First ski holiday advice!

Hi All.

My and my 3 girlfriends will be booking our first ski holiday in January. The plan is to fly to Geneva and stay in the Avoriaz area. As complete novices we have no idea how much ski/lift passes will cost also the cost of ski hire, therefor how much money we need to take. Can you pay for hire in advance, if so any recommendations? also and advice on transfers from that airport.
We are only staying for 4 days :(
Thank you!

Hi there.....
Am I correct in assuming that you are planning to organise the holiday yourselves? If with a tour operator then ask them for advice - most will help with ski hire and many will tell you about appropriate lift passes.

The rest of this assumes you are booking everything independently.
You say four days - is this four days in the resort of a four day holiday?
http://www.avoriaz.com/ski-holidays/ will have lots of info for you about pricing (and is in English).
There is a beginners pass available. As debutantes you will not need a full area pass.
Ski Hire can be booked in advance on the web. Skiset (follow the link on J2Ski - substantial discount) is a good place to start. I strongly suggest you find a shop close to your accommodation. Can be a real struggle carrying stuff around until you have got the hang of it.

Definitely organise ski school before you go. The usual format for group lessons is six days starting either Sunday or Monday. Doubt you would be able to "join in" on any other days - the group will have progressed. But there are a number of ski schools in Avoriaz (see their website linked above) - I would e mail these well in advance and discuss your needs and the cost. Four of you could well book a private group for your stay - january is low season, no harm in asking for a good deal, ski instructors will be low on work this month.

Do all your planning meticulously - you won't want to waste half a day getting sorted!

And it could well pay dividends to go and do a starter/taster session in a snowdome or on a dry ski slope in the UK - if nothing else you can familiarise yourselves with the bizarre world that is ski boot and standing on skis!

Good luck, enjoy, come back with more questions .....

Probably stay the Morzine and Les Gets side as the skiing for beginners that side is much better and plenty of ski schools to choose from at the bottom of the Pleny Lift, but ensure you book that before you go.

Wouldn't go up to Avoriaz unless the snow is really bad then the altitude up Avoriaz will help that.

There will be plenty of skiing Morzine & Les Gets for first timers and easy getting up and down from Morzine, assuming the Pleny lift is fixed after the fire at the top station at the end of last season.

There is a Ski Set for your ski hire about 250 metres from the bottom of the pleny lifts and they let you keep your ski's and boots there at no charge so not too much hassle where your accomodation is and they gave our group 25% off just walking in just because we asked for a discount.

Hi

Thank you both.

I am booking this all separate yes, a bit different from booking a week in the sun! I think the original plan was to go to morzine but the accommodation came up as Avoriaz even though we asked for Morzine so not sure how far these two places are apart? We have also booked a learn to ski in a day course in Snowdome Stafford even though I doubt I will be able to ski after a day!?
Very exciting times.:)

There will be advantages to staying in both Morzine and Avoriaz.
They are linked by cable car anyway.
Morzine - quite a substantial town, so plenty to keep you occupied of the slopes, but more walking. Not sure where the beginners ski in Morzine itself - anyone know?
Avoriaz - has the reputation as the ugliest ski resort in France - that is saying something! It is much higher and the nursery (beginner) slopes are right there amongst the accommodation.
January weather can be anything - but shorter days and cold weather most likely. Morzine can be an advantage here - but the resort is low and rain is a real possibility (skiing in rain = no fun at all). But Avoriaz could be very cold and learning to ski in a blizzard = no fun.
No one can predict what you will get weather wise so it is a gamble.
Presumably you chose this area due to being close to Geneva for travel?
If it were me I would go with where the most suitable accommodation is.
A day at the Snowdome is a great idea - hope you are all going - and, nope, you won't be able to "ski" after. But you will know how to put on boots and skis and walk around and slide a bit and have a basic understanding of a little turning and stopping (stopping = hardest part). You will save a couple of days in resort getting the basics sorted.
Most people seem to find the first three days skiing the hardest of any. I did - back in a different epoch, but the memory of standing terrified at the top of a gentle slope with my knees trembling and my bowels...........
:)

Hi
This area was suggested by sister who does a lot of snowboarding, she had a rich partner that owned a large place complete with hot tub in Verbier, now they are no longer together I can only assume she is downgrading to the Morzine area (judging by the prices on Verbier. I expected cold but she never mentioned blizzards and rain, fingers crossed we down get much of that in the little time we are there :(.In my ignorance I just assumed jan=cold=snow=ski? We will be staying in Residence Electra, or something along them lines, I have read this is a ugly resort but it looks like everything is in close proximity to the place we are staying. I have emailed the closest hire place to the resort and I have been quoted about £50 for 3 days hire of ski, boots and hat for beginners, don't seem too bad. I hope it wont be horrid gear. I know when you go horse riding if you don't have your own ha you get to hire a bucket type hat containing the sweat of many heads that screams I am a novice! is this the case for skiing. I don't want to look un couth. Should I buy my own hat?

Hi Mahound,

Personally I would buy my own hat if I was you. Theyre not that heavy and can fit in hand luggage if your weight in the hold is an issue. You can buy a suitable helmet for around £23. Thats got to be worth it unless you fancy the idea of others sweat on your face and hair!

If only going for 4 days then try and book very early flights out and late returns as you might be able to try out your newly acquired skills the afternoon before your first lesson and get a half day skiing before returning home, also you can order your lift pass in advance from http://www.avoriaz.com/ and if you order early around mid-September I think you get a 10% discount, you will also find lots of other useful information on the website - if you order your passes don't forget to take them with you ;-)
In an earlier post you mention that you doubt you will be able to ski in a day. Well don't expect too much, as long as you can get about - including falling over and getting up again (and this is all part of the fun) - then it's all about practice. If you can get to the Snowdome for a couple of sessions soon after your day lesson then you will find it to be very beneficial as on the first day there is quite a lot to take on board and you might as well be as prepared as possible for the wonderful skiing out there. Don't forget the camcorder as there will be some really good videos from a first ski holiday. As for Avoriaz, it has very good beginner slopes (very wide and shallow which are just perfect for learning and right next to the village but if you can get over to the Morzine side then it's well worth the effort, as to ski through the trees is lovely. Having said that, it is such a massive ski area that you will still need to go back to see the rest. I would agree with other comments about buying a cheapish helmet as it feels much better knowing where it's been, you can usually pick them up at Lidl or Aldi just before Xmas or try one of the discount sports shops such as Decathlon.
Hope you have a great time and it is the first of many.