Скачать или смотреть Ed Leigh's Money Saving Snow Tips | Ep13 | Ski & Snowboard Lessons

Welcome to #EdLeighsMoneySavingSnowTips | Ep13 | Ski & snowboard lessons - should you bother?

Do I need to bother with lessons?
Yes, especially if you’re a beginner as it will speed up the learning process. A good idea is to have lessons at a UK snowdome before you go to the Alps so you’ll spend more time doing the fun stuff on your actual holiday on real mountains. Lots of the domes have discount offers and codes if you sign up to their newsletters. Tamworth has some great deals here: https://www.snowdome.co.uk/offers/fan... Sign up here for Hemel Hempstead offers here: https://online.thesnowcentre.com/news... Sign up for Milton Keynes & Castleford here: https://www.snozoneuk.com/# Sign up for Glasgow here: https://snowfactor.us5.list-manage.co... even without a discount, you can get a family taster session for up to four people for £89 at Glasgow’s Snow Factor, which is pretty good value https://snowfactor.us5.list-manage.co...

In resort, should you have a private lesson or go in a group? Some people swear they progress more in a single private lesson than a week of group lessons but for most of us group lessons will do the job and are far better value. As a three-hour private lesson is normally around the same price as a week of morning lessons.

If you don’t need to travel at peak times, namely Xmas/New Year or school holidays, your lessons will be cheaper. For example six weeks of morning lessons in Val d’Isere in low season with the ESF (French National ski school) is 298 euros, compared to 329 euros in high season https://www.skischoolvaldisere.com/pr...

Quieter, smaller resorts will also offer far better value generally. So, for example that same six days of morning lessons in Oz en Oisans (a small satellite resort which connects to Alpe d’Huez) would cost just 156 euros in high season or 143 euros in low season http://www.esf-ozenoisans.com/ski_en…... I would also suggest the instructors can be far more friendly and more grateful for your custom, in a smaller resort too.

NB Your lift passes often won’t be included in those ski school prices and make sure you book an English-speaking class unless your French is awesome.

Should you use the ESF? It’s such a big organisation that you’ll get good and less good teachers within that. Some people find the focus on pure technique too rigid and occasionally you will get a grumpy instructor though I don’t think that’s the norm. But if you do want an alternative Evolution 2 operate in some of the bigger resorts including Chamonix, Val d’Isere, Val Thorens, Les Arcs, and Avoriaz. Their prices vary from resort to resort but can be cheaper than the ESF in low season. NB In peak season Evolution 2 gets booked up very quickly.

If you’re looking for snowboard lessons Tammy at Mint Coaching in Avoriaz/Morzine is great. She often posts deals and offers on her site here: https://mintsnowboarding.com/blog/

I tend to favour lessons in the morning, when your legs and spirit are fresh, and then you can ski as a group in the afternoon. This is especially the case with kids. Also, it’s a good ‘deadline’ to get you up and out of that warm, cosy bed (and let’s not mention the possible hangover from apres ski or wine with dinner!)

There aren’t a lot of savings to be had when booking lessons though I did find this offer in Les Gets (which is connected to Morzine and Portes du Soleil) for morning lessons in low season, including ski passes for 299 euros https://www.ski-school-lesgets.co.uk/...

What about if you’re already pretty good, do you still need lessons then? You can always get better of course, but is it really necessary? In snowboarding maybe not but I’ve known good intermediate skiers book off-piste lessons to improve that side of their skiing. As off-piste skiing is a lot harder than off-piste snowboarding. If you want to progress in the snow park, taking some freestyle lessons makes good sense for skiers and snowboarders. That’s when a single private lesson with friends might make more sense than a week of lessons though.

Ski Bro is a good new online service, where you can book direct with a freelance instructor at rates that tend to be cheaper than usual lessons. All the instructors are vetted by Ski Bro for their teaching level and they also get a criminal record and annual heath check too, bonus! You can also book guides through these guys, which is always a good idea if you’re new to a resort and want to find the best off-piste snow but with a local’s expert knowledge of snow safety: https://www.skibro.com / They also do a ‘cinematic pack’, where your guide can film you as well as guide you!

That’s me done for this week. Thanks for watching & reading & definitely keep all your super-useful tips and comments coming in too.