ASK AN EXPERT: Beginners’ resorts
Victoria Lavender, Ski Independence “Breckenridge in Colorado is a fantastic place for beginners but also caters for intermediates and above so it’s often a brilliant choice for families. Whistler
has a fantastic ski and snowboard school and amazing deals on everything from accommodation to lift tickets to ski school bookings. In Europe, we always recommend Les Arcs 1950 in France as a great place to learn to ski with the meeting point for the ski school easily accessible from every building in the village. The Portes du Soleil has some excellent beginner and intermediate slopes and lots of ski tuition options too – from groups to smaller, more individual lessons that particularly suit the needs of British skiers.”
Cosy at Rosi’s: Tyrolean traditions
The operator predicts that there’ll be plenty more newbies like me keen to find their snow legs this year. The theory is that pent-up demand – from those discouraged from trying this relatively expensive pastime by the past few years’ economic instability – is about to burst free. So for the upcoming season, Inghams is introducing special new to skiing packages that include six days’ ski and boot hire, ski school, and use of all beginners’ lifts, starting from £189. These are on offer at Morzine in France, Sauze in Italy, Kranjska Gora in Slovenia, Saariselka in Lapland, and Seefeld and Oberperfuss in Austria. “First-time skiers should head to smaller resorts with wide, uncrowded nursery slopes, excellent English-speaking ski instructors to help build
confidence, and great value bars and restaurants,” says Inghams’ Lydia Crisostomo. I can attest that for novices, getting the right resort and tuition is key. My confidence could have been easily knocked if instruction had been inadequate or pistes just too tricky. As it was, even a klutz like me was able to make steady if slow progress. By the end of two days I had (mainly) swapped falling down for falling in love with skiing.
l TYROLEAN CHARM Those who’ve gasped in fear watching Kitzbühel’s annual Hahnenkamm downhill ski race, where competitors plummet down the Streif piste at gradients of up to 85%, could be forgiven for thinking that the resort wouldn’t be fantastic for the first timer. It may not make it into Inghams’ top six resorts for learners, but with some forgiving slopes among its 105 miles of ski runs, and free use of
all the practice lifts in the valley, it has plenty to recommend it – especially for groups of mixed ability skiers. Alongside the fantastic tuition we learners received, the two experienced skiers in the group found plenty of exciting terrain, and raved about the quality of the Inghams’ ski guide who accompanied them, giving tips and encouraging them to push the boundary of their abilities. As an added bonus, Kitzbühel is a beautiful Alpine town with cobbled streets, and colourful, wood-gabled historic buildings. Après-ski nightlife is relaxed and low key, with friendly bars and pubs in the town centre. We particularly loved Rosi’s Sonnbergstuben, a wood-panelled, check-tableclothed
spot halfway up the mountain with incredible views by day and cosy nooks at night. Rosi opened her restaurant 45 years ago and has expanded 17 times since, such is the success of her recipe blending traditional Tyrolean food, home-made schnapps and music – a dirndl-clad Rosi plays her guitar and yodels to customers.
l HOTEL HEAVEN We’re well fed everywhere in town, but the cuisine at our hotel takes the proverbial cake. The 88- room Hotel Schwarzer Adler is four-
star, but feels more like a five, with a rooftop pool, underground spa and sauna, and truly gourmet dining. On our half-board package we get the world’s most
Alpine idyll: Kitzbühel
50 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 18 September 2014
TOP TIP Email rdiggins@
balkanholidays.co.uk to learn more about Balkan Holidays’ ski
educational visits to dry ski slopes in October and November
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