Nursery slopes: When I decided to take my two-year-old daughter skiing, I envisaged sugar and spice and all things ice, but my daughter was having none of it..
Despite my love of skiing, it was put on the back burner after I had my daughter — more pressing matters took precedence, like helping her learn to walk and talk. I used to enjoy at least one ski trip annually, but accepted it was out of bounds until Romi, now two, was at least five or six.
Then I reconsidered. Who says I can’t go skiing with a toddler? There must be creches and toddler skiing lessons wherever we choose to go. Why not take advantage of off-peak rates and hit the Alps with Romi before she starts school?
My German family come from near the Alps and growing up I always wanted to be like my friends who had learnt to ski as kids. In Ireland I was bereft of such opportunities and only learnt to ski at 20 when I went on the first of my many trips. As I skidded down the mountainside on my face backwards, four-year-olds slalomed past me nonchalantly. I decided that Romi could be one of those kids.
I looked at numerous resorts across Europe. Priorities for our trip included finding accommodation no more than 400m from childcare facilities, shops and ski lifts, and a short transfer from the Alps to the airport. “Bambino skiing” — lessons for children over the age of two — would be a plus (most start at three or four). Given that winters are warmer now, I favoured higher-altitude locations above 3,000m so that things would not get too slushy. And mad partying with schnapps for breakfast wasn’t on my agenda this time around, so I avoided resorts with ample apres offerings.
Skiing with a toddler
Les Arcs/Peisey-Vallandry in the Savoie region of the French Alps seemed to meet all of our needs. The 3,320m- high resort — part of the huge Paradiski ski area — offered 200km of slopes, featuring a mixture of open and wooded runs, and 47 lifts.
We flew from Dublin to Lyon at 6.50am, which meant that after running around at the airport for a bit, Romi fell asleep as soon as we boarded the plane. I was armed with games and snacks to get her through the three-hour bus journey from Lyon to Les Arcs, but luckily she slept through that too. It had snowed heavily before we arrived and the weather was sunny every day, so the bus journey was glorious.
We arrived at our cosy accommodation — Chalet Blanchot in Plan Peisey — that afternoon. The chalet, which sleeps nine, boasts great views of La Plagne on the other side of the valley and is only 50m from a lift. With creche, ski school and shops just 400m away, it easily met our requirements.
We didn’t even have to visit the nearby ski hire shop, as skis were brought to the chalet. Romi’s little skis were the very smallest available and looked beyond cute. It’s just a pity she wasn’t as enthused as I was about actually putting them on.
The resort turned out to have a great collection of pistes — marked ski runs — rated from blue (easy) to red (intermediate) and black (expert), plus jumps and waterparks. There were only a few drag lifts, so it’s a great spot for snowboarders who tend to prefer chairlifts (it can be hard to get your legs around the T-bar seat while your feet are bound to a board). All lifts were modern, fast, and comfortable.
La Plagne is one cable car ride across the valley from Vallandry, but you don’t have to venture that far for excellent skiing. I stuck to Les Arcs for the week and criss-crossed from Plan Peisey to the purpose-built resorts of Arcs 1600, Arc 1800, Arc 2000 and Arc 1950 (the numbers refer to their altitudes).
Arc 1600 offers some great runs for mixed ability groups, while Mile 8, nestled in the heart of Arc 1800, has activities for all, from a freestyle park to a beginners area and an illuminated forest piste. Arc 1950 is a fun spot with lots of bars and you can ski through the town itself, which would be magical around Christmas time. Arc 2000 is the highest resort, home to the longest run — the 7km Aiguille Rouge. From its peak at 3,226m, you can ski uninterrupted all the way down to Villaroger at 1,200m. The 2,026 elevation difference will make your ears pop.
I particularly liked the slopes above Vallandry, on our side of the region. The blue-rated Renard piste was fun. The reds from various points on the ridge above 1,600 and 1,800 were lovely as you headed down into the wide and mainly gentle Arc 2000 bowl.
I did not do any black runs on this holiday, because they were ungroomed (groomed trails are those which have been flattened to provide a sink-free layer of packed snow) and it was too slushy when I got there, so not much fun on skis. I did enjoy the freshly manicured pistes in the morning, which were a little icy, but empty and crisp.
