Skiing with groups of mixed abilities
When you go on a snow holiday with your mates, it’s more than likely you’re going to end up with some people that have never skied in their life and others than have been going every year since they were 3. This absolutely doesn’t need to mean that you can’t all do a ski holiday together! Skiing is for everyone and is such a social sport, you just might need to think ahead a bit. Here are some tips from us on how to organise and go skiing with groups of mixed abilities.
Think about the resort that you’re going to
Some ski areas are great for advanced skiiers wanting to whip down black runs and bounce through the trees looking for powder, but they may not be great for someone who just wants to hang around a beginner area, magic carpets and nice greens and blues. Equally some ski areas may be full of cruisey, wide blues but have nothing much harder, which means no fun for the advanced skiiers in the group.
Before you book a ski trip, it’s important to research where you’re going to. Make sure resorts can cater for everyone in your group. A great option to look for are resorts within a larger ski area. An example being Val Thorens sitting with the wider 3 valleys area or La Plagne sitting within the wider Paradiski area. Those who are newer to skiing can stick with the local area, whereas those looking for a bit more can head further afield on the full area passes.
You don’t have to ski together!
Just because you are on a ski holiday with a group, doesn’t mean you all need to ski together! As a beginner there is nothing worse than trying to keep up with a group, not being able to and feeling like you’re keeping everyone back. Similarly, it’s no fun as an advanced skier to have to slow down and limit your runs to allow for someone snow ploughing at the back. A group can split up to ski! As long as no one is alone, we definitely recommend making it a more enjoyable experience for all involved. Why not join up together again for one last run home at the end of the day? Places like Flaine are great resorts for this as they are in one big bowl, so effectively everyone always ends up in the same place at some point.
Don’t try and teach each other!
We’re sure you’ve experienced this in some aspect of your life, when someone you know tries to teach you something…. In our experience, it always ends up with arguments! If you’ve never been skiing before, or you’re not super confident, it’s definitely worth considering ski lessons. While you may think you are a great skier (and we’re not going to question you!), it’s always safest to have a trained professional showing you the ropes.
You can get lessons in the mornings or the afternoons, giving the group a chance to ski together for half the day if they want, and then half a day everyone can do their own thing.
Think about the facilities in resort and at the accommodation
Something to definitely think about when skiing with a group of mixed abilities is the non-skiing facilities in the accommodation/resort. If you do have beginners or less confident people in the group, a full week of skiing can get pretty tiring and pretty intense very quickly. It’s great to have an accommodation (or at least an option within the resort) with a spa facility so that they can take a break. This way, when there are any tired legs in the group, people can come down the mountain early and sit in the swimming pool.
Request a quote today or give us a call to go through the requirements of your group and let us help make skiing with groups of mixed abilities super easy!