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.

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Ski Bowl - Mt. Hood

Have you been out skiing yet this year? We just got back from another day trip up to Ski Bowl on Mt. Hood in Government Camp. We decided to get season passes there this year. They offer military members and their families half off tickets and half off season passes. 
The best thing about Ski Bowl is the price. Skiing on Mt. Hood can be expensive, but Ski Bowl is cheaper than most of the others. The second best thing is the location. Located right off the highway as you get into Government Camp. Ski Bowl West is right before you actually go into Government Camp. This make it the closest ski resort to Portland, Oregon. Ski Bowl East is almost as close only a few more minutes away. One ticket gets you into their West and East sides.
The down side to Ski Bowl is their lifts. They only have two person lifts without the rail that comes down to rest your feet on. This can be challenging with kids. If your kid needs help make sure to put them on the side where the lift operator can help you get them on the lift. There are multiple lifts. They also have three tow ropes. (I hate tow ropes.)

Hope Lake Lodge in Cortland, NY

Hope Lake Lodge is a hotel and waterpark, located in Cortland, NY (not far from the NY Jets training camp) offers the perfect place for a family retreat.

Hope Lake Lodge is not only an award winning beautiful hotel, it's also the home of Cascades Indoor Waterpark. The entire area around Hope Lake Lodge is a recreation area. In the summer they offer zip lining, ropes courses, hiking, fishing, and all kinds of other fun activities. In the winter they offer skiing, tubing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and more. On top of all that the rooms and suites are huge. Here is a picture tour of our suite at Hope Lake Lodge.
Not shown in this living room photo is a full size coach that folds into a bed.
You can not see the ski storage area from this picture, but along the wall facing the dining table is a ski storage nook.



It was nice having the sink area separate from the shower area. It made getting ready quicker.
I loved the fitness room. They provided towels and water. There were 2 or 3 tv's in the room.

Cortland, NY is part of the Finger Lakes not far from Ithaca, NY.

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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Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

Whistler, British Columbia is an ideal place for a family vacation. This quaint ski town looks like a place you would only see on TV. There are lots of condos in the area so it is easy to get a place to stay with a few bedrooms. The condos most often have some sort of pool, hot tub, and sauna. There is daycare on the mountain and in town as well.

Whistler is quite small, but packed with family activities. I enjoy being able to walk with my children everywhere. We always stop at the playgrounds while we walk around. Each of the mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb, offer ski lessons for kids and daycare for the very little ones. However, the day care usually doesn't start until at least Dec 1st. So, if you go up for Thanksgiving you will be out of luck.

Biking - If you go in the summer months take your bikes with you or plan to rent some. There are tons of paved trails. You can just bike around town or around one of the lakes. If you are into mountain biking you can take your bike up the mountain on the gondola and bike down the mountain on some serious trails!

Rock climbing - There is an indoor facility not far from the convention center that is a lot of fun. From what I remember kids 5 and up can participate. This same place is also a gym. They sell passes for the day or week.

Skiing - Ages 3 and up can take lessons. The skiing here is excellent.

Swimming - There is an indoor recreation facility called Meadow Park Sports Centre that has a

large swimming pool and is inexpensive. It also had a nice size hot tub.

Ice skating - This is also available at the Meadow Park Sports Centre. As you can see from the picture they provide helmets for the kids as well as these bars to keep them up.

Painting - There is a pottery place in the village that you can take your kids to so they can create a master piece.