couple beginner runs (plus a tasty black) so kids did well.
Ski bus went to st johan/other places too.
We went to La Rosiere last year just before the pandemic hit, our (then) 3.5 year old had afternoon lessons learning to ski and loved it.
Yep been there, lovely resort - very beginner friendly. For the more adventurous you can head over the top to Italy (where eveything is about 1/3 the price).
You get great sunsets as you head back over the French side at the end of the day...
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/5042/5319033737_c9bd48e6ee.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/5042/5319033737_c9bd48e6ee.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/972rqe ]Sunset[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
Disagree with BlipBloop. Nixie is bang on when he says SkiWelt at mid station Soll is perfect for beginners. Also Westendorf has a slow 4 man chairlift with magnets on the beginner slope.
There's a (very) few chopped up bits around the area but decent instructors can show you how to avoid the carnage. Overall it's very suited to less capable skiers.
My money would be on the Courchevel beginner areas. Above 1650 is bubble served and easy blue / green and deserted until 3PM each day. The Jardin Alpin is very easy but a bit busier.
Overall though the right instructor is more important than lifts and runs. 2 or 3 hours of private lessons is worth the investment if you can afford it.
A quick update on this. We got back on Saturday from a week in Avoriaz. It’s fair to say that, bar a few hiccups, the week was a stunning success!
I booked a refresher lesson through DSUK at Trafford which was really helpful. After a bit of discussion and a few calls about private lessons - in the end we took a risk and threw him into the ESF melting pot. I’m not sure they were really set up for a 14 year old with Down's, but to be fair they just took him on his ability and got on with it. Rightly or wrongly we just dropped him off each day and went off skiing. I think any other approach would have simply seen us being anxious, and would run the risk of him seeing us there and deciding he’s had enough!
Anyway by the end of the week he was confidently skiing the greens, and some of the gentler blues, was using chairlifts without problems, and was OK on easy buttons too. He was not the one needing the most help, and more importantly he was really enjoying it, and we were able to do some skiing as a family. It’s hard to overstate just what an achievement this is for him, honestly got so much further than we thought. 😁
Thanks all for the advice - if we manage to go again next year we will try and get a few more DSUK sessions in in advance, so that we can build on this years progress.
Oh, and as for me I definitely need lessons again, but that’s another thread!
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/N0qnbZ7Z/88-C330-CB-CC16-43-AF-995-B-318-D24-C1-EA16.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/N0qnbZ7Z/88-C330-CB-CC16-43-AF-995-B-318-D24-C1-EA16.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Awesome news, literally. He's clearly more resilient than you think surviving the group class scrum (I can imagine this being weird for the rest of the family though)! As for ski instructors in France they've always been a lovely in my experience, occasionally pushing you bit, but they need to to help you progress. He look ready for another run on that shot 🙂
Great to hear @timbog160! And a good choice with Avoriaz, the runs down over the golf course are super for beginners and really nice and wide to build confidence on. The resort can put some people off but I actually really like the architecture and feel of the place, easy to get about and like it being traffic free. Will have to get there again soon (currently in Oregon in the pouring rain on a ski trip with the resorts all shut for the day 🙁 )
Risoul is good for beginners. It's a while since I've been there but the piste map shows lots of accessible greens and blues - you can even go from 1850m to 2440m (on chairs) and ski greens all the way back.
the week was a stunning success!
That is brilliant.
and more importantly he was really enjoying it,
That is effing brilliant 🙂
( we didn't ski at all this year. Need to change my username 🙁 )
Smashing the non existent Like button!
Jesus is it just me or is it a bit dusty in here? Awesome stuff!
Yeah dusty here as well!