Ski Half Term - Why Mum Makes The Booking!

Already Dad will have probably been scouring the websites and the ski magazines to whittle down to the top three selections for the ski half term 2011 holiday. So, mum and the small children will now be faced with the choice of a a week's heli-skiing in Russia, ski touring the Haute Route between Chamonix and Zermatt, or skiing in Alaska!!!

At which point mum will of course take control, finding out about the best family ski resorts, the creche and ski school facilities, how far the chalet is from the slopes, the children's lessons, the facilities the chalet provides, children's menus, children's entertainment, ski school drop-off and collection, and of course just for dad, how many black runs and couloirs there are, even though she's fully aware that he won't ski anything more than the gentle red!

Yes Mother's, as the car industry has discovered sometime ago, you are certainly the main target audience for family focused ski holidays, and more in more as skiing becomes less male dominated, a significant decision maker overall in the ski industry full stop, probably because you choose the resorts that the boys really want to go, rather than the heli-skiing trip they tell their mates they wanted to go on!!

Ski Half Term

Well it seems the February half term ski holiday was a real success. The snow was great and the sunshine shone more than it has for the rest of the season! Here in Chamonix we had a beautiful family staying with us and its weeks like this that make running a family ski chalet worth the effort. A big thank you therefore to the Cassidy family, young and old, for making the ski half term week a special one.

Also over the half term ski week was our friends Andrew and Becky with their four children, along with Becky's sister and their family. It seems a long time since Andrew came to stay as a guest, before spending a ski season here with work and later being joined in the spring by all the family. This is one of the great things about running a luxury catered chalet for families, you really do meet special people and make some great friendships.

My husband Mark actually managed to get out a couple of days as well and the three Dad's of Mark, Andrew, and Gregg were able to give their eldest children (Henry - 11, James - 10, and Victoria - 7) a family ski lesson in the off piste and moguls. Well apparently that was the intent,  but the children were asking how they were meant to be receiving tuition when the parents were always so far behind!

Family Friendly Ski

This ski half term week we really are lucky to have some really wonderful guests, Grandma, Granddad, Mum and Dad, and their six children. When you have such wonderful family guests it really does make you wake up with a smile, and in many respects give even more just because they deserve it.

To be honest we certainly always seem to blessed with wonderful guests and I guess that may well reflect the luxury catered chalet market we are in, or the fact that we are lucky as we do hear some contrary stories? Who knows I guess. But with our family ski reviews (all guests come to think of it - family or otherwise) waxing lyrical about our service, and being half term ski week, we thought in our Chamonix Exclusive Blog that we would give away our secrets. So click here on 'Family Friendly Ski' to read our ten most important and fingers crossed, in years to come we all may be able to enjoy family friendly skiing holidays!!

Ski Half Term Holidays - A Light Hearted View From a Mum

With just over 10 days to go before the half term ski holidays, here's a light hearted view of the preparation and stereo typical roles that develop both prior to and on the first day of the family ski holiday for the ski half term skiing break:

So, its nearly time to go, the family ski half term holiday break is in sight, the excitement is building, the best family ski chalet has been booked months in advance, Mum has already booked the ski lessons and lift passes, and its just a case of the whole family packing the cases, all hands on deck and it will be done in a day.

Well probably not! The children will be firstly playing on the Nintendo, and then there's Dad, who will of course be surveying the net; researching the best off-piste runs in the resort, particularly important for skiing the afternoon with the 3 year old who is just learning to ski, then there's the piste that Hans Klammer won the World Cup on in 2002, and not forgetting the useful information on the number of pistes you can ski, how many black runs need to be ticked off, and the all famous 'Wall' that you need to ski by 10 o'clock on day one!

So from the above, I think it's safe to assume that it will be poor Mum who will probably be packing most items, checking what fits and doesn't, replacing old with new, and totally oblivious to the rest of the family, making sure no one's forgotten, everybody gets to the airport, passports are at hand, and all clothing is packed!

So the family have finally arrived t the chalet, and the first evening Mum will have unpacked the clothing, and laid it out ready for a controlled start, all of course unbeknown to Dad who's telling the whole party about last year's steep and deep over a glass or three of the local wine!

Then there's the morning, after a year's wait, the half term ski holiday really is about to start, Dad will have that look that only too much wine the night before can give you, although having been warned by Mum about his potential excess the night before, Dad will be of course try and disguise this by trying to look sprightly! Despite the sore head, he will however have managed to have checked his ski's about twenty times that morning, the edges tested and admired by the tip of his calibrated thumb, and the other father's will have seen him lift his perfectly waxed trophy, sorry skis, in front of them half a dozen times (yes darling they do look smooth and shiny), all in between discussing continuously today's ski itinerary over breakfast!

And after breakfast, as the children exit smoothly from the chalet, Dad will now be asking Mother what all the fuss was about prior to departure and arrival in the resort! Arriving at the ski school, Dad will without doubt need to take control, now claiming total responsibility for their on time arrival, Dad's last cup of coffee, the final surveying of the piste map (whilst Mum got the children ready) obviously making the difference!

But looking on the bright side Mother's, after all the Father's planning of the routes and pistes you are going to ski on day one, at least you can ski with the confidence that you won't get lost until the second run, and it will be only 5 out of 6 days that you find yourself the wrong side of the mountain with just five minutes to collect the children from ski school!!

