Hi,

Me and my OH are total novices, but would feel rude not to give downhill skiing a try given where we are!

We're looking at either of these 2 destinations for a "first time" this weekend, as they are both on great deals with the SBB "Snow and Rail" deal for the month of January. I know they aren't necessarily the biggest or best resorts, but that's fine as there's no point in us spending big bucks to go to Verbier or somewhere as we'll spend most of our time eating white powder, and not of the "Charlie Sheen" variety!!

Anyway, has anyone got any recommendations of ski schools to try, or just opinions on these 2 resorts/areas. We'd be able to arrive quite early, around 9-10am. I've e-mailed the ski school in Pizol asking about what they offer in the way of adult beginner lessons, but the one in Sattel only seems to have an online enquiry form that was getting rejected when I'd filled it out earlier on today.

Any advice/ideas most welcome.

ive been skiing for a couple of years now, but still class myself as a beginner due to confidence issues. we tried Pizol as friends told us it was good for beginners and it frightened the living daylights out of me i found the pistes were so narrow and twisty with sheer drops at the side, i was so scared i took my skis off and walked !!

i am sure other people have no problems there but i certainly would not recommend it for novices. i have no knowledge of the ski school and probably with good teaching you may love the place........

Neither. Flumserberg has some novice slopes. Hire a ski instructor for the both of you so someone can show you the ropes. Learning how to ski as an adult is much harder than learning it as a child.

I don`t know Pizol but would avoid Sattel and agree Flumserberg would be a better choice than Sattel.

Flumserberg has novice areas away from the main ski areas and it`s a reasonable size resort. Sattel doesn't really have a great set up for beginner skiers and it`s just a small resort overall and quite low so the quality of snow can vary quickly depending on recent falls.

Flumserberg also you will find English instructors if you need English. Engelberg would be another choice. Flumserberg can get very busy though on the weekends when the snow has just fallen and the weather is nice.

Are you going for a weekend? Sattel has nothing really to offer nightlife wise. I can't even remember seeing a hotel. Flumserberg is a little quiet but has hotels and a little town. Engelberg would have the best night possibilities in terms of restaurants and bars and a lot of choices for hotels.

What about Brunni SZ ? I admit that I am asking this more for myself than for the OP, but I have a week off work in February and am thinking of taking some skiing lessons locally. I am not a complete beginner, I can do blues and easy reds at a pinch, but I only ski very occasionally and definitely need lessons to increase my confidence if nothing else.

Never been but heard it`s good for beginners. There are SO many little places around. I drove to Hoch Y Brig the other day and the satnav took me over the mountains and we must have past 3 or 4 little ski places and were close to Sattel but not quite there.

Do you have a car? Are you wiling to stay overnight or driving everyday? Skiing everyday takes some fitness.

Flumserberg, Hoch Y Brig, Engelberg are all about an hour away (car) and all have english speaking instructors.

Unless you need a hotel you could even wait kind of last minute and make a decision based on snow reports. Have 3 or 4 resorts picked out and see who has the best snow.

Engelberg is perfect for beginners> Use Prime ski school for lessons and ask that Bruce is your instructor - he IS English and is an excellent instructor.

Yes, that's the way I would do it I think. I am intending to do a mixed week of ski lessons and snoweshoe hikes, weather permitting, using public transport and not staying overnight.

I was looking at Brunni and Hoch Ybrig, also maybe Sörenberg although it's a bit further away.

Edit - to Biff - I had not thought about any of the bigger resorts, but I will definitely bear your suggestion in mind, Engelberg isn't far away either.

If you are going to ski or snow shoe every day of the week I would look at staying and would suggest a bigger resort to get some variety. Engelberg is a bit of a schlep by train because the connections in Luzern just never really worked well for us (from Rotkreuz) SBB has it at 1.5 hours to the Engelberg train station and then you have to get up the mountain, Flumserberg 1.25 hours.

I don`t know your age or willingness to stay in youth hostel but I remember seeing a comment on a recent skiing thread here that it would be the cheapest option in Engelberg and you will really appreciate being there in the morning not carrying your shit back and forwards.

I would compare train tickets vs accommodation prices and see how that stacks up. Engelberg is a nice village as well. Has a bit more about it than the other places I`ve mentioned. The Engelberg website is quite good and you can compare costs.

Also, because it is high you generally will get good snow.

There are other smaller, cheaper ski resorts around Switzerland that are also great for novices. However, most of them are only accessible by car, which is why I'm hesitant to recommend them.

Amden Arvenbuehl... Accessible by bus. Perfect for beginners.

Pizol is good and it has an offer on at the moment for the snow and rail, so its very cheap.

The left side (Bad Ragaz) and the tops have decent easy runs, but the right side (Wangs) is mainly red & black.

I would recommend it, but get off the train at Bad Ragaz and go up that side.

It's not just me. There are other English instructors, including Skichick, and we're all excellent (But mention me and the EF anyway.)

