Your indispensable guide to learning to ski… or ride
Learning to ski or ride is one of the most laughable and enjoyable experiences on earth – and even more fun to share with other people. The absurdity of it all brings even the most unlikely people together, so what are you waiting for? Set out below is your indispensable guide to taking those first steps onto the white stuff. For holiday info and deal – see beginner ski holidays for more

Learn in just 3 days!
Alpine Elements offer Learn to ski and ride packages in Morzine and Les Gets with a promise that you will be up and turning, stopping in safety after just the first 3 days. We even do a money back guarantee if, after trying it for the first time, you have a severe dislike for the snow, and promise never to set foot on a snowboard again!!

Learning for all ages and fitness
Learning to ski or snowboard is a suitable activity for all types, ages and levels of fitness. Kids from the age of 4 learn to ski, but any earlier is often deemed to have a stressful effect on the child and can lead to a complete dislike for snow in later years.

Top beginner resorts
Most resorts offer suitable facilities for the novice skier or boarder, and most notable are Les Gets, Morzine, Les Arcs, Cervinia, La Rosiere, Alpe d’huez and Courchevel. Each of these resorts has a good network of beginner slopes and excellent lessons providers and nursery slope facilities. Crucially, they are less “stressy” than other busy resorts which makes the learning curve that much quicker.

What you will need
Well, clearly you will need a ski holiday package with flight, accommodation, catering and transfers to get you out there in the first place. Stay with a package Tour operator, and preferably a niche or independent like Alpine Elements who can provide greater support and a more personal service to help you get started. A package holiday to a top-end resort to include flights, transfers and hotel or chalet accommodation will set you back £400 to £500 depending on the time of year.

Then you will need the “physical” elements of learning to ski or board. These are Lessons, Liftpass and Ski or Board hire.

Lessons come in a package of 5 half or 5 full days. (5 half days are often enough and start at £100 for the week).

Liftpasses often come in two forms – a Local area pass or Extended area pass. The latter will be as useful to you as a bicycle on ice, given the simple reason you will have no chance of making full use of the extent of a local area pass let alone its more expensive counterpart.

Ski / Board Hire come, on average, in 3 grades. It would not only be un-necessary to pay for an upgrade before you are at least of 4 weeks experience, but it would be downright foolish too! Skis get stiffer and harder to use – the more expensive they come. What you need is a soft ski or board which his forgiving in its flex to allow you to make mistakes and not catch every edge on your way down the mountain. The alternative is a sure fire way to a bloody nose or even worse, a complete dislike for the sport! Sure – you may not be lining up in the queue with the latest seasons colours, but at least you’ll be grinning like an idiot and turning like a ski-god as you’re coming down that mountain!

Clothing
Last of all – is the clobber! You will need (preferably) a waterproof and robust jacket and trousers. We say “robust” so that you are not tempted to use golf trousers! You will also need warm and waterproof gloves. Thick socks, a woolly hat and sun glasses are very important. Take also lots of strong sun-cream and maybe a back pack for lunch and lip salve for windy days.

Lots of layers are important and do a very good job of bolstering the effectiveness of a cheaper jacket. It is not really worth hiring gear, although some ski shops do this – instead buy it from large outlet stores like Decathlon (Surrey Quays, London) who do their own brand range “Quechua” of very good ski gear. You will not look out of place on the slopes too – because the French swear by it – it’s only us Brits that feel the need to be adorned from head to toe in a thousand pounds worth of North face! Something about gear and no idea often springs to mind when I regularly cruise the slopes in my 10 year old sailing jacket, which incidentally still does the job very well indeed!

Best time to go
The best time to learn to ski or snowboard is in January or early December, and there’s no questioning that fact! Simply speaking – the slopes are less busy and the learning curve less stressful. Accidents are fewer and the locals more welcoming. Try learning to ski with maniacs buzzing past you, “newbie intermediates” cutting you up left, right and centre and to top it all – “Jo Farmer” the local ski instructor drafted in during peak dates to cover for the lack of “proper” instructors readily available to deal with the demand. Yes this happens. Non-seasoned or otherwise retired instructors drafted in from other local professions to help in peak season.

Basic Hotels or premium chalets
That pretty much covers it all, leaving only accommodation choice to ensure you are warm at night and wake up well rested in the morning! Alpine Elements pretty much cover it all.

We have basic 2 star hotels for bargain-priced package holidays to premium destinations such as the Portes du Soleil. Or we have high-end catered chalets with all the frills: hot tub, sauna, snowboard to door and even swimming pool access, and a snow assurance guarantee – where if it doesn’t snow – we will guarantee you get to some slopes where there darn well is some!

When flicking through the brochures or surfing on-line, look out for convenience-attributes in a property, such as distance to ski school and ski slopes. Then distance to ski shops and of course après ski! Larger properties (20 beds and over) will provide a great atmosphere where novice snow users will find like-minds with whom to bond, share lessons and laughs around the dinner table.

For help with choosing and booking – call us or email our dedicated and expert staff that will be happy top talk you through any requirements.