VIP SKI Blog

Ask anyone who’s taken their kids skiing before and you’ll know that one of the most important things to do is finding accommodation as close as you can get to the beginners’ slopes. That isn’t always possible of course, because ski-in, ski-out accommodation is naturally more expensive than properties that are at the edge of the resort. In which case, look for a place that’s near a stop for the resort’s shuttle bus instead. Reducing the time your children need to spend walking around in their boots will make life so much easier.

Some hotels offer childcare which is an appealing prospect for many parents - Hello, wine o’clock. Our award-winning ski hotel, Bear Lodge in Les Arcs offers a Pyjama Club for parents who would like dinner in peace and children who aren’t quite ready for bed. Cinema nights, stories, popcorn, hot chocolate or quiet games or colouring before bedtime. Available from Monday to Saturday from 7pm-9.30pm for children over the age of 5, €10 per child per night, €5 per sibling. Subject to availability.

We also offer a Listening Service for children in your room or suite whilst you enjoy a drink at the bar. €10 per hour. Subject to availability.

But others prefer to rent a family ski chalet instead, enabling them to create a relaxed ‘home away from home’ vibe where parents can put young children to bed, grab the baby monitor and relax with a drink while dinner is being prepared.

Top tip: If children are occupying a third or fourth bed in a room in a VIP SKI chalet or hotel room, they will normally be eligible for a discount of up to 50% off the adult price. (Child discount not applicable with group discount)

Our guide to packing for your first ski holiday contains good advice on layering and the essential items of clothing you’ll need. With kids, remember to double-up on things like gloves and socks. They’re indispensable, but often the things that go missing or get soaking wet first. You might also want to think about attaching gloves to ski jackets with elastic for very young children so they don’t lose them halfway through lessons.

We recommend arriving at the resort the day before you start skiing. That gives you time to sort out your lift passes and equipment with no need to rush around. Ski hire shops are usually less busy during the afternoons, and if you go at a quieter time the staff will have more time to make sure your child gets a good fit. There is little point buying expensive skis, boots or jackets for children as they grow so quickly.

Renting ski equipment from a company such as EcoSki or borrowing from friends is a much wiser approach and there is lots of pre-loved children’s ski kit for sale on Facebook Marketplace, Ebay and Vinted.

Top tip: Allow yourselves plenty of time to get ready every morning. You may find that you get to the lifts a little later yourself but it’s a sacrifice worth making.

In almost every case, it’s best for children to join ski school. You may feel capable of teaching them yourself, but by doing so you risk passing on your own bad habits and, let’s face it, you probably want to want to enjoy some time away from the nursery slopes during your holiday too! You can help to prepare them by arranging a couple of lessons on an artificial slope before you go on holiday.

With ski lessons for kids, it’s important to allow them to learn at their own pace, and not to rush them or compare them to others. Patience and flexibility are key. At this stage it’s more about them enjoying themselves and gaining confidence on the slopes, rather than perfecting their technique.

Don’t overdo it with the lessons - exhaustion can quickly lead to frustration. Give the instructor your phone number and put a copy of it in your child’s pocket as well. A couple of hours in ski school every day is more than enough, perhaps followed by a bit of practice with parents if they are up for it. In the afternoons, be sure to schedule in some rest time, whether it’s in front of the TV, napping or playing board games.

If this is your kids’ second or third time skiing, you might want to look for a resort with plenty of blues and a few easy reds, to give them a bit more of a challenge. For first-timers however, you can pretty much go anywhere as they are unlikely to progress beyond a few gentle slopes in the first week.

Top tip: Beginner skiers shouldn’t need a lift pass as most nursery slope ski lifts are free.

When skiing with kids, opt for a resort where there are plenty of family-friendly activities on offer. You might take them to the top of the mountain in a gondola, so they can enjoy the view with a hot chocolate, go sledging, snowshoeing or snowmobiling. Some resorts have kids’ clubs too where your children can make friends of their own age. And always leave one afternoon free to build a snowman!