But to the OP and other ski novices - your choice of ski school/instructor is much more important than the venue. Of course there needs to be an appropriate learning area, but as others have said, this isn't usually a problem. Cost-wise, if you have good introductory instruction your rate of progress will be hugely improved, so you should actually be able to start really enjoying the activity with less overall spend.

We look upon this as a fast-track to skiing, short-cutting the often long and painful progress that some of us had to go through in the old days

I've heard nothing but good things about the place. And yes, cheap it is. http://www.familienherberge.ch/25590.html

A quick question. I'm looking at Engelberg now, and looking at the prices of Spar tickets + a 1 day ski pass (which I assume I'll need and isn't included in any of the prices I see at the ski schools), and it's coming out at about 100 CHF - that's not on the "Snow and Rail" deal.

The "Snow and Rail" deal is 84 CHF with a halbtax card. This is almost certainly a daft question, but the way it is worded (in English at least) on the SBB website could mean that for this 84 CHF you get return rail travel + a 1 day pass, all inclusive, OR that the "Ski and Rail" only gets you a reduction on travel and the day pass, but you'd have to pay the remainder for both of these on top of the 84 CHF.

I assume it's the former, not the latter right??

Yes it's the former, i.e. ski and rail means return ticket + all access lift pass with no additional cost.

Be careful though if you're a beginner, as it might be cheaper if you just get a return rail ticket + a limited access lift pass, as you probably won't be skiing / boarding down the big red runs over there! For the first time though I would give it a go cos the view from the top of the titlis is very nice on a good day.

I wouldn't make any assumptions, but I don't know the answer to this.

However, you should be fully aware of the lower prices for the individual areas of Klostermatt (chf22) , http://www.brunni.ch/en/news/preise/ski-day-passes.html and Gerschnialp/Truebsee(chf35) http://titlis.ch/en/titlis/titlis_in...ebsee_day_pass . I think the latter can be done in conjunction with the rail ticket, but not sure about Klostermatt, which is where you'd most likely go as a complete beginner.

Exactly.

Thanks Ace, I've just sent an e-mail to the Prime Ski School asking a few questions. If - like you say - we'd be on the lower slopes, thus only needing one of those other ski passes, then I would probably pass on the full Ski and Rail deal.

Will need to confirm with the OH - obviously

Pizol Snow and rail is 44CHF or something and is really good.

Have gone to Engelberg to the Ski school there (not Prime sadly as they were totally booked out this Saturday)

Will probably just get the Snow Rail deal, as it means me and the OH can - if nothing else - get right to the top after skiing, wander about a little bit and look at the view before heading back down.

Means a ball breakingly early train at 7.04 am from Zurich HB but the weather is meant to be perfect

Hmm. I have been skiing since my 6th, and have been taking lessons until after my 25th. My wife has been skiing for 4 seasons, and my 9y/o kids outski her. Anyway, here is my 0.02p.

Hire a private instructor for the both of you. My kids learned from a french ski instructor without knowing one word of french. Language is not important, you should not be talking anyway. Learning how to ski is done by example, and then try to reproduce it one step at a time.

"Variation" of skislopes is BS for beginners. You will not be able to enjoy the panorama nor the "variation" of the skislope until you know how to brake, how to turn, how to avoid colliding into each other, how to fall, and then how to get up again. It is all part of the learning curve, and it should be fun. If it is not fun, get another instructor. Once you know how to do all that and still enjoy yourself, only then start looking for "nicer" slopes and bigger ski areas.

Usually, absolute beginners would start with moving around on skis on a flat area. One ski, then two skis. Learn how to climb a small hill using your skis (and not take the lift). Learn how to get down that small hill while staying vertical. Learn the pizzapoint, and move on to parallel skiing after a few years. Only a very few areas teach parallel skiing from the start with relatively short (1.20m) skis, and progressively move to longer skis when skills improve. More expensive.

Anyway, all of that can be done in all ski areas. You will only know whether there is chemistry between you and the ski instructor after you have met him/her. As mentioned, just change instructors if he doesn't fullfill all your needs (there is a limit though). As long as you don't expect to ski down a red slope after 1 week you should be fine. After 5 days 2h/day instruction most people are able to navigate down a blue slope without too many falls.

I don't know either of Pizol/Sattel areas. Just pick the one where you can get the easiest/quickest. Or, if costs are an issue, where costs are the lowest. The advantage of a slightly larger area, like Sorenberg, Flumserberg, Brig, Engelberg, is that they have more ski instructors. Usually they are also slightly more expensive.

Make sure to get a good ski outfit, because if you are cold you will definitely not like it, however good the ski instructor.

Arriving at around 9-10am is not early. Most lifts open at 8:45am. Most courses would start at 10am, but hiring a private ski instructor would probably allow you to pick your hours yourself. Also, take into account that it may take quite some time to get from the railway station up to the slopes. Are you going to rent your skis? Do you still need to fit shoes? The first day, that may take an hour or two as well, depending on the popularity of the place.