Well done to Issy Kirk on the excellent first place that she achieved in the Delancey British National Alpine Ski Championships in Meribel. Issy achieved the first place finish in the Super G category with a winning margin of 0.28 seconds. The race was held on the 2nd of April on the Roc de Fer course.

Issy has had even more amazing news since. Issy has made it onto the 2013/2014 U18 GB ski team which means that she will be competing in International races all year. Her aim is to continue to work on her skills with the target of the youth Olympics in 2015 as the end goal.

We will post the latest updates here on the website when we get them from Issy along with any updates regarding her training routines and preparations for next winters race programme.

Snow is forecast in many parts of the U.K. over the next 48 hours particularly in the Midlands and North West. Every effort will be made to ensure that all flights operate although some delays may be expected. Our advice is that you should report for your flight at the advertised time but please allow extra time for your journey to the airport. Any changes to this advice will be posted on this website.

Thank you for booking with Ski Total, we look forward to welcoming you on Sunday and wish you a safe journey.

Have a great holiday!

Best wishes,
The Esprit Ski Team

Issy has been competing in the British Interschools Ski Challenge in Chamonix which took place on the 18th and 19th March.

She achieved an amazing 1st place in the Girls Giant Slalom on Monday.

On Tuesday she achieved a podium finish of 3rd place in the Girls Slalom on Tuesday.

Well done Issy and keep up the good work

Esprit Ski Classes

What to think about when taking the children skiing

• Flight times out of UK – are they a civilised hour for children?
• Check distance/time from arrival airport resort.
• Choose an operator with plenty of experience and that offers a choice, not just limiting families to a particular resort where they “do” child care.

Esprit Ski Childcare Ranger

Esprit Ski is a family specialist of 30 years and knows what makes children happy! Their extensive child care programme is run in 14 top alpine resorts. They make taking children a pleasure not a stressful experience!

Child care questions to ask

• Is it the resort’s or the Tour Operator’s?
• Are the child carers qualified?
• Is the nursery in the chalet or do you have to traipse your child round the resort?
• Activity clubs – what do they do, are they just video clubs or do the children get out and about?
• Any evening activities for children?
• Any babysitting provided?
• What are the age ranges for nursery or child care?
• What are the catering arrangements?

Esprit Ski Nursery

Not many Tour Operators offer their very own Nursery care and attention needs to be paid to what exactly you are booking for your infant. If it is a local resort nursery, do the carers speak English? Will they follow your child’s routine? What will they do? And will it be for 5 or 6 days?
Esprit Ski offers a dedicated and exclusive Esprit Nursery in each resort, staffed by British qualified Nursery Nurses and managed by experienced Child Care Managers.
Lunch and all refreshments are included and a daily diary is kept to ensure you can keep up to speed with your child’s day. Children are taken outside when weather is suitable and given every opportunity to experience the mountains, subject to their age and parental consent. For ages from 4-40 months at £189 for 6 full days.

Ski School for children

Many holiday packages offer children’s ski classes but it is important to know whether or not the classes are just the local ski school’s or if the operator has any special arrangements.
Some operators just book children into the local classes, which may then have anything up to 16 children in them and be taught in the local language! Also worth checking is whether the parents have to take to and collect their children from ski school. It can severely restrict a parent’s time on the slope.

Esprit Ski Sprite Lessons

Another factor is whether to have all day skiing for your child or just the morning. Younger children or beginners benefit from half a day skiing and half a day having fun bum-boarding/snowman building/snowball fighting etc. Older and more experienced children want to be out most of the day. Does the operator offer such combinations?

Esprit Ski has exclusive ski classes – Sprites – for children aged from 3-12. They contract instructors from the local ski schools to teach Esprit Ski children in English and with only a maximum of 6-8 in a class. They also operate a take to and collect for the lunch and afternoon activity service. Price £199.

