Best place to learn skiing?

[Din0saurus]

Any suggestions?

I’m defaulting to Chamonix because it’s familiar and convenient but I’m sure there are much better options out there. Someone mentioned Austria is really cheap and I definitely don’t mind visiting the tourist attractions along the way.

2-3hr sessions 2x a day sounds ideal to pick it up quickly. The eventual target is to go off piste.

 

[deodorant]

2-3hr sessions 2x a day sounds ideal to pick it up quickly. The eventual target is to go off piste.

Japan and Korea are closest to us but difficult to get lessons in English anywhere other than hokkaido.

In Europe, the French/Swiss alps are probably the best skiing but also tends to be more expensive than Austria, etc. I've skied in Chamonix and Avoriaz so far, personally I preferred the connectivity and convenience of Avoriaz (especially cos of thr the ski in ski out apartments).

With regards to progression, generally speaking a 5 day "full day" group lesson (really it's 2hrs morning 2hrs afternoon) will bring you up to skill to confidently tackle all green and blue slopes, and maybe groomed reds.

The main limiting factor after that is how much ski time you get every year. If you only ski once a year for a few days, it's really difficult to improve fast enough to take on the reds, blacks, and then into the trees or into powder.

 

[Din0saurus]

Japan and Korea are closest to us but difficult to get lessons in English anywhere other than hokkaido.

In Europe, the French/Swiss alps are probably the best skiing but also tends to be more expensive than Austria, etc. I've skied in Chamonix and Avoriaz so far, personally I preferred the connectivity and convenience of Avoriaz (especially cos of thr the ski in ski out apartments).

With regards to progression, generally speaking a 5 day "full day" group lesson (really it's 2hrs morning 2hrs afternoon) will bring you up to skill to confidently tackle all green and blue slopes, and maybe groomed reds.

The main limiting factor after that is how much ski time you get every year. If you only ski once a year for a few days, it's really difficult to improve fast enough to take on the reds, blacks, and then into the trees or into powder.

Club med seems like a good deal since they include lessons and lift passes. Too bad Avoriaz only has bookings listed for Jul. Is this what you did? How much is equipment rental?

Looked into Austria partly because I haven been there and I could hit a few attractions during the trip.

My guide says I need 5 weeks x 3 years before we can descend mountains but I don’t think that is viable at this point. Zzzz.

 

[deodorant]

Club med seems like a good deal since they include lessons and lift passes. Too bad Avoriaz only has bookings listed for Jul. Is this what you did? How much is equipment rental?

Looked into Austria partly because I haven been there and I could hit a few attractions during the trip.

My guide says I need 5 weeks x 3 years before we can descend mountains but I don’t think that is viable at this point. Zzzz.

Ski rental isn't that pricey, maybe 20-30€ a day? Note that European ski shops normally don't do clothing rentals (unlike Japanese ones) so you need to buy and bring your own.

In avoriaz I stayed in one of the pierre & vacances apartments, can't remember which one exactly though, but skiing down the piste directly to the apartment doorstep is so much nicer than many other ski resorts / villages that you need to walk or even take busses.

Have you skiied before or are you first timer? If you've skiied before then you should already know whether your own progress speed based on your strength / fitness / balance / affinity mah. For me, I ski a few days once, maybe twice a year, it's not enough to progress even to black runs or mogul runs, so I only stick to greens blues reds. But for me that's good enough to explore most of the mountain so I'm not really motivated to push too much harder.

 

[Din0saurus]

Ski rental isn't that pricey, maybe 20-30€ a day? Note that European ski shops normally don't do clothing rentals (unlike Japanese ones) so you need to buy and bring your own.

In avoriaz I stayed in one of the pierre & vacances apartments, can't remember which one exactly though, but skiing down the piste directly to the apartment doorstep is so much nicer than many other ski resorts / villages that you need to walk or even take busses.

Have you skiied before or are you first timer? If you've skiied before then you should already know whether your own progress speed based on your strength / fitness / balance / affinity mah. For me, I ski a few days once, maybe twice a year, it's not enough to progress even to black runs or mogul runs, so I only stick to greens blues reds. But for me that's good enough to explore most of the mountain so I'm not really motivated to push too much harder.

