UKC

Hi
Got two weeks off at Easter so am planning on taking family skiing in France then rock climbing on way home

Kids are 7 and 5 and it will be their first ski trip. I'm trying to find a quiet resort that has a free or low cost skiing for the kids. I'm not really bothered about skiing on this holiday as i would like the kids in lessons on the morning and then skiing with family in the afternoon. No need for masses of mileage.

I don't want a big resort just a small family friendly place

any ideas?

In reply to PGD:

La Rosiere?

In reply to Andy Hardy:

Morillons?

Vaujany ?

In reply to PGD:
Puy St. Vincent? All the skiing, climbing and via ferrata you could ever wish for, all in a few miles of each other.

In reply to PGD:

Les contamines

Saint gervais (if snow good and still quite cold)

Having just done a "cheap" ski holiday I can confirm that such a thing doesn't exist!

In reply to John Ww:

Puy St Vincent is an excellent family resort - my mates kids started there when they were 4 and never looked back - went there every year (sometimes twice) for at least 10 years. It's not big, but even experienced skiers can have a lot of fun there - especially in the trees when it snows.

Just not sure about going there at Easter - it's very sunny and quite far south. Not sure when the VFs open though - one year I decided it was too warm to ski, but found they were all closed due to ice. Also the road to Ailefroide is seasonal and not sure when it opens, but there is some limestone climbing closer at hand, or further south.

Back to the skiing - have a look at Valmorel. It's 20 years since I've been there, but it did have green runs up high, which made it a good choice for my wife's first ski holiday at the end of March.

In reply to PGD:

hi

+1 for puy st vincent great place for families to ski, voted cheapest resort in France out of the main resorst by French papers, and the climbing is amazing around here as well, i live 20 min for puy so if you wont any info drop me a line

cheers Rob

In reply to ecrinscollective:

have a look at Chamrousse. I have an appartment there. Not many brits go but its great for families with young kids.

You can get genuinely ski in ski out appartments for reasonable cost.

If you stay in Chamrousse 1750 its great for beginers.

Never really busy and lift passes are reasonable.

Gary.

In reply to Removed User:

Some great idea here. Been chatting to some friends an i think we've been offered a 4 bed family room in a chalet for 250 Euros for the week in Chamrousse.

Looks like that's where I'm heading .

In reply to PGD:

Enjoy.

If the kids have not skied much before the slopes above 1750 are ideal being basically all Blues.

There is a Pizza place in 1650 called the Chamoise (sp french for mountain sheep)which I can recomend.

Do not exepoct too much in the way of nightlife but is really freidndly family resort.

Not ther biggest ski area (about 90km of downhill piste i think) but there are a whole sreis of fun parks and ski cross courses etc for all standrads so lots to enjoy.

Gary.

In reply to Removed User:

Thanks
First time for the kids. My son is 7 and kayaks ,rides mountain bikes and enjoys the surf so he should be fine. My daughter is 5 and not as brave. I can ski and tour a bit but am really just trying to spend this week with the kids.

Just want a really chilled out quiet week.

Is the ESF the only kids ski school there? any recommendations for good kids ski hire. Mum and Dad have their own kit.

In reply to PGD:

For ski hire you may find that the appartment block you are staying in has a deal with a shop.

If not the one I have used is in the shopping centre in 1750. As you look at the shopping centre from the car park is on the right hand front corner. I used it as it has a deal with where my appartment is (L'Ecrin des Neiges) but service was good and proces seemed OK.

I think ESF may be the only ski school. However all the instructors i have come aco5rss there have been very freindly and they get load of french kids there and the kids groups always seem to be having fun.

If there are any more ski schools they will probably be on the Tourist Info website.

Cheers,

Gary.

In reply to PGD:

Val Morel? My sisters learnt to ski there years ago - no idea what it's like now, but I was small and cheap back then.

I would have suggested Sestriere, over the border in Italy, for the lessons. My wife learnt to ski there. Unfortunately, it's not that quiet a resort.

In reply to PGD:


I've booked kit before through Skimium, which was cheaper than pitching up at the resort. http://www.skimium.co.uk/

In reply to LastBoyScout:
I skied in sestrierre last week. Great place. Friendly and good value. Not really challenging piste skiing but nice crusing for intermediates and good off piste fun.

In reply to Andy Hardy:


I've been to La Rosiere/Les Eucherts I think four times now, with friends, because they like it for the kids. LR has a drag lift to the right, coming out of resort (as does LE), which leads to a lot of nice greens, and some fun paths in the trees for the kids. LE has a covered moving carpet for real beginners, and the drag leads to a short beginners run. Both have reasonably easy blues back from the main chairs out of resort.

The Fort area is mostly reds, Blanchot and Marmottes being my favourites, and there's a lot of piste-adjacent stuff to play in. It's also easy to get out, have a good ski, and come back to pick the kids up at lunchtime. Some of the lifts are slow; Fontaine Froide and the very bottom of Marmottes especially.

The piste adjacent bit coming back into LE was perfect for just one bright day this year; lovely powder that had me literally whooping with joy as I came down through the trees. And I'm a cautious skiier who isn't great in deep snow. The next day was a complete whiteout, and we saw a poor snowboarder out of his depth in the same area, slowly bum-hopping a giant trough about 100m down the slope; a complete change of character overnight.

It can be a miserable schlep to and from La Thuile. With beginner kids, don't bother.

It can be a bit cold. Or maybe that's just been timing and bad luck.

We've stayed in a small SC apartment block 'La Refuge' a couple of times, which is very nice, and fairly close to lifts and shops, and just about possible to ski back. We booked through the local tourist office (lift passes included in deal).

In reply to PGD:


Read the thread before replying, captain...

€250 sounds good.

In reply to captain paranoia:

All responses appreciated. I've never looked at resorts from a child friendly viewpoint so need to get as many ideas as possible

In reply to captain paranoia:


It was certainly a miserable slog on a snowboard when it was a drag lift - I understand it's now a chairlift back to La Thuile, but it's still a flat glide down to La Rosiere


-28 in La Thuile when I went there!

In reply to LastBoyScout:


Nope; it's still those two very long drags along the valley. Do not fall off...

In reply to PGD:

+1 for Chamrousse, great place to teach the kids to ski, just don't expect anyone to speak English, some decent runs for you as well

In reply to PGD:

Chamonix is a great place for kids to learn to ski. It may have the gnarliest off-piste in the world, but at Le Tour, a wealth of excellent easy runs in a lovely setting. As the kids progress, they can move on to Brevent-Flegere and eventually Grands Montets. It certainly worked for me and my daughters. And it's one of the few places in the Alps with genuinely cheap accommodation, such as the Belvedere gite.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

i'm a big fan of La Ros having been there 4 times with the kids at xmas and February (was there two weeks ago) - but I wouldn't go in April - lots of south facing slopes and it gets warm. Having been to Les Arc at easter, looking across the valley to La Ros it is often very green. This year, the base just isn't there - there will be safer options for what is never a cheap holiday!

Chamrousse was a great place for the kids to learn. We stayed in 1650 but would look at straying in 1700 or 1750 next time as the easy runs for the kids were all over that side. Both kids ( 7 and 5) made great progress and enjoyed it.

As was pointed out it's mainly french speaking but the instructors were clear enough with instructions for the kids

Enough there for me given I was enjoying teaching my kids in the afternoon.

A great lower cost resort. Meals out lift passes all far better value than the larger resorts.