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Learning To Ski and Board

Learning to ski or board is an amazing, even life changing experience and what’s more, you’ll love every part of it!

We’ve been introducing first-time skiers and boarders to the mountains for over 20 years, so we know a thing or two about organising beginner holidays, which can be complicated if you’ve not done it before. You’ll have questions like: Which resort do I go to? What extras do I need? What to wear and what will it all cost?

Speak to Our Expert Advisors

We’re here to make your life easier – from helping you choose the best time to travel to selecting the right Ski Extras or the best package and resort for your budget; whilst (hopefully!) saving you time and money along the way and ensuring you enjoy the experience from the moment you pick up the phone to us.

So, let our expert staff lead you through each stage of learning to ski or board this winter…and remember, we’ve all been through it before!

Learn to Ski or Board in 3 Days!

This may sound like a bold statement, but with the right care and attention, learning to ski or board is not as hard as you might think and with the right guidance, you’ll have the basics mastered in just a few days.

With our English speaking ski and board schools, we have the majority of guests up and skiing or boarding after their first or second day, and linking basic turns by their third day.

By the end of the week you’ll be exploring the wider ski area under your own steam and venturing further afield without an instructor.

Our ‘Tried & Tested’ Schools

We’ve been introducing beginner skiers and boarders to the mountains for over 20 years, so we know a thing or two about learning this great sport!

One thing that we put a lot of effort into is hand-picking our ski and snowboard schools. We know the standard of tuition can have a big effect on your overall holiday enjoyment so we leave nothing to chance and only use the best ski and board schools, to ensure you get the best results, the nicest instructors and have fun all the way.

Which Resort to Learn in?

You can learn to ski and board in any resort, but some are more suited to beginners than others. Each of our resorts have English speaking instructors and lots of nursery slopes and easy ski slopes to make it easier and lots more fun.

To get you started we have hand-picked the best and most friendly resorts for beginner skiers and boarders. 

We recommend these resorts: Meribel, Morzine, La Plagne, Courchevel-La Tania

What You Will Need

For skiing and boarding you’ll need the right gear to keep warm and help stay on the mountain all day. Speak to our expert ski advisors and they will gladly help you get started. As well as some basic ski-gear, you’ll also need the following:

  • A holiday package like ours: with flights and transfers and 100% Financial Protection by ATOL and ABTA.
  • Your Lift pass for 6 days (a Local area pass is plenty) 
  • Ski or Snowboard hire for 6 days, (Our ‘Economy’ hire is good enough)
  • Lessons: Like our five half-day course of lessons (with 1-day free skiing) is recommended

Other Things You Will Need:

  • A waterproof, insulated jacket
  • Salopettes (padded waterproof trousers)
  • Waterproof ski/board gloves
  • Sunglasses or goggles
  • Thermals (part of a layer system) so you can peel layers off.
  • Sun cream, chapstick and a bobble hat!
  • Thick socks or ski socks

Book Your Ski Extras Early!

To get the best prices and ensure you save time on arrival then we always recommend booking your Extras, with us. Our ski hire prices are the best in town, and we only use the leading shops (closest to your chalet or hotel).

Try our Ski & Board Bundles and you can save time and money. We will ensure you get the best service and you don’t have to traipse all over resort on arrival to pick up passes and ski hire…. A mistake here could cost you valuable ski-time if you book your skis online at some random shop, situated a long walk away from your chalet.

Our ‘On the Snow’ service

If you pre-book your ski Extras with us then our ‘On the Snow’ service will help you get started in resort. Alpine Elements Ski hosts and reps will be on hand from the moment you arrive to answer any questions you may have.

Once in resort our reps will deliver pre-booked lift passes straight to you and fast-track you (where we can) through the ski hire shops so you can get on the mountain faster and start practicing those slide turns!

Our reps will also help with any equipment changes or lift pass problems and assist you with your ski and board lessons when using our specially selected suppliers. Our lessons-support and help in resort can be invaluable.

Douglas Thompson, 

Chalet des Neiges Les Arcs

“Thank you for providing us with such a wonderful holiday. Your Company and staff have been a joy to deal with, and in resort nothing was too much trouble. Thank you also for addicting my son to skiing and condemning me to a life of penury as I hand over large amounts of cash to Alpine Elements every year!"

La Plagne Extras

France

The snow sure nature of La Plagne is helped by the glacier skiing at Plagne Bellecôte, which extends up to 3250 metres. From here you will find an up to 2000m vertical drop, with some Black and Red slopes together with a seemingly endless supply of powder, and some of the longest descents in France. Our Chalets in La Plagne are mostly ski to door or very close to the slopes. They are also just a short, easy ski to the ski school meeting points - so convenient skiing is definitely something which you can look forward too.