First timer here but I have spent quite a bit of time on snow and ice. I should be good to go when it comes to clothing. No idea how I’ll progress at the moment. Do you mind sending me details on transportation and ski school in Avoriaz?

 

[deodorant]

Avoriaz - I took AlpyBus (eur27 each way) from Geneva to the Prodains lift base in Morzine, then take the lift up to Avoriaz.

Accommodation was Pierre & Vacances Saskia Falaise, eur447 for 3 nights for 3 ppl in a (small) 1 bedroom apartment. For breakfast and lunch we ate in the restaurants and cafes around the ski resort, for dinner we took the Prodains lift back down to Morzine to eat there.

Ski school no idea, didn't attend.

 

[easyippt]

Dino im assuming you're a young dude from your posts haha.. you can pick up skiing yourself without lessons anywhere to be honest. Just check out some tutorials on youtube before hitting the slopes. You'll take 2-3 hours figuring out things on the slope and after that you can progressively work your way through the different difficulties.

Japan's actually quite affordable and has good powder.

 

[Din0saurus]

Avoriaz - I took AlpyBus (eur27 each way) from Geneva to the Prodains lift base in Morzine, then take the lift up to Avoriaz.

Accommodation was Pierre & Vacances Saskia Falaise, eur447 for 3 nights for 3 ppl in a (small) 1 bedroom apartment. For breakfast and lunch we ate in the restaurants and cafes around the ski resort, for dinner we took the Prodains lift back down to Morzine to eat there.

Ski school no idea, didn't attend.

https://i.imgur.com/SUSkEG4.jpg[img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/QKTRzet.jpg[img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/O7Z1Ik3.jpg[img][/QUOTE]

Thanks for sharing! I’m picking Cervinia at the momement.

 

[Din0saurus]

Dino im assuming you're a young dude from your posts haha.. you can pick up skiing yourself without lessons anywhere to be honest. Just check out some tutorials on youtube before hitting the slopes. You'll take 2-3 hours figuring out things on the slope and after that you can progressively work your way through the different difficulties.

Japan's actually quite affordable and has good powder.

‘Young’ is relative! Haha

I don’t think that’s great advice. Skiing is very technical and I wouldn’t want to pick up any bad habits unknowingly. Also, it’s probably a good idea to learn the etiquette and regulations before going off to do stuff on my own.

Whereabouts in Japan? I think Italy is quite firm for this year but I’ll be glad to go elsewhere next year.

 

[deodorant]

Thanks for sharing! I’m picking Cervinia at the momement.

Nice!! Please share lots of photos once you're back

 

[easyippt]

Oh you can try hakuba or niseko. Looking forward to your italy fr

‘Young’ is relative! Haha

I don’t think that’s great advice. Skiing is very technical and I wouldn’t want to pick up any bad habits unknowingly. Also, it’s probably a good idea to learn the etiquette and regulations before going off to do stuff on my own.

Whereabouts in Japan? I think Italy is quite firm for this year but I’ll be glad to go elsewhere next year.

 

[consecutor]

honestly, they're all great. what exactly do you have in mind when you say "ideal for learning"?

niseko is known for that JaPOW that will make those padded pants redundant.

ski-in/ski-out is available at the more premium resorts around the world.

convenience of transportation? that's the infrastructure of the country and you're spoilt for choice in most of the developed world.

cost? how much do you want to compromise? there's always china with a wide range of cheap options. or there's korea with its newly famous pyeongchang that still has a lot of cheap accommodation built from the old days when the area was totally unknown but they're all a shuttle bus ride away from the resorts.

just pick somewhere you're comfortable with, even chamonix.

also, if you are indeed looking into doing it a lot, you really should consider buying your own equipment cos having your own skis will aid in your learning process as you no longer have to adapt to new equipment during each season. on the other hand, renting will let you try a variety of equipment, albeit used and generally heavy/sturdy ones.

i don't know for sure about skis, but a decent first-hand set of snowboarding equipment for beginner to moderate levels can cost just S$800 in some countries, especially during sales, and around the world the rental for beginner equipment ranges between $20-70 a day, and skis don't differ very much from snowboards in terms of cost, so if you do your math, you can decide for yourself if that's better for you.

there's also the issue of logistics - most airlines will treat a snowboard/ski bag as one piece of luggage at 23/32kg regardless of actual weight; you just need to check the luggage rules before booking.