Top tip: Either bring a bag of high-energy snacks with you or buy some from the resort supermarket on arrival. Your kids will race through them.

A few things to remember before you depart on your family ski holiday:

●       Ensure that all clothes you’ve bought or borrowed for your children fit beforehand. It will be a lot more expensive to sort out in resort.

●       Check that your travel insurance policy covers skiing. It’s one less thing to worry about.

●       Pack plenty of suncream, even if you are expecting cloudy conditions. Keep one tube in your backpack so that even if you forget to apply it in the mornings, you can do it on arrival at ski school.

●       Show your children a few skiing videos on a site such as YouTube. It’s important for them to know that falling over a lot is part of learning to ski, and that they will be tired, cold and maybe even scared at times.

●       They will be fully briefed by their instructor, but drum into your kids that while skiing is an opportunity to have fun and mess around in the snow, it’s vital to be sensible and careful when using ski lifts.

If you're thinking about booking your next family ski holiday but still have some questions, our friendly and knowledgeable sales team are on hand to help you find the perfect catered ski chalet or hotel.

We can also help you pre-book ski passes, ski equipment and ski lessons to make your holiday with children as stress-free as possible. 

This free-flowing red piste is often overlooked. Tucked at the top of the Manchet Valley, it's a run to nowhere, so ignored by anyone wanting to "travel" across the Espace Killy.

The first third is the perfect place to pick up the speed and practise carving. Split into three steeper pitches followed by gentle sections. You'll be able to push yourself safely, knowing there is a section to regroup and, if needed, regain control.

The middle third is nice and wide with a consistent gradient. This is another excellent place for advanced skiers to practise long carved turns, but the pitch doesn't change, so work on controlling your speed with your turn shape. If you want to take it easier, this is a great place to practise short turns.

With a little dog leg, the final third is the steepest pitch of the run. It's worth scrubbing a little speed as a sharpish right-hand turn can be crowded with people regrouping.

There is nothing not to love about this run. It's quiet, has a great rhythm and can be enjoyed by intermediate and advanced skiers, so it is perfect if you're skiing as a mixed group.

Despite not going anywhere, the lift back out of the Manchet Valley is the modern Manchet Express, so you'll be back at the top in no time. We regularly lap this run with our Advanced Ski Courses.

It is one of several red runs above La Daille, perfect for advanced skiers seeking a challenge. The OK is a famous downhill course that lets you test your skills on a world-class racing slope.

The piste descends more than 1000m in altitude from the top of the Bellevarde at 2800m to La Daille at 1785m. World Cup skiers make it top to bottom in about 1 minute 45 seconds.

Don't just ski this run once. You'll find incredible rollers, open sections and exciting turns as you ski the run. Learn these and build a picture in your mind. Work out which rollers you can jump off, where you can let your skis run and crank some incredible carved turns and where you need to scrub the speed and get back on top of things.

Then, put it all together. Have a go at skiing from top to bottom. You won't regret it.

An ungroomed black run feared by students on their BASI (British Association of Snowsports Instructors) exams, Piste S is a complete change of pace from the previous fast and flowing runs. The moguls here only get bigger as the season goes on. If you want a challenge, look no further.

We suggest skiing this run later in the day once the sun has had a chance to soften the snow. If you find yourself at the top of Piste S after heavy snow, beware. It might look lovely and smooth, but the bumps are right there, lurking beneath the surface.

We have a whole article on skiing moguls if you want some tips. 

Yes - it's technically three pistes, but they link together perfectly to form a continuous run from the top of Solaise to the snow front. Plan is a steep red run perfect for short turns. Please keep your eyes peeled for other skiers, as it can be busy.

We love skiing on the right-hand side of the piste as this is often a little quieter with better snow. It also makes it easier to find the junction to Rhone Alpes.

Rhone Alpes is an excellent black run for those jumping from red to black. It has steep sections followed by flatter runouts, is nice and quiet and is regularly groomed by the piste bashers. Confident black run skiers won't be bored as they can test themselves on the steep sections with a great safety net if it doesn't go to plan.