Esprit Ski Child Care

Esprit Ski runs afternoon activity clubs – Snow Clubs – which include pick up from ski school, lunch and fun-filled afternoons of outdoor and indoor activities. Price £199.
Esprit Ski also organises slopeside fun in the afternoons for older experienced children during which the children enjoy a less formal ski session and spend time having fun out on the slopes with a qualified guide. Price £199.

Babysitting

Some operators charge extra for babysitting, others don’t do it at all. If night life is important, try and check beforehand how much extra you may have to pay out in resort to avoid hefty bills not budgeted for.
Esprit Ski provide a FREE Baby Listening/Child Patrol service one night a week in all their properties sand every night in their Chalet Hotels and larger chalets.

Catering

Esprit Ski Children's lunch

Check the eating arrangements. Children tend to be happier eating all together and can’t last all evening waiting for an adult dinner at 8pm.
Esprit Ski has children’s high tea at 5.30 for children under 13 which consists of meals designed for children balancing the need for wholesome food with the knowledge of what children really like to eat. The adults then have a child-free four/five-course dinner at 8pm with complimentary wine, during which older children not yet asleep join the supervised Cocoa Club.

Location of properties

Esprit Ski Chalets

Where the chalet or hotel is situated will have a big impact on the enjoyment of the children. Ski in/out is ideal for parents but for children who will be in ski lessons it may be advisable to look for properties where the ski school meeting point is close by.

Chalet Hotel Des Deux Domaines, Belle Plagne

Esprit Ski has chalets and Chalet Hotels in superb locations for children and they will collect your children from your chalet every morning to take them to the meeting point and make it full of fun and games so that any physical activity is minimised. Any resort where walking is involved they offer a minibus service.
You don’t want your children being put off the sport by having to struggle to walk in big clumpy ski boots!

Prices

Skiing with children can be expensive. Some child friendly operators do not have child friendly prices! Check the discounts according to children’s ages and up to what age they are applicable and also the number of children allowed.
Many operators only allow 2 children at a child’s price and thereafter charge adult prices. Always work out the whole package price before deciding which is better value – an operator with the most expensive adult price may turn out to offer the best whole family cost.
Often sharing the parent’s room gives the greatest discount for children but if you want separate rooms for the children you will not get much of a discount from some operators. Brochures/websites that do not give any child prices are questionable!
Booking certain dates with some companies may give good offers – free children’s places etc but again I suggest you work out the whole package before getting excited about a great deal!
Esprit Ski offers discounts for all children aged 2-17 years. Discounts vary by resort and departures date but thousands of free places are available on 10 weeks of the season. 50% for children aged 2-4, 40% for 5-10, 30% for 11-13 and 25% for 14-17 year olds. They also don’t mind how many children you have!

To book call 01483 791 900

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The whole evening is finished off with an impressive firework display which you can enjoy whilst sipping on Vin Chaud to keep you warm.

The event starts at 1830 at the bottom of the slopes of Courchevel Moriond (1650)

Issy is taking a break from competition at the moment and is back at home for school before she heads back out to the mountains on the 10th March. Over the Christmas period and into January Issy has been very busy competing in competitions.

First up was BSA Grand Prix BASS Children’s Slalom in Les Houches, France on the 5th January. Issy achieved a second place finish missing out on the top spot by just 1.83 seconds overall.

Next up was the Anglo Scottish Grand Slalom in Les Houches, France on the 6th January. Issy achieved a third place finish missing out on the top spot by just 1.11 seconds overall.

On the 7th January Issy was competing in the Anglo Scottish BASS Children’s Giant Slalom in Les Houches, France. Unfortunately, Issy had a heavy crash in this race which meant she was also unable to compete in any further races.

From the 28th January Issy took part in a series of races for the young Team GB ski team including slalom, Giant Slalom, Super G and Super Combined in Trofeu Borrufa, Andorra.

Taking part in the Slalom race on the 28th January Issy achieved a very impressive second place missing out on first place by 1.66 seconds.

Issy was unable to finish in the Giant Slalom race on the 29th January due to an error.

In the Super G race on the 30th she finished in 9th place due to a hip slide error.

