Ideal Resorts in Europe for Beginner Skiers

For those who have not been skiing before many versions of the holiday come to mind. There the ones where the entire family are gently lacing down the mountain taking the whole event in their stride. Others think of wipe outs, head first snow diving and sitting at the resort covered in plaster. When in reality it’s mostly spent whizzing down the mountain after you have found your ski legs but by that time the holiday is almost over and you were just starting to enjoy it. Unfortunately you may have gone with a travel broker who had no idea about skiing holidays and he just landed you in the most competitive amateur ski resort.
In this article I will give you some tips to help prevent all the tedious confusions from happening so you can pick a resort which matches your skill level and night time activities you will enjoy, because you can only sit in a heated pool sipping wine for so long.

Beginner Resorts in Europe

Les Arcs from Aiguille Rouge (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1. Les Arcs is the ideal beginner family resort it has many nursery slopes for you to ease your way onto and it also has a free beginners lift. Once you’re feeling confident it has more advanced slopes you can take a hit at. For those who want to get professional help there is an award winning ski school called New Generation, who have patient and friendly instructors. If you get bored of skiing there are many activities in the surrounding areas to keep yourself busy, from paragliding to tobogganing, there are many restaurants and for the local bars with modern and traditional entertainment and there are 2 clubs near Les Arcs.

Bansko Ski Resort Main Area (Photo credit: Nacho y Adriana)

1. Bansko is a ski resort located in Bulgaria, it is on par with les Arcs as it is popular with beginners who want to learn how to ski as they have plenty of nursery slopes for those taking it easy and once they are up to it they can fly down the 16km intermediate stretch which takes them back to the resort. Not only does it have great runs but it is Europe’s cheapest ski resort and prides itself on its value for money. So prideful are the Bulgarians that Bansko’s mayor George Ikonomov has cancelled all construction work surrounding Bansko until march 31st so that tourists on their winter holidays will not be disturbed.

English: Poiana Brasov din Postavaru' (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1. Poiana Brasov is a ski resort in Romania, it focuses mainly on beginners which isn’t surprising as its home to 10 main ski and snowboarding slopes. 4 of those which belong to beginner slopes, when combined is an impressive 5840m stretch.  They then have 2 slopes for intermediates and 4 more for advanced skiers. Maybe you will want a bit of variety so you can hang up the skis for a bit and go visit the infamous Dracula’s castle.

1. Mayrhoven is a winter sports haven and known for being quite a party town. With much snowboarding skiing, paraskiing and sledding to be done it is a wonder how people have the energy  left to party, but they do. So it’s no surprise that it annually hosts the “Snowbombing music festival” which is a major electronic dance festival.

Chill Factor

So this is not a resort but it’s a worth a mention.  It is the UK’s largest indoor ski dome which can provide many soon to be holiday skiers with the practice they need to immediately enjoy their holidays.
It is located in Manchester and it is only £17 for 50 minutes of skiing on actual snow so it’s a good idea to snap up the lessons while they are cheap. It doesn’t only provide skiing but also snowboarding lessons. Ever fancy going on an avalanche simulation? Well now you can just climb into a giant ball with your friends and then you will be flung down a snowy hill you will experience 4gs of pure adrenaline rush. It provides practice grounds and that little bit extra entertainment you weren’t expecting so it makes a good day trip.

John Ferguson is a Ski Holiday travel agent for Dare 2 Ski. When he’s not organising everyone else’s ski holidays he likes to spend time on the slopes himself.

Related articles

• Be Prepared: Winter Emergency Kits
• Preparing for Your First Ski Trip: A Southerner's Guide

Travel Fail

Do you ever let your kids skip school to go have a fun day? We decided to keep our kindergartner home from school one Monday and take him skiing up on Mt. Hood. It would be an opportunity to spend some quality time with him one on one. He's the youngest of three. 

We got all suited up and loaded the car and proceeded to drive an hour up to the mountain with him. When we got there the parking lot was empty. There wasn't a person in site. Ski Bowl was completely empty. We made a few phone calls and found out that they didn't open until 3 PM. We had to be one the road back home by 2 PM, so there was no way we were going to get to ski at Ski Bowl.

We drove on towards Summit ski area only to find out that they are closed all day on Mondays. Who would have thought in the middle of February during ski season there would be no where to actually ski.

We didn't drive all that way for nothing so, we went to a store in Government Camp and bought a sled and took him sledding. It turned out to be a great day, but it will be the last time we head out without checking the hours of operation. 

Related articles

• Ski Bowl - Mt. Hood

Summit Ski Area on Mt. Hood

At the end of the tiny town of Government Camp, OR right off the road is Summit Ski area. It's a cheap place to ski on Mt. Hood and the runs are perfect for kids. This short video will show you how flat the runs are. Our daughter was skiing for her second time. It was amazing how much better she did when we took her to an easier place to ski. She also took a lesson which was cheap and good. The lesson price included the ski rental!

Some things to know before you go ski Summit :
2 Person ski lift
Snowboarding is allowed
Public restrooms available, but they are out by the road
Small snack shack
Rentals Available and included in lessons
Tubing hill

and the view is beautiful

Sledding at Mt. Charleston - Las Vegas

Just because you live in Vegas doesn't mean you have to miss out on snow. Mt Charleston is not that far away. There's tons of snow up there and it's only a forty five minute drive for Las Vegas. At the top of Mt. Charleston is a ski resort.

If your not sure where to go sledding near Vegas, I suggest packing up your sled and heading towards Mt. Charleston lodge.   Drive until there is enough snow to sled on. These pictures are near Kyle canyon campground just a few mintues from the Mt. Charleston lodge.

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