Combe Martin is steep, often bumpy and right under the lift, so you always have an audience. We love this run, as you can see from the top right to the bottom. Stop at the top and practise picking and visualising your line. Then ski it with intent, turn where you planned, and fight to keep that rhythm rather than react to each turn individually. Building that rhythm and skiing with intent is a significant part of improving your skills.

It's an obvious run to include on the list, and you've probably already decided to ski it. So here are our top tips.

This iconic black run was designed for the men's Olympic downhill at the 1992 Winter Olympics. La Face plunges down the mountain from the top of the Bellevarde cable car, offering steep, challenging terrain with a vertical drop of over 900 metres. When skiing this run with clients, we often break it into three main sections.

The Cable Car to the Road: This top section starts super cruisy. It's not steep compared to the rest of the run and has some brilliant sweeping corners and fun rollers. As you exit the second sweeping left-hand turn, start to kill some speed. As you approach the sharp right-hand turn onto the road, the run gets steeper and narrower. If you're with a group and know you have a couple of nervous skiers, you can take some time and regroup on the far right-hand side of the piste in the middle of the second sweeping left. The piste is wide here, and you'll spot an obvious place to stop. The right-hand turn onto the road is sharp. Make sure you're ready. The Road is a short, narrow section that takes you to the top of the Wall.

The Wall to the Pylon: The Wall is the steepest section of the run, dropping away sharply to the left from the road. It's nice and wide but best skied early in the day before it gets bumped up. A word of warning: at the bottom of the Wall, there is a prominent roller. Make sure you're in control of your speed. We have seen people so focused on surviving the steep section that they don't even realise it's there. They hit it at speed and go flying. Between this roller and the pylon, you have another two steep sections followed by incredibly fun rollers.

The Pylon to the Snowfront: The Home Straight. Consistently steep, nice and wide, with just one roller to worry about. It's the perfect place to nail those short slalom turns. This section is used for the men's World Cup Slalom at the start of the season. The piste is often injected with water to make the snow firmer (icier). It takes a good few snowfalls for the fresh snow to cover this, so be cautious early in the season.

The team of Ski and Snowboard Instructors at New Generation are available for Private Ski and Snowboard Lessons, Group Coaching or Off-piste Guiding. 

If you’re looking for somewhere to relax and unwind after a day conquering the infamous red and black runs in Val d’Isere, we have 18 luxury catered ski chalets to tempt you...

Which ski run will you tackle first?

Impossible to answer, very few of us want to lug around more than one pair so it’s always a compromise. When I was exploding with energy three decades ago, I was happy to carry the weight and shin-chafing stiffness of a race boot on a long touring climb because I loved the control it gave on the descent and wanted to tear up the first lift corduroy in front of the girls.

A bundle of years later I have much less energy and a hybrid touring/piste boot is much better suited to bending over the kids, carrying them on your back when they are tired and enjoying a 2pm glass of rosé with my wife before an afternoon nap.

I played with some new race skis last week thinking I was still ‘Jack the Lad’. My boots stretched and groaned with the strain but held their own and kept me happily in the carve - it was my quads that screamed and me alone that needed a lie down at lunchtime.

Do you want to rip up the hill, pootle about all day on the reds and blues or dance on the tables? More importantly, which are you best at?

Even more impossible to answer. That’s all about foot size & shape. Just like a motorbike helmet, some fit, some don’t. Try not to be fixated on the colour and logos and never ever buy online. I will never forget, in my early days of guiding, when a guest only realised her boots were on the wrong feet when she noticed on the second chairlift that the stripes on her boot didn’t match the stripes on her ski trousers. Yep, true story. The boots were slightly more comfortable the right way round, but never going to get the best out of her skiing.

I’m ashamed to say that I once bought a pair of Rossignol Limited Edition race boots because they looked cool (purple … double the shame) but had to remove them halfway down the mountain after half a day of agony and tears and went home in my socks. Needless to say, I couldn’t give away the racy purple boots for love nor money and they’re still upstairs in the attic.