 

[Din0saurus]

honestly, they're all great. what exactly do you have in mind when you say "ideal for learning"?

niseko is known for that JaPOW that will make those padded pants redundant.

ski-in/ski-out is available at the more premium resorts around the world.

convenience of transportation? that's the infrastructure of the country and you're spoilt for choice in most of the developed world.

cost? how much do you want to compromise? there's always china with a wide range of cheap options. or there's korea with its newly famous pyeongchang that still has a lot of cheap accommodation built from the old days when the area was totally unknown but they're all a shuttle bus ride away from the resorts.

just pick somewhere you're comfortable with, even chamonix.

also, if you are indeed looking into doing it a lot, you really should consider buying your own equipment cos having your own skis will aid in your learning process as you no longer have to adapt to new equipment during each season. on the other hand, renting will let you try a variety of equipment, albeit used and generally heavy/sturdy ones.

i don't know for sure about skis, but a decent first-hand set of snowboarding equipment for beginner to moderate levels can cost just S$800 in some countries, especially during sales, and around the world the rental for beginner equipment ranges between $20-70 a day, and skis don't differ very much from snowboards in terms of cost, so if you do your math, you can decide for yourself if that's better for you.

there's also the issue of logistics - most airlines will treat a snowboard/ski bag as one piece of luggage at 23/32kg regardless of actual weight; you just need to check the luggage rules before booking.

Decided to go to Club Med Cervinia. Great compromise between convenience and cost for me.

Ideal for learning = English speaking? I also want an overview of the different disciplines and knowledge in equipment so that I can decide whether to continue. I’ve tried google but still don’t understand the difference between alpine touring and telemark. That’s the direction I’m hoping to go towards. Probably gonna give it up if this is not realistic.

Definitely not buying equipment this year. Like you said, traveling with equipment can be annoying and I don’t want to end up with multiple skis and boots as I progress. Also, I’ve read that ‘demo-ing’ is cheaper if I’m going to do this 5 days a year.

 

[consecutor]

Decided to go to Club Med Cervinia. Great compromise between convenience and cost for me.

Ideal for learning = English speaking? I also want an overview of the different disciplines and knowledge in equipment so that I can decide whether to continue. I’ve tried google but still don’t understand the difference between alpine touring and telemark. That’s the direction I’m hoping to go towards. Probably gonna give it up if this is not realistic.

Definitely not buying equipment this year. Like you said, traveling with equipment can be annoying and I don’t want to end up with multiple skis and boots as I progress. Also, I’ve read that ‘demo-ing’ is cheaper if I’m going to do this 5 days a year.

dude 5 days a year?! i wish you luck! the basics of snowboarding took about that long for me to learn(eg falling leaf and c-turns), and i plan to take twice as long to train on the basics again on the green and red slopes (and get the s-turn right) because half a year after the lessons , i'm already forgetting certain things. to hit the black slopes is more of a 5-year goal for me, and off-piste is off-limits as far as i'm concerned.

that said, you're also much more athletically inclined than me, so you might actually be able to pull that off. just bring an experienced buddy when you go off-piste the first time.

 

[Din0saurus]

dude 5 days a year?! i wish you luck! the basics of snowboarding took about that long for me to learn(eg falling leaf and c-turns), and i plan to take twice as long to train on the basics again on the green and red slopes (and get the s-turn right) because half a year after the lessons , i'm already forgetting certain things. to hit the black slopes is more of a 5-year goal for me, and off-piste is off-limits as far as i'm concerned.

that said, you're also much more athletically inclined than me, so you might actually be able to pull that off. just bring an experienced buddy when you go off-piste the first time.

I’m kinda hoping to get reds done by day 5 but I’ll only know if it’s unrealistic until I try.

I got kinda inspired to ski by red and blue guy. I won’t be even close to his skill level this lifetime but I absolutely trust him as a guide if I decide to go off piste. Suffered a little both times we climbed though...