Arinsal Ski/Board school

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    • Arinsal Ski/Board school

      Hey all,
      I'm trying to do a bit of pre-emptive booking for our trip out on the 4th, hoping for a bit of help. I've seen the average of online board/ boot, and lift pass prices, but was unsure about the snowboard school. Is the 'school' all one organisation? or individual instructors with differing prices? And is it always cheaper to buy online? The package available here seems good....
      Ta,
      Chris :P

    • Hi Chris

      There is only one ski/board school in Arinsal and the prices are fixed by Vallnord, the company who manage the mountain and the services. The prices on Arinsal.co.uk are exactly the same as waiting until you get here except you can have your tickets delivered to your hotel rather than having to run around yourself as soon as you get here to get your spaces booked.

      Steve

    • SKi/Snowboard School

      Hi JR

      With regard to board boot hire etc. I've done the same research and booking through Arinsal.co.uk is coming out cheaper than other places I have checked (snowrental, travel agents etc). Also, ALL the instructors in Arinsal work for Vallnord (the ski-domain), to my knowledge, the exception (from experience) is if you go to resort as part of Her Majesty's Forces, in which case you would have military instructors...well, I did anyway ;) . I know that in some areas of Europe you can hire an independent instructor (which often works out more expensive anyway). If you want to spend a lot of time on your 'butt' 8| you could try and teach yourself....not something I would recommend tho ! Money spent on instruction is money well spent ! :thumbup:

      The ski/snowboard school in all the Vallnord sectors (Pal, Arinsal and Arcalis) are superb, with some of the best instructors in all of Europe. The prices quoted via this site are the same as those on the Vallnord site ?

      I take it your holiday starts on the 4th of January, where are you staying ? Are you coming as part of a large group that are all learning to snowboard or will you be learning alone ? Not that it matters really I guess, you will be assessed then put into groups according to ability. If you have some snowboarding experience, you will move up a group. By the end of the week you will be able to do linked turns and control your speed (probably within a few days if you carry on working on your technique at the end of snowboard school each day).

      By the way, your ski-pass will be valid for the whole region, and I would defo recommend you get across to Pal and Arcalis if you can. In fact, there is a lovely long green run from 'Les Portelles', the run is El Tunel and would be well within your capabilities after a few days instruction (have a look at the map under the 'Mountain' tab above). Have a look at the photo's too, for some great pics of the ski areas open to you.

      Enjoy your holiday, if you have any more Q's, post 'em up, and someone will be along to answer them.

      All the best

      Drew (aka 7tenths)

    • Must have been posting at the same time

      I think Steve and I were answering Chris' Q's at the same time lol. Hope you got the info you need, by the way the line above should read:

      The prices quoted via this site are the same as those on the Vallnord site ! (no question mark, the prices ARE the same, sorry for the mistake....oops :whistling:

    • Thanks for the great replys guys. Its a group of 4- i'm boarding, the rest are skiiers. One has intermediate experience- 4 or 5 times and the other 2 have skiied Whistler once. We're arriving on the sunday from Toulouse, and should be there for lunchtime. Which gives us time to collect our gear and get ready for the Monday morning lesson, i'm thinking.
      Should i be worried about getting the right lesson area booked? The difference between Pal and Arinsal? We're staying in Xalet Besoli if it makes any difference? I'm not sure about the form of the mountain, travel times etc. being completly new.
      Regarding Arcalis- I've read some of your earlier posts, and have to say i'm really excited about it! Will definately fit it in.
      Finally, quick tip about board hire- i'm reasonably fit and active and have surfed a good bit- is it worthwhile ponying up for the slightly better silver hire? Or wasted on a complete beginner?
      Many thanks again, and in advance,
      Chris. :P

    • If you're in the Xalet Besoli amd you're a beginner you'll want the school in Arinsal. If you opted for the school in Pal it's quite a trek away - you'd have to catch the bus to the the next town of La Massana (about 10 minutes on the bus) then catch the gondola up from there - I've never heard of anyone stay in Arinsal and go to Pal school! Plus, Arinsal school is all geared up for British & Irish tourists with loads of either native British or English speaking instructors whereas Pal caters more for Spanish and other nationalities.

      As for paying for the upgrade as a beginner ... if you pay for the upgrade you get a better standard of equipment which for a beginner the best part is probably that you will probably find the boots to be a bit comfier! As for the board if you pick boarding up quickly you should start to feel the benefit of a superior board. The choice is personal, and you've got to weigh up the price you can afford and the standard you want, however a standard board & boots in resort would be €111 for 6 days but you can pre-book superior board & boots for just €95.50!

    • Surfing and Snowboarding....

      Hi Chris

      Just my two-cents worth; there are things about your surfing experience that will stand you in good stead for snowboarding (balance, equilibrium, proprioception etc) and other things like board control which are slightly different. More font foot control in snowboarding. While you can 'skid' the board around with your back foot it's not a very good technique ;) You'll be be pretty good I imagine, from a balance point of view, which is what it's all about.

      I echo Steve's sentiments about the kit upgrade, comfy boots can make all the difference. If it were me, I'd prob go with the 'basic' package; if you then have probs with the boots, you can get them swapped over (for a nominal fee I imagine). Beginner boards are usually quite flexible, which will speed your progress as you will be less likely to catch an edge and wipe-out ;) They are more 'forgiving' in terms of when they 'dig-in' and flip you over 8|

      Enjoy and send any pics you have of your trip to Steve so that he can upload hem to the site.