So, the type of boot depends on you, how you ski and how you’d like to ski, and you can ignore the brand. The only important thing is the fit.

The rest of this blog post is quick and easy, there is only one man. Mark Wilkinson, Wilkie to his mates, at Surefoot Val d’Isère. He fits most local skiers I know and a great number of our guests in Val d’Isère.

For the record, friend though he is, we have no commercial relationship, everyone says that he’s the best. Answer his questions on your ability and aspirations accurately (you need to be honest with yourself), he’ll look at your feet, and you can trust him to fit you into a shell and liner that works. If it is not perfect after a few days on the piste, go back and he’ll make some changes. I know guests with awkward feet that have gone back again and again until the fit was right. OK, bespoke boots and service like this is not cheap, but in the context of the priceless hours you spend on the snow, for me it represents no-brainer value for money.

Comfy feet have no price, neither on a treacherous black in a whiteout or standing on a table and banging out the moves at Cocoricos.

Lastly, whether you have inbuilt warmers or not, make sure your boots are warm when you put them on. All of our chalets have great boot warmers but if you are staying somewhere else, buy some portable heaters and carry them with you. Hot boots are so much easier to get on your foot, and they seem to fit better and stay more supple all day (author’s note: absolutely no science to support this).

Really lastly this time (!), always do your boot up as if it were on your foot even when it is not, it helps retain the shape and will distort much less over time. It’s worked for me; I’ve only ever owned four pairs of boots in the last 35 years (ignoring the pair in the attic).

Contact: Mark Wilkinson, Surefoot Val d’Isère (by appointment only)

valdisere@surefoot.com +33 4 79 09 76 60

Need somewhere to stay whilst you get your boots fitted? Grand Choucas is our closest chalet to Surefoot, fifty yards away in the very centre of Val d’Isère. 

One of the most important aspects of enjoying your time on the slopes is to prioritise yourself. It might sound a bit selfish, but it's crucial for your safety and enjoyment. This is one of the most important ski tips for beginners as you shouldn't feel pressured to take on runs that are too difficult for your skill level. Instead, choose runs that match your abilities, even if it means saying 'no' to the more challenging ones.

Remember that snow conditions and the number of skiers and snowboarders on the slopes can significantly affect how a run feels. Timing is key. Consider skiing challenging runs mid-morning when they're less crowded and haven't been cut up too much.

It's also okay if your ski or snowboarding buddies want to tackle more challenging runs. If they're impatient, encourage them to ski on their own while you enjoy the slopes at your own pace. Skiing should be fun, not a race.

If you're skiing with a group of varying skill levels, finding runs that allow you to do circuits is an excellent strategy. Look for runs that are interconnected or form a loop. This way, you can all stay in the same general area while skiing at your own pace.

In this scenario, it's quality over quantity. You might only complete two quality runs while others in your group do five or more. The goal here is sociable skiing, where everyone gets to enjoy the mountain without feeling rushed or held back.

At the end of a tiring day on the slopes, it's essential to stay in control. If you're exhausted and feel like you've had enough skiing or snowboarding for the day, don't hesitate to ride the cable car down. This is your time to rest and reflect on the fantastic experiences you've had during the day (and avoid the often icy and crowded home runs back into the resort).

It's normal to feel a bit guilty for not sticking with your partner or group for one more run. However, taking charge of your decisions ensures that you end your day on a positive note. Maintaining a positive attitude not only benefits you but also prevents your frustrations from affecting the rest of your party.

Skiing is about having fun and enjoying the mountain at your own pace. Prioritising your safety and well-being, finding runs that suit your skill level, and taking charge of your choices are all essential elements of a successful skiing experience.

So, hit the slopes, think about yourself and embrace the joy of skiing at your own pace. Hopefully, these skiing tips will help you manage your group’s dynamics in a way which suits you.

Need a little confidence boost at the start of your holiday with some private lessons or group tuition?