Around La Plagne

La Plagne Centre (2000m) has fallen foul of the dreaded concrete touch but the huge amounts of snow seem to make it look fresh and pleasant all season round. As you would expect it is the largest of the Villages in La Plagne and is a Mecca for shops, bars and restaurants. 1800 has by and large escaped the planners concrete nightmares, with more of a chalet-style, and a warm and friendly atmosphere, with a handful of good bars and restaurants and some ski shops. Ski buses run up to Plagne centre until midnight, this all helps give skiers the perfect mix: lots of apres ski and very pleasant surroundings"
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Val DIsere Extras

France

Val d'isère is a world renowned resort with extensive shopping, a vibrant cafe culture is one of the best high-altitude resorts offering a range of skiing to suit all abilities. Val d'Isère is teaming with nightlife! The apres ski kicks off with a from about 4pm onwards and offers some very lively establishments, many of which have passed into skiing folklore! Then there are late night bars and bar-cum-clubs which stay open until 4am. This resort has over 50-60 bars and restaurants to choose from.
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Morzine Extras

France

Morzine is a very pretty village with excellent facilities, numerous bars and cafes with boutique shopping to keep the non-skiers entertained. A nice day trip away from the ski fields is to Saint Jean D'aulps. This charming, almost cute, little resort is part of the same ski area and connected by the area's shuttle bus. The traditional nature of Morzine is very evident in its facilities, architecture and frendliness, resulting in a very pleasant village to stay in. Being quite a large summer destination as well as winter mountain resort there is lots to offer almost all year round and, it has the right amount of British prescence. Socially it is one of the livelier resorts in France, offering late night venues for partying or relaxed drinking and dining venues for the more sedate and family orientated skiers, as well as pizza and other take aways.
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Meribel Extras

France

The Après-ski in Meribel is one very big plus point for this resort! The large British presence in the resort, ensures some interesting and exciting nights can be had! The shear variety of bars and restaurants ensures that all tastes and appetites are catered for. O'Sullivans, formerly known as Dick's T Bar is known throughout the ski world, and a great place to start (or finish!) the night. Meribel also has two good nightclubs for the party people in your group! There are some quieter venues for those easy going nights where food and wine are more important than packed bars and loud music. The variety in Meribel is very good indeed, try Barometer for a not-so-heavy dose of après-ski and then wind your way up to the village square for more lively entertainment.
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St Anton Extras

Austria

From exclusive areas such as the cruising paradises that are Lech and Zürs to the sunny aspect of Sonnekopf's powder runs, there is enough to challenge any level of skier. Intermediates and Advanced skiers are probably the happiest in St Anton, but the welcome for beginners is warm.
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Tignes Extras

France

Tignes is famous for its excellent high altitude snow, largely due to the Grand Motte which plays host to the highest ski-able Glacier in France. It appeals to all abilities from beginner to expert powder skiers and is famous for its good quality snow and long season on the Grande Motte Glacier which has Summer skiing and snowboarding!

Tignes Le Lac

Our exclusive hotels and chalets in Tignes Le Lac enjoy prime slope-side or ski-to-door locations in this busier part of the resort, where there is an abundance of activites, shops and a vibrant nightlife centred around a pretty mountain lake.

Tignes Les Brevieres

Many of our chalets are in Les Brevieres, which is the original old town of Tignes and oozes alpine charm! It consists of lovingly restored and converted farmhouses and exclusive modern chalet developments. The real beauty of this village is in its' snow sure slopes and high altitude status, allowing guests to enjoy premium skiing of a Glacial 'super resort' without the ugliness that goes with it!
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How To Book Extras

We Always Advise...

We always advise pre-booking your Ski Extras with us so that we can take care of you in resort under our 'On the Snow' programme. This will help us to make things faster and more efficient for you on arrival in resort.

> Book Online or Over the Phone

All our Ski Extras can be booked on-line with your initial holiday reservation or over the phone with our expert sales team, so don’t forget to add them on. If you’re a family or group booker and uncertain about the best deals available for you - then just call us so we can help you work out what the best offers and packages are.

Call us now on 0844 770 40 70 

> Your Client Area

If you’ve already booked, then simply go to your Client Area and share the link with your group. Here, you can get prices and add any ski Extras to any passenger. At this stage you will not have to pay anything, all orders are taken and group leaders are sent a fresh invoice to check before agreeing and paying. Simple!

Go to my Client Area    

> Book by Email

If you’ve already booked then you can also add Extras or get prices by sending an email to extras@alpineelements.co.uk. After you’ve asked for Extras to be added by email, we will then send you a confirmation invoice to make sure you’re happy. Payment will be due later and normally align with your holiday balance due date.

See our terms below. extras@alpineelements.co.uk   

> Payment of Extras

All Ski Extras can be added to your booking without any deposit or pre-payment necessary. We will simply ask that you settle the balance with us by your final holiday balance due date which is normally 10 to 12 weeks before departure, or sooner for bookings made within this period. Some lessons and childcare providers may need a deposit on reservation.

See our terms & conditions  

 

 

Cancellations

For Ski & Board Hire & Liftpass: We don’t charge for cancellations or amendments to lift passes or ski and board hire, right up until two weeks prior to departure. So you can change your mind as often as you like! If you wish to completely cancel an order within two weeks prior to departure then there may be an admin fee of £30 per person, (per equipment pack / lift pass). However if you wish to upgrade the order to a superior equipment pack or lift pass there will be no extra charge.  

For Ski Lessons & Childcare Quite a lot of work has to go into sourcing lessons and childcare for our clients and third party suppliers often ask for deposits. Therefore we may have to charge for cancellations and amendments made, (at any time), as well applying as our standard admin fee.

 


The Detail

Passport Photos Please bring a passport sized photo to resort. Some ski passes do not require this however lift ticket offices can be unreliable and are known for “changing their minds”! To be safe, be sure to bring one with you and you will not have to look around resort for a photo booth! 

Lift Pass Duration All passes are arranged to commence the day after arrival so that you can get the standard 6 days on the mountain during any one week and 13 days for two weeks. Should you wish to ski on the day of your arrival or departure then you must arrange the extra day or half day pass separately with our reps on arrival in resort. You can do this quite easily on arrival or the transfer coach with us.    

 

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