While I was sampling these slopes I checked Romi into a creche called Le Chat Botte, right beside the lift and ski school at Vallandry, about 400m from the chalet. I had booked the creche before we left and was required to give a small deposit of €27 and email a copy of Romi’s vaccination forms. I also had to let them know roughly what times I wanted Romi to come. The first day, I put her in for three hours from 2pm to 5pm and then other days from 8am to 2pm. She seemed to enjoy it: she was in great form when I picked her up each day. I paid around €125 for the week, but she wasn’t in full time.
I organised a lesson for her at the ESF ski school, right beside her creche. I booked early, so she would be in good spirits, but unfortunately she was having none of it.
Classes for toddlers take place on a groomed area with a conveyor belt for the kids. The instructor managed to get one ski onto her leg, but that was the extent of it. Romi was really bothered by the brightness of the sun and the snow, but not a fan of the overpriced glasses I bought her. The downside of toddlers is that they don’t know when they are on to a good thing.
Not wanting to give up, my chalet housemate, a ballet teacher, helped me get Romi into skies and she slid around outside the chalet a little bit. I didn’t want to push her, like some crazed soccer-mom, but at least I got some snaps of her in skiing gear. She may appreciate her early start when she’s older — if my mum showed me a photo of me in skis at the age of two, I would have been thrilled.
Because I had Romi with me, I wasn’t jumping off cliffs or out of helicopters, but if that is what you want to do, there’s loads of adventurous stuff on offer in Les Arcs. In addition to cross-country skiing, ice climbing, or staying in an igloo there is speed riding, which combines skiing with paragliding; “heli-skiing”, which is off-trail skiing that is accessed by a helicopter, as opposed to a ski lift; fat biking, which allows you to cycle in the snow; and ski joering, where skiers are pulled by a horse, dog or motor vehicle.
In terms of nightlife, it was pretty quiet, so don’t expect Val Thorens-style partying with DJs and shots. It’s fine if you are with a child, but being an outgoing sort, I could have done with more banter. That said, the food (the chalet had half board service) and perfect weather made up for it. I found a lovely restaurant about 100m from the chalet where Romi and I sat on the deck. There was a little snowpark out the front, with a sled for kids.
I was very happy I went skiing with Romi, despite the expected difficulties of travelling alone with a young child. Tantrums and strops were a challenge, and by the time I got her ready in the morning, walked her to the creche and dropped her off, only to walk up a steep hill in the glaring sunshine, get myself ready and then walk further up a hill to the lift, I questioned why the hell I bothered. It was a long slog.
But when I got to the top of the lift and hit the slopes, all was forgotten. It was totally worthwhile. If you have the mental capacity for it, go for it. We’ll be back next year.
THE BRIEF
Les Arcs and La Plagne(which along with Peisey-Vallandry is collectively known as Paradiski) opens from December 16 until April 28.
Slopes
Les Arcs has 200km in total: 104km easy; 70km intermediate; and 26km difficult. There are 425km of slopes in the combined resort of Paradiski.
Longest run: Aiguille Rouge (7km) at Arcs 2000. From the peak of Aiguille Rouge at 3,226m, you can ski all the way down to Villaroger in the valley at 1,200m.
Steepest slope: Lanches, Crêtes and Dou de l’Homme (2km). These three black runs beneath the Varet gondola at Bourg-Saint-Maurice are suitable for experienced skiers as they are steep, unprepared and bumpy.
Night skiing: Offered at Arcs 1600/Combettes, Les Arcs/Chantel and Arcs 1800/Marmottes.
Lessons
ESF ski school offers lessons to toddlers in a secure snow garden through games. From the age of five they can try out a real piste under staff supervision (€169 for six days; peiseyvallandry-skischool.co.uk).
Getting there
Fly from Dublin to Geneva with Swiss Air (from €85 return) or to Lyon with Aer Lingus (from €80 return). Topflight has family fly-ski packages to Les Arcs and La Plagne. A week’s self-catering at Les Chalets des Arolles in La Plagne costs from €462 per person, based on two adults and two children, including flights (topflight.ie).
This article appeared in the Sunday Times on November 19 2017
