Valloire, France
Being raised in sunny South Africa, snow and skiing is not a typical family holiday experience for us. However, somehow the first time we got the opportunity to ski we just loved it and have always wanted to share this with Amber. Amber was 1 year old when we took her on her first “ski trip” . Needless to say, she was not too fond of the cold and snow at the time. Fast forward two years, we attempted another ski holiday and this time it was a great success.
We love sharing this experience with our friends and this time was no different. We booked a big house in Valloire in the French Alps for 10 adults and 5 kids. We also invited our babysitter with us to be an extra pair of hands helping with the kids. We booked our flight to Lyon a few months ago and hired a car to do the rest of the drive. This was our first time in the French Alps and we were not entirely sure what to expect and to be honest this was also the first time that we struggled with the packing. Maybe it was because of all the bulky ski clothes or because it was for a week, but we researched all the travel hacks to help us out and managed to get everything in and even too much.
One of my favorite things to do when traveling in a group is to have a matching shirts to take a nice photo. When we all arrived at the airport we looked nice wearing the same and so the journey began. The kids always enjoy the excitement at the airport and cant wait to get onto the plane. Once we arrived in Lyon we had some difficulty with the car that we hired, as the website did not specify that the car would not have winter tires and therefore we had to do an upgrade costing us more but it was necessary as we were going to an area that we expected snow. The drive to Valloire was beautiful through the mountains and the mountain pass was an adrenaline ride on its own.
Once we arrived in the small little town we were blown away with how beautiful it was. It had a typical small town vibe and was nestled in between the mountains. Our accommodation was really nice, as it was big enough to accommodate us all and everyone settled in very quickly. We headed to the ski equipment rental immediately to make sure we were ready for the days ahead. It was so much fun fitting boots and ski’s with Amber for the first time. It seemed that she was truly excited.
Our first morning we woke up to the town and mountains filled with snow, as it snowed during the night. It was truly magical. We got dressed in our ski clothes and headed towards the kiddies ski school, here we enrolled the kids for ski lessons starting the next day and spent a couple of hours bum boarding down the slopes and having snowball fights. The afternoon while the kids took a much needed nap after all the fun in the snow, the dad’s went for the first run of skiing. The conditions were great and a lot of fun.
Our luck turned quickly as the next day was filled with rain, which meant skiing conditions were not ideal. We spent the day indoors with a lot of activities for the kids and the afternoon all the mom’s went for a nice walk in the town and a drink next to the ski slopes.
To add to the bad luck, Amber was super overwhelmed when we went to the ski school and ended up not partaking. We had to remind ourselves that she is only 3 years old and doing something out of her comfort zone requires more patience from us. The conditions were not ideal but it looked ok to try. On our way up the mountain myself and Robert got into a small ski lift accident and fell quite hard while the ski lift went over us. We were a bit rattled but no broken bones, so we got onto the lift and went up the mountain. Once we got to the top the conditions worsened very fast, as it was a bit of a snow storm (in our terms, not being professional weather readers) and the only way down was by skiing. As we started our descent, we realized that this was going to be our most challenging slope that we have ever attempted, as the one moment we struggled to keep upright in very deep fresh snow and the next moment it was only ice. The visibility also turned very bad and at one point we could not really see if it was a blue or black slope. Luckily our group of friends were wonderful and we all kept together going down very slowly. Eventually we made it down, a bit rattled and tired, but safe. After a good shower and dinner, our babysitter looked after the kids and the parents went out for a night on the small town. It was so much fun enjoying ourselves like we were still young.
Day 2 of attempting ski school went much better, the kids went indoors first as it was still raining and played in a classroom and after 1.5 hours they went outside on the small kiddies slope. The instructors asked us not to stand close by as it interrupts the kids and then they want to go home, so what did we do as parents, we hid behind trees and took videos and photos while in hiding. This was of course also a super proud moment for us and we could not believe that a 3 year old could stand on ski’s and even go down a small downhill. After the kids were settled at home we headed for the slopes again as we realized that we had to get past the fear of the previous day. Because it was already the afternoon, the slopes had turned into a lot of slush because of all the people going down, making the skiing a bit more difficult but not that bad and it was good to get over the fear.
We were fortunate to wake up to another beautiful day of snow. Day 3 of attempting ski school went great, the kids were excited to go. As parents we took this opportunity to hit the slopes again on the other side of the mountain. The conditions were ideal and we could really enjoy a couple of slopes before heading down the mountain again to pick up the kids. We decided to take the kids up the mountain as well, they really enjoyed the ride up in the gondola and we had lunch at the restaurant on the mountain, after which we played in the snow, had snow ball fights and just enjoyed being silly. The dad’s headed off for another ski session and we took the kids down and headed for our last time bum boarding and playing in the snow.
Our last night we headed out for some dinner. A nice italian restaurant across from our accommodation. It was a great ending to our week in the alps with our friends. We made so many memories and Amber could not wait to tell her friends at school about her ski school. We realize that we will never be excellent skiers, but we always enjoy the snow and the slopes and the entire aura that surrounds a ski getaway. We cannot wait to plan our next winter ski holiday.
