 |  | |
FATHER AND SONMark Hodson and his son Callum have road-tested five very different ski resorts in three separate mountain ranges. Which do they like the best, and why? picture: Aspen/Snowmass Aspen's sister resort, set 12 miles down the Roaring Fork valley, has little of its neighbour's glamour. But Snowmass does have accommodation right next to the slopes, with good beginners' runs on the doorstep - in other words, the perfect set-up for anyone with small children who can't/won't walk far in their ski boots. There's also plenty of skiing for grown-ups. The accommodation: the Silvertree Hotel is tailormade for families. It's a hop and a skip from the main lifts, and has huge rooms, smiley staff and an embarassment of facilities, including two heated swimming pools. Mark: "I realise I was asking for trouble. This was Callum's first time on skis - he was six - and I took him all the way to Colorado, a 13-hour journey from London and a seven-hour time difference. When we arrived we weren't just tired: at 2,500m above sea level, we were dizzy and lightheaded too. "But once we hit the slopes the jetlag and altitude sickness were soon forgotten. This was my first time skiing outside of Europe and I was blown away by the sheer quality of the resort. It wasn't as picturesque as the Alps, but the lift system was superb, the runs thrilling, and the snow soft. "The little touches impressed. Staff marshaled skiers on and off chair lifts, cutting down queuing time, and in the mornings we were given free energy bars and hot chocolate. If you got up at 6am - not a problem for us - you could even book a ride on one of the grooming machines."  Callum: "The worst bit was waiting for the ski school to open on the first day. I don't know why Dad was so tired! "The lessons were great. They didn't spend ages talking to us; they just took us out on the slopes. I thought skiing was going to be really difficult, but it was easy. We learnt the difference between 'pizza' - a snowplough - and 'French fries', which means parallel skis. "The instructors were cool too - one was from Argentina, another from Australia. They kept giving me high fives and saying I was a champion. It gave me a lot of confidence. The ride on the Snowcat was awesome. I must have been tired at the end of the week because I slept all through the flight home." Would they go again? Mark: "If I could afford it, yes." Callum: "Yes, sirree!" The nuts and bolts: Mark and Callum flew direct to Denver with BA, and then onto Aspen (which has its own airport) with United. British tour operator Momentum (+44 20 7371 9111) booked the flights and accommodation package. Check out our review of Aspen in the "Resorts We Love" section. picture: Ski Andorra Soldeu has recently joined forces with Pas de la Casa to create the Grand Valira ski area, which offers a repectable 193km/120 miles of pistes. It's particularly good for intermediate-level cruising, and there's also an excellent ski school here, run by Englishman Gordon Standeven, based on a gentle plateau 600m above the resort centre. The accommodation: "the small three-star Hotel Maistre did the job: it was close to the gondola, clean and tidy with decent food." Mark: "After tasting the high life in Aspen, this was a bit of a come down. Apparently, Andorra has its sights on upmarket skiers, but it's still dominated by mass-market tour operators and has a cheap-and-cheerful vibe. "Our charter flight left Gatwick at 5.20am (yes, 5.20am) which meant getting up at 2.45am. And because Andorra is a long way from the nearest airport, we had to endure a 4hr 30min coach journey to the hotel. "Next morning was a scrum: thousands of skiers all heading up the gondola at the same time, then queuing to register at ski school. It wasn't badly organized but this was half-term week, and the sheer numbers of people were frightening. "Once we got through that first morning, things improved dramatically. I was paricularly impressed by the ski school. It was good value and the instructors were all native English speakers keen to develop a great rapport with the kids. And the nightlife may have been unsophisticated, but it was great fun."  Callum: "The journey wasn't good - I was feeling car sick in the coach. But I liked the hotel. We had two single beds and a balcony with a view of the mountain. "Ski school was really great. My teacher all week was Ann, who was really nice, and there was a Mickey Mouse ski run for children that went through the woods. After ski school I took my Dad down it. "Apart from the skiing, the best thing was the local pub - the Aspen Bar. There were lots of other kids there in the evening and on two nights we saw a rock band perform there. Wicked!" Would they go again? Mark: "Only if all my favourite resorts in France, Austria, Italy and Switzerland were full." Callum: "Definitely." The nuts and bolts: British tour operator Thomson (+44 (0)870 888 0254) has one week at the Hotel Maistre, arriving Feb 10, from £548 per adult half-board, including flights from London and transfers (regional departures available). The company runs its Arctic Rangers club for 3-11 year olds in the resort. picture: Tirol Tourist Office Neustift is small and charming village in the Stubai valley, just 30 minutes by bus from Innsbruck airport. There are chairlifts and runs scattered right along the valley, but most of the adult-oriented skiing is on the Stubai glacier, a half-hour bus ride from the village. The accommodation: the Chalet Hofer - purpose-built for the family-ski specialist Esprit. All the rooms are family suites, and there's an inhouse nursery staffed by qualified British nannies and/or nursery nurses. Mark: "We went over Christmas, when Neustift turned out to be a smart choice: partly because it's such a charming village - with horse-drawn sleighs clopping down the streets - but also because many resorts in the Alps were suffering from a lack snow. With the glacier up the road, we knew we had guaranteed skiing. "The skiing itself was great - for about two days. After that I felt I'd done it. With a bunch of mates I would have been bored stupid, but with Callum now finding his ski legs we were able to knock out a few blues together after lunch. The only problem was the cold - with icy winds and some runs above 3,000m, it was bitter. Fine for adults - we'd just clap our hands together and ski faster. But when kids get cold their enthusiasm for skiing disappears.  