The Super Combined was up next on the 30th of January for Issy and she finished 6th overall missing out on a podium finish by just a second. Her coach was watching with the international coaches who commented that Issy was the fastest through the section of the course they were watching. She was running 4th after the first section and only missed out on a podium because of her second section.

In the second Super G race on the 31st January she achieved a brilliant 4th place finish missing out on the podium by 1 tenth of a second.

According to Issy she “was very happy with how the week went; it was amazing and so fun”.

Next up for Issy is more training from the 10th March in Les Houches, France until the 18th of March when she will be competing in the Inter-School Ski Challenge.

With further races in Courchevel and Meribel during the first week in April Issy is due to have a very busy end of season.

To stay up to date you can follow her progress on the website, facebook or twitter accounts of Esprit Ski.

Choose from London Gatwick or Southampton for departures.

Chalet Braconnier in La Rosiere, was £3000, now £1699

Chalet Aravis in Les Arcs 2000, was £4100, now £1699

Chalet Wiesenheim in Selva, was £3630, now £1699

These offers can only be booked by phone so please call 01483 791900 Mon-Fri 9am to 6pm, Sat 9am-5pm

She is currently competing for the Great Britain Children’s Ski Team in Trofeu Borrufa, Andorra.

She achieved an amazing second place for team GB in the slalom event on January 28th finishing 1.66 seconds behind the racer from Spain.

She is due to compete in the Grand Slalom, combi and Super G over the next few days so we will update you with the results when they come through.

Well done Issy from everyone at Esprit Ski

All the prices include flights, transfers and half board accommodation with complimentary wine at dinner. All flights are from London Gatwick. Prices include room supplements but do not include any child care costs so please calculate these and them to your price using the website.

Chalet Alpenblume, Obergurgl in Austria. £1079 for a family of 4 or £1158.85

Chalet Arnica, La Rosiere, France. £737 for 1 adult and 1 child or £937 for 2 adults and 1 infant

Chalet Schatzi, La Rosiere, France. £1159.95 for family of 3, family of 4 £1213.60, family of 5 £1367.25

Chalet Le Braconnier, La Rosiere, France. £1117.95 for a family of 3, £1157.60 for a family of 4

Chalet Charlotte , La Rosiere, France. £1313.60 for a family of 4, £1467.25 for a family of 5

Chalet Petit Charline, Tignes, France. £1175 for a family of 4, £1194 for a family of 5, £1313 for a family of 6

Chalet Hotel Ducs de Savoie, Val d’Isere, France. £956 for a family of 3

Chalet Hotel Alba, Meribel, France. £1217.95 for a family of 3, £1257.60 for a family of 4

All of the above family ski deals can only be booked via our reservations team so please call 01483 791900. We are open Monday to Friday 9am-6pm and Saturday 9am-5:30pm.

Please note that these family ski deals are limited so may be withdrawn or changed at any moment. Please contact the reservations team for the most up to date availability.

Issy was recently competing at a series of races for the Anglo Scottish competition in Les Houces, Chamonix. She did well in the slalom event by coming second overall. A few days later she was competing in the Giant Slalom, her preferred event, when she crashed out meaning she was unable to compete any further. The crash left her with many bruises and a cracked front tooth. The incident was caught on tape and she has uploaded it to her youtube channel but you can see it below.

All our flights, charter and scheduled, are planned to operate on schedule this Sunday, although some delays may occur due to the weather conditions. Guests should check in as normal but allow extra time for your journey to the airport. If you do miss your flight you should contact the Esprit Ski airport representative who will try to assist you or call us on 07905 607360 after 06:00 on Sunday morning.

If you are worried about travelling on the morning of departure then maybe you could consider booking an overnight hotel at the airport. We have discounted rates from £35 with our partner APH.