Happy half term ski holidays!

Family Ski Checklist

With just two weeks to go before the family packs their suitcases for the annual ski half term holiday, I thought it might be useful to put together a family ski checklist. For the younger ones, the first thing to make sure is the:

•  Child car seats

Sounds obvious this one and yes at Chamonix Exclusive we supply them for all ages, but it surprising how many operators don't provide them, so you might want to check before you arrive and if necessary bring your own. Personally speaking hear, if the operator doesn't provide them, you may also want to question how child friendly they really are!

Ski Half Term - Arriving At The Airport

• Warm Coat
• Fleece
• Snow boots
• Warm Hat
• Sunglasses

With half term skiing being a February arrival it will probably mean temperatures down to, or below freezing, exposed flesh can quickly lead to discomfort, distressed children or worse! Left handy at all times therefore should be a warm coat, a fleece, hat and some gloves - especially as on arrival at the resort they are likely to dive straight into the snow! The ski half term week always also seems to bring the snow, so the shiny party shoes are far from ideal! Sounds obvious, but you might be surprised by what we sometimes see at airports. The snow boots on the checklist don't have to be expensive ones either, something warm with a good sole, or instead of snow boots a pair of walking boots are generally ideal (except after a big snowfall - unless waterproof).

Getting Out On The Slopes - The real Start To The Half Term Ski Holiday

So, we have successfully managed the arrival, the good operators will have prior to your departure sorted your ski passes, ski lessons and anything else that you need, otherwise this needs to be done as soon as you arrive (or by yourself before you depart using the web) as being half term, ski lessons may not be easy to book on the day! So assuming this has all been done, the morning has arrived, where do you start, firstly 30 minutes before you think you need to! Whatever time you think you need to get up for breakfast, we find another 30 minutes are typically needed if ski school is involved!

And now for the children's ski checklist, half term is a layering week, as February generally brings cold mornings and warm afternoons, so make sure you pack:

• Thermal base layers (Long John's and vest)
• Thin Mid Layers
• Ski Socks
• Fleeces
• Snood / Turtle Neck
• Waterproof salopettes
• Waterproof jacket
• Good quality mittens or glove
• Goggles
• Ski helmet (or make sure you can hire in resort)
• Sun protection (high factor)
• Lip protection (high factor)

And just before you set off to ski school:

• Snack bar(s)
• Lift pass
• Ski school ticket
• Identification
• Skis or Snowboard
• Boots
• Poles

Complete? Now of course nyou can send them off comfortable to have a great ski day - the best way to spend the half term ski holiday!

Starting Them Young - Ski at Three

I am often asked whether a guest’s child is 'old enough' to ski and the ages vary in relation to this question. In terms of my view, it will depend of course on the child, but typically the age of three seems to be the ideal starting point. At three they are generally strong enough to ski, or at least find their feet on the nursery slope or garden (let them become Hans Klammer another year). Some parents do seem to want more, but we would suggest at it is important at this age just to let them get their balance, confidence, and practice snow plough stop and turns and most importantly have a smile on their face.

Some parents we know worry about starting them so young, but our experience is that it makes a huge difference as the time they spend on the skis at this age seems to give them a natural balance that is hard to gain at a later age.

The most important point here would be to make sure they are dressed well and I hve given some tips on a previous blog below. So assuming they are properly dressed and prepared, at the start you may still want to be prepared for a few tears in respect of separation anxiety, but this is normal. Having seen all techniques in cases where the child is initially upset, the one that we believe seems to work best, is the ‘drop and go’. It may sound slightly callous, and we are not saying some support and assurance is good, but this said, we would advise on avoiding too much fussing and move away relatively quickly. Certainly where the parents, or the operator ‘fusses’ it seems to disturb the child for longer periods, as well as make it difficult for the instructors trying to settle all the children. We often go back on the first day to check children (without them seeing of course) and in the cases we do we have always found that even the most hysterical child, within 10 minutes of the parents or operators staff leaving them, has settled in with the other children and is joining in the ski training. Contrast this to the fussing parents or overzealous operators where children often just won’t settle for a long time, if at all!

Getting Ready For The Ski Season With The Family

Here in Chamonix we are once again eagerly awaiting the ski season and with our first ski planned for next week on the Grands Montets opening day, the four of us are already like children waiting for Christmas. With Josh now 5 and Victoria 7, they have now skied for 2 years and 3 years respectfully and clearly they are already hooked as the mere mention of the phrase 'we are going skiing next week guys' gets a beaming smile and them both into an excited frenzy.

I guess living in the apartment that is short walk from our luxury catered chalet and also on the piste, they are quite lucky. But that is probably not the whole story, here in the ski region of Les Houches in the Chamonix Valley we have probably one of the best family orientated ski schools and the ESF team, who are also just below the ski run that passes the chalet, is second to none in our experience. Their support and family friendly approach with all childrens ensures most importantly the children have a great time and have always wanted to attend ski school and learn. The other important factor is probably the fact that Les Houches is probably one of the best family ski resorts in the region. With few steep drop offs the ski area has some great confidence building runs and the 'off-piste' is not too steep and the small jumps and bumps ensure skiing is great fun, especially for Josh who craves something extra (a real boys boy as my husband would say).

Right, bedtime for them both so will sign-off at this point but will try and keep this updated, especially after our first ski of the season!