Who's going skiing and where? 23-24

[The_Doc]

There's snow on the hills outside my house, but it's the end of the 2022 Alpine season (in 2 weeks or so)

2022 Xmas and 2023 winter season.....

Who's in?

I've got flights booked in February half term 2023 (for £300 - 4 people !!! ) and we're going.

Also bagged 24th to 29th December as annual leave and might take Santa with us for a week, possibly to Les Contamines. My parents have been going there for a few years now and I only here good things about it for a short stay.

[EddieSteadyGo]

Starting to think about next season now too - trying to think about how much I can fit in having missed so much due to covid.

I'm wary of booking half-term and New Year though due to the queues - I think they are going to be insane next season, mainly because everyone who skipped this year due to covid is going to make a special effort for next season.

I'm currently trying to confirm 2 weeks with my family at the start of April 2023, but I'd like to find time for a total of 6 weeks if possible.

[JQ]

We have half term booked - flights and our regular chalet in Morzine are in the bag.

Lads trip is agreed - fly to Munich and ski in Gerlos, Austria in late January.

And this weekend my wife has announced she wants a kids free ski trip with some friends - I’m currently investigating a DIY trip to Kitzbuhel.

Looks like 2023 will be a good one.

[JQ]

EddieSteadyGo said:

I'm wary of booking half-term and New Year though due to the queues - I think they are going to be insane next season, mainly because everyone who skipped this year due to covid is going to make a special effort for next season.

I would imagine you’d only notice a difference at quiet resorts. I’d have thought any popular resort would historically been at capacity over half term with every bed occupied. I doubt many new hotels or chalets will have been built over the last 2 years.

Popular resorts will still be busy, I just don’t see how they could get busier without significant development. It’s more likely the real impact will be increased prices if demand increases and supply stays the same. Or they get busier during non-peak weeks as the peak weeks get booked up early.

Whatever happens I doubt there’ll be many last minute bargains next season, so you’re definitely doing the right thing by trying to get organised now.

[tivver500]

Being a 'senior citizen' I'm not stuck with school holidays so we're booked to back to Arinsal mid January.
Rather disappointed that Andorra have changed their rules for the free lift pass and now you have to be over 75....

However we do get a reasonable discount!!

Hope the snow cover is good....

[malks222]

currently in negotiations/ discussions over a first family ski holiday, thinking courchevel end of january (wife work means we prob can’t do any other month).

the sticking point is child will only turn 3 on hogmanay. my plan is for kid to go into ski school/ club type thing for 2hrs in the morning (courchevel take them into the esf thing from 3). we get a couple of hours skiing around, then we have a nice long lunch, prob nap, then some kind of afternoon activity- play in snow/ sledge/ swimming/ bowling/ trip in a cable car/ ice skating/ maybe a beginner run in the afternoon if she is getting skiing…… wife thinks 3 is too young and should wait another year…… i agree she’d be young, but think she’d be fine.

I am under no illusion that i’m going to be doing any full days skiing, which i’m happy with. I just want a family holiday in the mountains with a bit of skiing in the morning. has anyone taken a young kid to the mountains? anyone think 3 will be too young for ski school/ club?

[The_Doc]

3 is fine for ski school. They will love it, but will you be able to drop them off and walk away?

[EddieSteadyGo]

malks222 said:

.... has anyone taken a young kid to the mountains? anyone think 3 will be too young for ski school/ club?

I started my boys at 4.

As far as I can remember, that was the youngest age the ski school would accept (Lech), although I suppose everywhere is different. Problem is once you get younger than four, it becomes harder for whoever is supervising them to look after a group. You might be able to book private lessons, but that gets expensive, and I suspect you would need to keep the duration fairly short to make sure it stayed enjoyable.

[malks222]

The_Doc said:

3 is fine for ski school. They will love it, but will you be able to drop them off and walk away?

yeah, pretty certain it would be absolutely fine! she loves going to nursery, only had tears maybe a couple of mornings, pretty much from week one- just toddled off and done her thing.

EddieSteadyGo said:

I started my boys at 4.

As far as I can remember, that was the youngest age the ski school would accept (Lech), although I suppose everywhere is different. Problem is once you get younger than four, it becomes harder for whoever is supervising them to look after a group. You might be able to book private lessons, but that gets expensive, and I suspect you would need to keep the duration fairly short to make sure it stayed enjoyable.

so courchevel 1650 (where i’ve stayed a few times) has a ski school/ kindergarten that they actually take them from 2, then the piou piou club (beginners ski) starts from 3. they’ve also built a new kiddie ski building right at the bottom of the slope/ at the beginner, so they have an indoor area right next to where she’d be playing in the snow/ skiing.

I think it will be fine, just the wife i need to convince! oh and i did actually have her on skis last weekend at the lecht for an hour, which she seemed to love. i mean she’s only 2, but seemed happy going up the magic carpet and shuffling around on the skis, I just held her up between my legs and had a flew slides down, which did result in ‘again again’

[EddieSteadyGo]

malks222 said:

so courchevel 1650 (where i’ve stayed a few times) has a ski school/ kindergarten that they actually take them from 2, then the piou piou club (beginners ski) starts from 3. they’ve also built a new kiddie ski building right at the bottom of the slope/ at the beginner, so they have an indoor area right next to where she’d be playing in the snow/ skiing.

