No matter what level you’re at, taking skiing or snowboarding lessons will always be a valuable experience. Whether you’re a first-time skier/snowboarder or an experienced rider with many years of winter holidays under your belt, there’s always new skills to learned and many ways to improve.
Group lessons are split up in terms of age and ability, so when you pre-book your group lessons you’ll need select a level which best describes your ability – Beginner, Advanced Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced.
What level am I?
Don’t worry too much about the level stated on your booking, this is just to give ski school a rough idea so they can pre-plan the groups. On your first day of ski school there’s an informal ‘ski-off’ so your instructor can assess your ability and make sure you’re in the right group.
If after your first day you find you’re well out of your comfort zone or more advanced than others in your group you can ask your instructor if it’s possible to move to a more suitable group. Wherever possible Ski School will do their very best to accommodate you to make sure you really get the most out of your lessons.
To help you decide where you’re at, take a look at our guide below:
SKI
Beginner
A beginner is someone who has pretty much never put skis on before, so these lessons would take you from the very basics of skiing, for example: how to put on your skis, snow plough, stop, and traverse on flat terrain. As you progress, you’ll start to learn how to make turns on gentle green slopes and use a drag lift.
Advanced Beginner
An advanced beginner is someone who has skied before and understand the basics but need help improving their technique, building confidence and learning to parallel turn on beginner’s slopes (greens and blues).
Intermediate
Intermediates are those who can parallel ski and are confident on blue and red runs, and these lessons will help to you to develop your technique, carve, use edges effectively, and build confidence on steeper slopes and more challenging terrains.
Advanced
Advanced skiiers are those with good technique who are confident on steep reds and blacks but require further tuition to polish their technique and gain more confidence parallel skiing on steeper pistes, challenging terrains, and off-piste. Advanced skiiers may also wish to develop their free-style skills.
SNOWBOARD
Beginner
A beginner snowboarder is someone who has never strapped into a snowboard before. These lessons will show you the basics and key skills, e.g. how to skate with one foot strapped in, how to traverse on your heel edge and toe edge as a ‘falling leaf’. As you progress you’ll start to learn how to link turns on green or gentle blue slopes.
Advanced Beginner
An advanced beginner is someone who understands the basics but needs help linking their turns, improving their technique, building confidence and learning to turn on beginner’s slopes (mostly greens and blues). Advanced Beginners have some experience using drag lifts and chairlifts.
Intermediate
Intermediates are those who are confident linking their turns on steeper blue and red runs and can ride comfortably in a variety of terrain, and can use their edges to carve and make nice even turns. These lessons will help to develop technique, using edges, and build confidence on steeper slopes.
Advanced
Advanced snowboarders are those with good technique who are confident riding challenging terrain, (including moguls, off-piste, and steep reds and blacks), but require further tuition to polish their technique and learn new skills such as freestyle and off-piste.
Other frequently asked questions about Ski School:
Can I have lessons with my children?
Children and adults have a very different rate of progression and learning styles; for this reason, children (6-11 years) juniors (12-17 years) and adults (18+) are separated into different groups so that everyone can really get the most out of their lessons.
However, if your child is age 12 or above and at the same level as you, it’s possible that you may be able to be in the same group, however we cannot guarantee this. Your best bet is to speak to the team at Ski School when you check-in for your lessons so that they’re aware you’d like to be together.
Can I swap morning lessons for afternoon lessons, or vice versa?
When you select the lesson product on our website, you’ll see a dropdown box which shows the start time of your lessons – either 10:00 or 14:00. The default start time is 10:00, however once morning lessons have become fully booked, the only option is to have afternoon lessons. It isn’t possible to swap to morning lessons.
Afternoon lessons only become available once the morning lessons have sold out, so if our booking site isn’t showing 2pm as an option, it isn’t available.
My son/daughter is under 12 years old but would like to join group snowboarding lessons – is this possible?
Group snowboarding lessons are only available for children age 12 and above due to health and safety reasons. Learning to snowboard is much harder than skiing, particularly for young children as it requires a better level of balance, physical fitness, and the ability to follow instructions carefully. The rate of progression is usually slower to begin with when learning how to snowboard.
If your son or daughter has snowboarded before, then Ski School may be willing to make an exception depending on their age and ability; however, you would need to ask Ski School for their permission before booking the group snowboarding lessons. Alternatively, you could arrange a private snowboarding lesson instead.
Can I join group lessons a day late?
Group lessons run from Mondays for three to five consecutive days or from Saturdays for two consecutive days. If you aren’t able to start your lessons on a Monday or Saturday, then you’ll need to book private lessons. You can find out more information about private lessons via the links at the end of this blog.
Ski School don’t usually allow people to join group lessons a day late – this is because the groups will have already been formed, and members of the group will already be progressing and building on skills they learnt earlier on in the week.
If you are an experienced skier, then Ski School may be willing to make an exception, however this would be entirely at their discretion and you would need to gain their express permission before booking your group lessons. You can find the contact details for Ski School on the private lesson pages listed at the bottom of this blog.
You can book your group lessons and other ski extras (lift passes, equipment) via the links below:
If you’re interested in private lessons, please see the links below for a pricing guide, contact information, and how to book in each resort: