Cervinia
Lessons
Overview
Whether it’s your first time skiing or you’re a snowboard pro everyone can and does benefit from taking lessons. Learning the right technique makes it less effort, you’ll get less tired, it reduces injury risk and you can conquer more of the mountain. Lessons don’t just have to be piste skiing / snowboarding either – how about a private off-piste lesson or learning to hit your first 360 in the park?
We always recommend taking some lessons on your holiday and to get the most benefit take them right at the start. An interesting rule of thumb we were once told by an instructor was that on average it takes people 3 days of skiing/snowboarding by themselves (without lessons) to get back to the same ability they were at the end of their last holiday. If you’re here for a week then that means you’re only progressing for the last 3 days of your holiday…
Lessons in Italy are also some of the best value in the Alps (especially noticeable compared to Austria, France & Switzerland). There are lots of different options available that we’ve detailed below so you’ll be sure to find something that works for your holiday.
Group Lessons
Group lessons (sometimes called ski school) are very popular and how the majority of people learn to ski or snowboard. As the name suggests you’ll be placed into a group of normally 8-12 people based on your ability and age (adults and children won’t be in the same group). This can be an amazing experience as skiing/snowboarding in a group is super fun and allows you to make friends & learn together. However, it can have some downsides as the speed of the group is based on the slowest person which can be frustrating if you’re progressing quicker OR if you are the slowest person and feel under pressure. Don’t worry too much though, as it’s normal for the instructors to change the groups around a bit after the first day or two to keep the ability fairly matched.
Another benefit of group lessons is the price when compared to private lessons. As each group usually has 8-12 people the cost per person is significantly reduced. Group lessons in Italy normally run in the morning (around 10am – 12.30pm) and can be booked for 3 or 5 days.
When it comes to group lessons the demand for snowboard group lessons is significantly less than for skiing. Unfortunately, this sometimes means that snowboarding group lessons don’t reach the minimum number of participants to run and the ski school might offer you the equivalent value of private lessons instead.
Private Lessons
Private lessons allow you the most flexibility and you will progress the quickest with one-to-one coaching from your instructor. Above we mentioned that on average it takes people 3 days of skiing / snowboarding on their own to get back to the same ability they were at the end of their last holiday. Well, a 2-hour private lesson at the start of your holiday will get you right back to that level and you’ve then got the rest of your holiday to keep improving and hone your skills.
There’s more with private lessons though – they haven’t just got to be piste lessons. YOU get to decide what you want the lesson to be – want to hit the park? How about properly understanding your weight distribution when off-piste? You could even get those massive euro carves finally locked down. Obviously, speak to the ski & snowboard school about what you want to focus on beforehand so they can pair you with the best instructor.
Unsurprisingly, private lessons are more expensive. Don’t let this put you off though as a 2-hour private lesson can cost around €100 outside of the peak weeks. You can get even better value for money if you’re a family or group of friends with a similar ability as you’ll normally just pay an extra €10/€15 per person to add on to the private lesson. It’s important to note though that if you’re different abilities this doesn’t work – although if you just want a guide for your family for the day and to focus on teaching your kids better technique then why not?
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