Top Tips - Making The Most Of Your Esprit Ski Holiday
When it comes to chalet ski holidays, it can all get very exciting. You’ve worked really hard and have paid for the holiday of a lifetime – and that is what you’ll get with Esprit Ski; we are the number one for family skiing for a reason. There are though, still a few top tips that we can provide you with to ensure that you make the most of your holiday.
Transfers
Transfer day is, without fail, the longest day of the holiday for many people. On arrival, you get can often get up early, with a journey to the airport still to go. When you get to the foreign airport, there can occasionally be delays. Use this time to question your Representative about the resort to find any hidden runs that they know about; they can also help with restaurant bookings for the Chalet Host night off as well as assist you with any other questions you might have about the resort.
You could also check any private lesson availability if you didn’t book lessons at the time of reserving your holiday (although we would always recommend booking in advance so as to avoid disappointment). It may be possible to book and pay for them in local currency on the coach, subject to their availability.
Handy Tips for in the Chalet
“Get up, get out, get skiing”. That’s what it’s all about, right? During your welcome meeting, your overseas team will brief you on meal times for the week, allowing you to optimize your time on the slopes and permitting them to tend to your chalet.
Once you have finished your evening meal, retiring to the living/seating area to enjoy tea/coffee and chocolate truffles allows the chalet staff to clear your dinner table and make their preparations for the morning.
If you do not wish your rooms to be cleaned, please leave all bins outside of your doors so that the staff may change your bin bags but do not have to enter your room.
Socialising Tips
At Esprit, we actively encourage socialising! From the children up-over, the holiday is all the better for knowing your fellow skiers and snowboarders. Take the time to interact with them and you may find friends with whom you will come back with us for years to come!
It isn’t even limited to folk with whom you share your chalet – get to know the staff. While ski hosting might be illegal in France and Italy – this doesn’t stop you from getting to know their favourite routes and tips for around the ski area. Failing that, get to know your Representatives too, they have a sound local knowledge and can point out any hidden gems that you might not otherwise know about.
Out and about on the pistes
One of the tips you’ll often hear is ‘ski within your limits’. Unfortunately, from time to time there are accidents which we are keen to avoid. By skiing on the appropriate pistes (Green, Blue, Red, Black) for your ability, you can help limit the number of incidents on the mountain.
If you are a new or inexperienced snowboarder, take the chairlift on your own- you don’t want to bring someone else down with you if you stack it coming off the lift! They won’t thank you for it.
Skiing with children
The sun can be extremely fierce in the mountains, applying sun cream before heading out to ski can avoid sunburn! To read more about our advice for skiing with your children, visit our “Skiing with Children” guide.
If you, or someone else, pick up the wrong skis…
It happens, a lot more than you would believe. If you’re hiring skis, they will turn up eventually. Just take the pair of skis that you have ended up with to the relevant ski hire shop and return them, explaining that they are not yours and you a) have taken them by mistake or b) have been left with these ones after somebody else made the error.
“This happened to my guests on more than one occasion. While it is a really common thing on the slopes, one of the top tips for avoiding this is by paying attention to which skis you take after leaving a restaurant on the mountain, for example. Better yet, take some ski tape from your Child Care team and write your name on it- attaching it to your boots and skis/poles to ensure that you know they are yours!”
-Jonny, a returning Resort Representative from La Rosière this winter.
Returning to your chalet
When you get back to your chalet, there’s nothing quite like the feeling of removing your ski/snowboard boots after a long day on the mountain and popping them on the heaters to dry overnight. One of our top tips for chalet footwear is to bring some slippers – they are heaven when you can rest up with the roaring log fire going, aperitif in-hand and it means you have something to wander round in, instead of your outdoor footwear.
This, of course, isn’t an exhaustive list by any means. Leave a comment below with any suggestions that you would add to our top tips for making the most of your Esprit Ski holiday.
