Ski First Timer!!!

HELPSKI_2

Hi All.
Hope you can help.

I am planning a trip with three mates,we are all male, in our early thirties.

I am the only one not been ski-ing before,the others once in their teens!!!

We want to go to Austria or Italy.

Budget of about £500 each(Self Cater 7 nights via Stansted,last weekish of January 2008),

Anyone have any ideas of good resorts,with night life and obviously good ale houses?
Some one mentiond Salbach to me,in Salzburg?

Also,sorry to be a pain,can you hire all the ski suits etc in resort,and what is best to take??

Hope someone can help.

Thanks:beer:

HELPSKI_2

Can anyone help ???


PLEASE!!

I want to get it booked at the weekend.

HELPSKI_2

Looks like I am going "downhill" without a Ski.

Is anyone out there got any ski knowledge...............?

PLEASE!!

AlluraDirect

Hi there BESTSKI,

Although you want to go to Europe, it may be a good idea to reconsider your destination.

Whistler is a very good deal if you book your lodging and tickets by Nov. 15 2007. Flights are also pretty reasonable.

Booking directly with homeowners for lodging will also save you hundreds of pounds.

Check out www.alluradirect.com/whistler or alternatively, check out https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com .

Have a great trip!

Kizzy001

if you are a first time skier i do not think its worth going too far, you won't be able to enjoy all the runs, because you'll be stuck on the nursery slopes.

I've been to Austria many times, i quite like westendorf, its a lovley place, but to be honest i can't remeber much of the night life i'm alway knackered and just tend to sit in the fisrt pub i come across!

if you are going with people who already know how to ski you ,may want to do some ski lessons over here - there's a place in telford that does indoor skiing and milton keynes. Otherwise you may find that your not having as much fun as you thought you'd have because they have left you behind!

are you having lessons out there? i do recommend that you do - as these can be expensive.

also make sure you spend a month on the bike beforehand otherwise you'll be knackered when your learning how to ski!

have fun!!

(i remember my first time skiing..haha..so glad i never have to go though that learning process again. !!)

HELPSKI_2

Thank you both,Whistler was going to be an option,but we decided on Europe.

The others say they Know,but I have my doubts,hence the need for nightlife!

I have been down a couple of dry slopes and will probably get some lessons in before going,and whilst there.

Can they be booked in resort or is it best to book beforehand?

Understand,the get fit bit,intraining already,trouble is the club has a cracking bar!
Thanks again.

Anymore resort suggestions,anyone?

Never_Enough_Money

Hi,

We have just booked a first time skiing holiday in Feb, we are going to Austria, we looked into it and spent ages choosing a place to go, lots of kinds mse'rs gave me advice.The places that were recommended to us were, Zell Am See in Austria, Montchavin in France, Also Alp D'Huez in France. Not sure about the night ilfe there though as we weren't really looking for nightclubs etc, we are going with another family and 5 kids in total. No clubbing for us!

cazziebo

You can get ski stuff from Ebay or TK Maxx - never heard of hiring it but maybe you can. Don't spend a lot. I've always found gloves, goggles, hats etc cheaper in the resort.

Austria is great. Soll is lively, St Johann is good. But I'm with Kizzy - skiing is exhausting and a couple of drinks is about as much as I can manage. Soll as some good mountain hutte which do beers (nothing like a nice beer when you're skiing) or gluhwein or jagerdtee (which is a very strong mulled wine - yum!). Nice mountain restaurants too. Huge ski areas with a lot of runs for you once you get some confidence. Austrian ski lessons tend to be for whole days which can be a bit much (very high standard of instruction). What you could do if there is a few of you is hire an instructor for private lessons - might workout cheaper.

you'll love it - have fun!

XX

catt_2

Helpski

You are all effectively beginners and as such could book a "Learn to ski week" and the advantage of everything all included- flights, transfers, accommodation, ski equipment hire and ski school. The major tour operators do these for your choices of Austria and Italy.

I've skied in lots of countries. Stick to Europe. France is the self-catering destination though. Austrian resorts are more attractive. Italy can be sunnier but the snow conditions can suffer. Any of the bigger resorts have lots of apres ski/nightlife.

On your budget of £500 all in, you might want to look at budget ski destination Bulgaria. Lots of lads are attacted by the cheap beer.
:beer:

You can hire outfits in the UK from sports ski shops but its expensive. For the same money or less you can buy ski pants and jacket at Tesco or Asda. Take along thick socks, lipsalve, uv protection, sunglasses and hat or earband/headband. If you don't have these they can all be bought in resort. But buy your pants before you go so as not to lose skiing time . Any anorak type jacket would do if any of your party are on a tighter budget. Oh and an alarm clock so you don't miss out on ski school!;)

Let us know what you've booked mate! Good luck!

peterbaker

Helpski, and with all respect to catt, I disagree with the "Learn to ski package" idea.

If I read between the lines correctly you'd like to learn hard and fast and play hard?

That's how I learned. We were off the nursery slopes by the end of the third day.

First, get yourselves a good private instructor for a solid two or three hours every morning.

We were taught around Champery, Grand Paradis, Les Croisets, Avoriaz, Les Lindarets by a great Canadian kid who grew up at Whistler and was an official Swiss Ski School instructor. Simply the best. He was a tall guy, broad shoulders, great style and he just ate up the mountain like some great eagle swooping ahead! I still try to emulate him some of that on the piste!

I've skied in Austria too - St.Anton which is joined up to Lech & Zurs where Diana used to go ... that's where I actually bought my first skis. I can believe that the Austrian ski schools might be serious although I don't think we bought lessons on that trip.

On the first two afternoons we wobbled through our nursery exercises as taught by the instructor and on the third afternoon we were guided by our pals who had learned years earlier and got us over the next mountain and down to a new restaurant for lunch! The trip was not without it's spills and bruises but we didn't look back.

On the fourth day our instructor took us over the mountain too to a great wide piste where we started improving our turns.

Again our pals took over an hour before lunch and got us to another restaurant, this time in another country! Breakfast in Switzerland and lunch in France is not a bad crack for beginners! ... you need a goal like that to stretch you a bit if you don't mind the challenge and the muscle strain! It's also easier to do that now because of the new lifts that pretty much take you home if you are otherwise slaughtered! In my day if you got stuck in France when the lifts closed then it was an hour taxi ride back to the chalet!

It took many more trips and private lessons to get good and overcome fear of falling a long way or getting stuck in the wrong country with your bed in another, and the bruises on that first trip hurt like hell (we learned when it was very icey!), but if you want to go for it, don't shackle yourself to the usual ski school herd.

Unfortunately £500 all in is a bit thin. Sure it will get you a ski holiday, but be prepared to break your budget if you start to recognise a good thing (which you will I am sure )

never_enough

Tchibo are worth keeping an eye on, they had some ski wear at bargain prices. Or even ask around you may be able to borrow some of the more expensive items. Spend money on good socks & gloves.