I think it will be fine, just the wife i need to convince! oh and i did actually have her on skis last weekend at the lecht for an hour, which she seemed to love. i mean she’s only 2, but seemed happy going up the magic carpet and shuffling around on the skis, I just held her up between my legs and had a flew slides down, which did result in ‘again again’

Sounds like things have moved on from when my children were that young! Happy to be corrected though.

One point I would say, which I suspect you might agree with, but giving the opportunity for your children to ski from a young age is a superb gift imho. When I was a child, the chances of being able to afford a skiing holiday was zero, so I first started in my mid 20's. And much as a love being on the mountain, the balance, confidence and technique my children have now as teenagers is light-years ahead of what I will ever achieve, but it gives a massive feeling of satisfaction watching them ski now any terrain with a natural ease.

[eps]

Booked some time ago now - Les Arcs, first week of April (still stuck with going in school holidays!!)

Might try a cheeky long weekend away as well, if we can squeeze one in without the kids!!

[Richard-390a0]

3rd week of January ClubMed Val Thorens for me & a mate coming over from L.A.

[eps]

Richard-390a0 said:

3rd week of January ClubMed Val Thorens for me & a mate coming over from L.A.

Really enjoyed it when we went with ClubMed in Les Deux Alpes - great fun!! Hopefully they still do the 'treats' in the morning as you leave to go to the slopes - a bit of genepi or similar! Make sure you partake if they do!

[Mr E]

Looking

[Bobajobbob]

Son number 2 booked with mates in Switzerland in Feb and full family booked in Avoriaz at the end of March. Now just need to sort out a trip with my friends earlier in the season.

My only worry this season is that energy costs may have a very real impact on resorts and their ability to operate all lifts, services and snow cannons. It might be wise to favour resorts that have renewable energy supplies if that is a thing? Anyone know? Otherwise expect massive surcharges and inflation on lift passes. If there is an impact I guess it would be most likely at the end of the season but I wouldn't be surprised if some resorts close early this year.

[prand]

I booked a couple of trips when Easyjet released their winter 2022/23 flights earlier this year.

I'm hoping the hot summer swings to an early cold winter and low level snow as we're going with another family to Les Gets for the week up to 24Dec.

Then I have a 4 day trip to Austria at the end of Feb for me and a couple of mates. Probably go to Kitzbuhel again as we had a great time there in March 2020, a week before the mad evacuation and everything got shut down!

I booked a private transfer from Geneva to Les Gets via Findtransfer.com, not done this before but seems legit and decent price (€480 return for 8 in a minibus). Alps2Alps who i have used before were quoting over €1000!

[The_Doc]

prand said:

I booked a private transfer from Geneva to Les Gets via Findtransfer.com, not done this before but seems legit and decent price (€480 return for 8 in a minibus). Alps2Alps who i have used before were quoting over €1000!

For 8 people that's a good rate 480/8=Eu60

A weeks GVA car hire is rarely less than £350 these days for 4 adults, but you do get the car in resort which we like a lot.
It will take a while for the transfer companies to rebuild their fleets and then competition push prices down again. Ditto the Car hire companies.
Skiidyygonzales went from 80+ vans to about 5 I think.

[UTH]

Richard-390a0 said:

3rd week of January ClubMed Val Thorens for me & a mate coming over from L.A.

Val T club med was our usual destination when we did father and his sons trips. Sadly we don’t do them anymore so I can’t quite afford club med!

Aiming to go Val T late March/early April with my mates, not sure where we’ll stay yet. We went last year and stayed in the place opposite club med - not sure the group will be keen to go there again so need to work out what we’ll do.

[prand]

The_Doc said:

For 8 people that's a good rate 480/8=Eu60

A weeks GVA car hire is rarely less than £350 these days for 4 adults, but you do get the car in resort which we like a lot.
It will take a while for the transfer companies to rebuild their fleets and then competition push prices down again. Ditto the Car hire companies.
Skiidyygonzales went from 80+ vans to about 5 I think.

Agreed - even before Covid and swarms of minbuses around it was a struggle getting transfers cheaper than flights!

It may be early season so cheaper prices, but this new site Findtransfer.com (no connection with them, I just saw it recommended on Snowheads) is relatively new and looks like you can get some nice prices. It reminds me a bit of Shiply - you put your request in and local operators, or one man bands, get back to you with quotes. I received quotes from €360-700 and picked the one in the middle, seemed to have a good selection vehicles and excellent feedback, so fingers crossed it works out!

I'm the opposite regarding car hire though, I've taken a car to the alps a couple of times and it's sat in the garage for a week. I guess it's depending on where you are going, (we usually try to be close to the lifts) or staying (its nice being in a chalet with a van & driver) and how adventurous you are (or how much you drink at apres time) as I've always felt getting a rental is a bit of a waste. Saying that, I'll probably be cursing waiting in a queue for a bus or taxi when there's no snow and we are trying to go to Avoriaz every day!

[Carbon Sasquatch]

tivver500 said:

Being a 'senior citizen' I'm not stuck with school holidays so we're booked to back to Arinsal mid January.
Rather disappointed that Andorra have changed their rules for the free lift pass and now you have to be over 75....

However we do get a reasonable discount!!

Hope the snow cover is good....

100EUR for a 70-74 season pass still seems pretty good. I thought my residents pass @ 360EUR was cheap....

I really must venture over to Arinsal the year - I'm in El Tarter.