ski lessons & hire

[David Woodhouse]

On Thu, 2009-01-15 at 17:33 +0100, Johannes Berg wrote:
> 
> So Andreas (thank you!) talked to the ski school after they never
> managed to reply to my emails...
> 
> First, the closest ski school doesn't do half-days. Since we have 5 or 6
> beginners, hiring a private teacher might be an option, although that
> doesn't leave the option of splitting up the group if people develop
> differently. But if we do that, we also gain some flexibility, like you
> beginners do, say, two full days (4 hours lessons each), and two half
> days, and I'm sure we can find other people who are willing to take some
> adventure with the ski teacher the other days. Andreas might be
> interested, and so would I, at least.

I could be up for that, too.

For complete beginners, there's also a lot to be said for having full
days of tuition. You'll progress much faster, and a large part of the
benefit of being in lessons is that you have a _guide_, who'll take you
on the bits of the mountain that you're (almost) ready for, and look
after you.

I just took a few complete beginners to Avoriaz, the week before last,
and they would have done better with full days than they did with half
days. That's what I always did, when my skiing was at that level.

And much as you may enjoy the company of your spouse/partner/bit of
fluff you picked up just for the week/etc., there's only so much fun to
be had skiing with them if their ability is vastly different to yours.
If the lessons end at about 3pm, then meeting them up the mountain,
spending half an hour watching them snowplough slowly across a fairly
flat slope and then babysitting them to get home is _quite_ enough.
There's plenty of time for canoodling in the evenings :)

And they can always duck out of the lessons towards the end of the week
and spend a day doing 'sociable' skiing, if they've progressed
sufficiently (as they're likely to have done, if they take full days).

> Thoughts? Dave says there are other ski schools in town that might offer
> half days, but that's a few kilometers out (there is a bus), while this
> school is apparently just across the road.

The beginners would be on that bus _anyway_, remember. It's only a few
minutes into town, where it drops you off at the bottom of the lift.

More accomplished skiers might get the bus in the other direction,
towards Paß Thurn, and take _that_ lift up onto the mountains. It's
slightly closer, and into a less densely populated area of the mountain.

There are free ski buses which run up and down the valley all day.

http://www.bergbahn-kitzbuehel.at/asp_service/upload/content/Kitzbuehel---Jochberg---PassThurn---Mittersill(1).pdf

Hopefully the snow will be good enough that the proficient skiers can
take the Giggling run down directly into Aurach; others/otherwise it's
the bus back home at the end of the day too.

-- 
dwmw2