Follow the link below and then click on Airport Hotels for more information.

www.aph.com/esprit

Background

The SkiA Sweetspot ski trainer is the work of UK doctor and keen skier Dr Martin Breach who worked closely with Hugh Monney to develop the trainer. Hugh is the founder of the British Alpine Ski School and was a trainer and examiner of instructors for the British Association of Snowsports Instructors for 22 years. The trainer is proving to be very popular with ski schools around the world and the company’s website is full of testimonials from directors of ski schools and racing teams.

The Sweetspot ski trainer is classed as a ‘dry land’ ski training gadget that facilitates the user in finding the sweetspot of their skis through a series of balancing and mobility exercises on a series of blocks that get progressively more difficult. If you’re like us and thought that the sweetspot was under the toes or ball of the foot then you would be wrong, as SkiA explain.

“A modern ski is a compound spring, like an archer’s bow. The sweetspot is at the centre of effort of this spring, and is marked by an index mark. The portion of the ski in front of the sweetspot is longer and more flexible than the portion behind it, and is more easily twisted. Modern skis and boots are designed to work around the sweetspot, with the two parts of the ski balancing each other to give an efficient and consistent performance.”

The review

The trainer was tested by two friends of Esprit Ski with different backgrounds; 1 is an ex seasonnaire with lots of slope time under his belt and the other is a mother who goes on yearly trips at an intermediate level.

Both of our testers decided to test the device in their living rooms on the carpet but the instruction manual advises that it can be used on any firm surface that isn’t wet or slippy. “If you set aside a large enough space for a family Wii session on Christmas Day then that should suffice, but overall it is compact and easy to use at home”. Another good piece of advice was “if you don’t have a partner to tell you that you have got it wrong, use a mirror on the floor to check your balancing correctly”.

Both seemed to struggle with the initial fitting of the trainer to their ski boots but once on they both agreed that they felt a difference in their balance. The ski blocks that attach to the bottom of the device for balance are graded the same as the pistes, green to black, which one of our testers thought was “a nice touch”. The trainer is incredibly light so it would be possible to take it with you on your ski trips so that you can warm up in the mornings or have a little session in the evening (could be interesting after Apres ski though!).

The trainers come with a manual that tells you what to do but the best information was to be found on the website where there is a ‘how to use’ video by Hugh that gives a demonstration of the exercises that you should perform. One of our testers has suggested that maybe a DVD would be useful as you could ‘ski’ along with the videos on your TV at home. SkiA have taken this onboard and will be adding to the videos already on their website with lesson type footage.

Both testers felt a definite improvement in their balance after just a few sessions on the trainer,” as the session went on the easier I found it to balance on the ‘Sweetspot.’ I’m sure with a regimented training programme improvements in the balance would take place”. “ On the first ‘go’ with the green blocks I had great difficulty balancing, Day 2 and the balance is a lot better – time to progress”

Conclusion

If you are serious about improving your skiing technique then this trainer would be of use to you as it allows you to train all year round and in the comfort of your own home. Whilst not replacing ski lessons from actual instructors, it should help to keep your lesson costs down as it will help you get the fundamentals correct at your own pace.

For a family, or couple, of skiers living in one home this is a low cost way of improving skiing technique due to its flexible set up options allowing for multiple users. At the cost of less than 1 ski lesson with an instructor this really is good value for those who want to make the most of their ski holidays every year.

Competition and discount code

SkiA have given us a discount code for all our lovely Esprit Ski fans that will give them 15% off the purchase of a Sweetspot ski trainer. Order your trainer here and when prompted enter the discount code ESPRIT2013 to get your discount.

SkiA have also been kind enough to give us a brand new Sweetspot trainer to offer as a prize for 1 lucky winner of our competition.

All you have to do is complete the comments form on this news post with the answer to the question below:

How many training balance blocks does the SkiA Sweetspot trainer come with and in what colour?

Rules

1. The closing date for all entries is 3pm on the 31st January 2013. Only entries submitted via www.espritski.com will be entered into the draw.

2. The 3 winning entries will be drawn at random from all valid entries by the 8th February 2013.

3. The winners will be notified via the email address given at entry that they have won and will need to respond with their address for postage by the 15th February 2013.