Let us pre-book your ski lessons for you with one of our ski school partners in resort.

Skiing and snowboarding can be a challenging sport and even those who've skied for many years can always improve. A few ski lessons with an experienced instructor will help you master the essential techniques, build confidence or conquer those famous black runs you’ve heard about from your friends. Qualified ski instructors spend years learning how to build up a beginner’s confidence from day one.

A quick word of advice... If your partner offers to teach you, we recommend politely declining their offer if you want to remain in a relationship with them and enjoy your precious holiday!

A slope that may seem very easy to them can be incredibly daunting to a nervous beginner and qualified ski instructors spend years learning how to build up a beginner’s confidence from day one.

We often get asked what age children should start skiing. Ski schools provide lessons for children from as young as 4 years to introduce them to the weather, clothing & equipment. Introducing children to skiing from a young age has many benefits. Their fearless nature and lower centre of gravity make it an ideal time to start. Skiing promotes physical development, enhances balance and coordination and builds muscle strength. However, while skiing with children is great, little skiers get tired quickly so the main emphasis should be on having fun in the snow with regular ski breaks to build snowmen, make snow angels and drink hot chocolate.

We recommend morning ski lessons followed by a tasty lunch back at the chalet and an afternoon of fun with our childcare team. Remember that the goal here is for your children to love being in the mountains and if they can come to a stop and do a few snowplough turns by the end of the week, then that’s a bonus!

If you just want to give your little one a taste of skiing without booking them in for ski lessons, our advice would be to hire a pair of plastic skis that strap onto their snow boots and take them for a little slide on the nursery slopes and a ride in the gondola to see the views.

Our flexible childcare and private nanny service is available in all our resorts and can include collecting your child from their ski lessons so that you can make the most of the ski area (or enjoy a long lunch on the slopes) and not have to rush back.

For those on the hunt for fresh tracks, then why not book an off-piste session with a ski or snowboard instructor or guide? Having monitored the conditions throughout the season, they will provide you with the essential safety equipment and take you to their favourite untracked spots away from the crowds.

The choice between private and group lessons depends on your preferences and budget. Private lessons offer personalised tuition tailored to your level, making them ideal for focused improvement or building confidence in nervous skiers. If you want to learn to carve like a pro or master the moguls, try booking a dedicated private lesson where your instructor will give you personalised tips to help improve your technique and confidence on carefully chosen terrain.

Group lessons are fantastic for social skiers and those looking to share the experience with others. Whichever you choose, you’re sure to make progress and have fun.

Why not try cross-country skiing or ski touring? These activities offer a different perspective on the mountains, taking you off the busy downhill slopes and into serene, snow-covered landscapes. Cross-country skiing, which involves gliding on flat or gently rolling terrain using lightweight skis and poles, provides an excellent cardiovascular workout while allowing you to connect with nature and enjoy the tranquillity of the snowy wilderness.

On the other hand, ski touring takes you on an adventure, where you'll earn your turns by walking up the slopes using specialised equipment such as climbing skins and alpine touring bindings before skiing down. Both experiences are physically rewarding and mentally rejuvenating, making them a great addition to your winter holiday if you fancy a change.

Ski & snowboard lessons during peak weeks are in high demand, especially morning lessons. That's why it's crucial to book your lessons early. Don’t be disheartened though if you end up with a lesson over lunch time. It’s often the quietest time on the slopes so the lift queues are shorter. Enjoy a late lunch once the crowds have left the mountain restaurants and head back out onto the slopes for the last lifts or ski back to your chalet for a soak in the hot tub or a relaxing massage.

So, don't miss out on the chance to improve your skiing skills. Book your ski lessons early and get ready to hit the slopes with confidence!

We understand it can be overwhelming with several companies in each resort offering ski lessons, all describing them in different ways. At VIP SKI, we do the research, so you don’t have to, and work with a variety of the best ski school providers in each of our resorts.

We’re more than happy to help check availability and can pre-book lessons on your behalf. We’re confident you will get the very best instruction from our ski school partners.