Callum: "I thought the skiing was brilliant, but it was really cold. We kept going inside for hot chocolate breaks - then Dad would insist we did a couple more runs. "To get to the slopes we had to get a bus in the mornings. This wasn't bad because Ski Esprit had their own bus and we sang songs all the way. "It was really nice to be away for Christmas and my little sister came too - she was just a baby - and she was looked after by the ladies at the chalet. Would they go again? Mark: "No. Neustift was lovely but we've both outgrown it." Callum: "Maybe, when my sister learns to ski." The nuts and bolts: Family specialist Esprit (+44 (0)1252 618300) has one week at the Chalet Hofer, arriving December 23 2007, costs from £789 per adult, half-board, including flights from London and transfers (Manchester departures also available). The full-range of Esprit's childcare, from 4 months to 12 years, is available in the resort. picture: S. Léon It may not be a name familiar to British skiers, but Peisey-Vallandry sits in the heart of the newly-formed Paradiski area. Les Arcs sits next door, on the side of the same mountain, while La Plagne is a short (and spectacular) cable-car ride away. Here at welove2ski, we've got our doubts about the Paradiski concept. One cable car, no matter how big, does not make a proper, interconnected ski area, and La Plagne further weakens the premise by having slow, antiquated lifts leading away from the drop-off point. (Read more in our Les Arcs review.) That said, the skiing immediately around Peisey-Vallandry is good enough to keep most Dads (and Mums) more than happy, without ever going near La Plagne. Accommodation: Club Med's newest Alpine hotel is a £35m ski-in, ski-out all-inclusive - lots of plate glass, chiselled stone, solid wood beams and cherry red walls. The food is excellent. Mark: "This was more like it. Even though the snow was a bit thin in places - it was Christmas again - the sheer size of the resort, the quality of the runs and the beauty of the mountains made my heart soar. "More good news: Callum had climbed off the beginner's plateau and was confidently hurtling down the reds. It was as if a switch had been flicked in his head - he'd suddenly realised he could tear off at great speed without fear of falling over. "As part of the Club Med package, lessons are included for everyone. Callum enjoyed his, but I struggled. The group was too big and I didn't enjoy being the only English-speaker. The instructor would gabble in French for five minutes, giving detailed tips and guidance - and then turn to me and say: "Okay? We go!" After one day I quit and went solo."  Callum: "The area was way cool. It was so big, there was no way we could ski it all. I started doing red runs, which are actually quite easy. Ski school was good and I got awarded my ESF 1 star. "I also did some tobogganing. There were some gentle slopes just outside the hotel, and I took my sister out on a toboggan. She loved it." Would they go again? Mark: "You betcha - though Club Med is pricey, and I'd want to make sure I had an English-speaking class, so I could get maximum value for money." Callum: "Yeeeeeeah!" The nuts and bolts: one week with Club Med (+44 (0)871 424 4044), arriving December 23 2007, costs £1539 per adult, full board, including flights from London, transfers, ski pass, equipment hire and tuition (Birmingham and Manchester departures also available). Childcare from 4 months to 17 years is included in child prices. Check out our review of Les Arcs in the "Resorts We Love" section.
picture: Family Ski Company Ardent is a handy entry point to the Portes du Soleil ski area, which straddles the Franco-Swiss border. The village itself is titchy - just a few houses and chalets, one restaurant, a couple of shops and that all-important gondola. By contrast, the Portes du Soleil is huge. It's low-lying for a modern area (the highest lift tops out at 2466m - nearly 1000m lower than the top of Tignes). But when the snow's good, the skiing is superb - a 400-mile network of well-kept pistes, with some wonderful off-piste in the Avoriaz sector too. Accommodation: all the chalets in Ardent are run by The Family Ski Company, a small, upmarket British operator. Mark's family stayed in Chalet La Grange - "extremely comfortable and within a snowball's throw of the lift." Mark: "I'm not sure how I managed to spend 20 years skiing across the Alps without visiting the Portes du Soleil. It's a seriously good destination - picturesque, with efficient lifts and a great selection of runs, including the Swiss Wall, which has some of the biggest moguls I've ever seen. "We were there at Easter which means three things: crowds, sunshine and slush. But despite the volume of skiers, we hardly encountered a single lift queue. Because of the warm weather, we got up early, hammered our way down as many slopes as we could, then collapsed at 2pm for a long lunch."  Callum: "I really liked this resort. The chalet was great and it was very easy to get to ski school in the morning - just one lift. The instructors were very good, too. They were French but they spoke good English and they pushed us quite hard. I took the test for my ESF 2 stars on the last day, which is hard - you have to do a long run of parallel turns, without making a mistake. I passed!" Would they go again? Mark: "Absolutely, yes.' Callum: "Anytime." The nuts and bolts: one week with the The Family Ski Company (+44 (0)1684 540333, www.familyski.co.uk), arriving March 22 2008 (Easter weekend), costs from £849 per adult, half board, not including flights (to Geneva) and transfers (£45pp return), Childcare, from newborns to 12-year olds, is available from the company. Advertisement | ||
 |  |
0 comment(s) |
|
|