4. Only 1 entry per email address.

5. Competitions are open to UK residents only unless otherwise stated

6. Prizes can only be sent to a valid UK address unless otherwise stated.

7. The Judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered in to.

8. Automated entries, bulk entries or third party entries will be disqualified!

9. Esprit Ski is compliant with the data protection act. Our policy is such that we will not pass on your details to any third party without your prior consent.

10. All email addresses submitted as part of the entry process will not be used for any other purpose than to contact the winners.

Issy has a busy schedule which you can follow on our facebook page and we will continue to post the latest news on Issy when we get it.

Nicholas writes about how his family love the resort but were not keen on the drive up to resort because of the 21 hairpin bends which have been ridden by many Tour de France riders and wannabes.

Nicholas took advantage of our flexible child care options by putting his son Archie into our supervised lessons in the morning and then skiing with him as a family in the afternoon. After their ski in the afternoon they returned back to the Chalet Hotel Mariandre where they enjoyed “delicious homemade soup and cakes”. Archie was then off to high tea with the other children and then he was off to bed where he was looked after by our complimentary baby listening service so that parents can “relax and enjoy a delicious four-course dinner with complimentary wine”.

“When it comes to a perfect family skiing trip, Alpe d’Huez and Esprit Holidays go hand-in-thermal-glove”

“we’re well and truly hooked – we’ve already got our third trip lined up and it can’t come round fast enough”

We still have availability for this season and we are already taking bookings for winter 2013-2014 via our dedicated and specialist reservations team on 01483 791900 (Mon to Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-4pm).

For more information on the Chalet Hotel Mariandre check out our accommodation page or resort page on our website.

Issy wanted to share with everyone her point of view when she’s hurtling down the mountain at incredible speeds so she sent us this link to a video she shot.

Don’t forget you can follow Issy’s progress on our facebook page or through our posts on the website.

We are fully booked in Les Gets for the next few weeks but we do have some spaces left in the middle of Feb and towards the end of the season. For more information check out our Les Gets page on the website or contact our reservations team on 01483 791900 (Mon to Fri 9am-6pm and Sat 9am-4pm).

Issy Kirk receiving her prize for second place. That's her in the pink headband

Issy did really well with a second placed finished overall thanks to a 3rd place in race 1 and a second place in race 2 with the gap to 1st place only 1.83 seconds.

She says that she is happy with how the slaloms went considering that it is the start of the season and she usually does better at the giant slalom over the normal slalom.

Today she is competing in giant slalom races today and we will update you with her results as soon as we know how she got on.

The offer includes half board accommodation with unlimited complimentary wine at dinner, transfers and flights (choice of Stansted or East Midlands). Please note that this price does not include any childcare costs.

Room 1 in Chalet Machu Picchu £499, 1 adult and 1 child

Room 4 in Chalet Himalaya £499, 1 adult and 1 child

These offers are only available to book through our reservations team on 01483 791900 open Mon Fri 9am-6pm and Sat 9am-4pm.

For a change, we thought we would share 2 pictures taken by our Area Childcare Manager Rain O’Brien that show just how much snow falls and the change in landscape of the mountains.

The 2 pictures were taken 6 months apart on the pass between La Rosiere and La Thuile by the bottom of the Piccolo San Bernado Express Lift.

You can clearly see the amount of snow that has fallen and the affect that it has had on the surrounding area.

We had an amazing 82 entries that guessed the correct answer to the question

“Which star-cross’d lover shares a name with an Esprit Ski family Chalet?”. The correct answer for those who don’t know is the Chalet Romeo in La Rosiere.

The lucky winners were chosen by Scartlett, daughter of Lettie Belle owner and creator Laura Marsden. The winners are:

Valerie Harbut

Susan Sargent

Sarah Cooper

The prizes are being sent to the lucky winners and should be with them by Christmas eve.

Thank you to everyone that entered and remember to check back regularly for our latest news and competitions.

Don’t forget to join our facebook community or follow us on twitter