Instructors are a cosmopolitan lot, and multilingual – especially the locals who all grew up speaking Ladin, Italian and German as a matter of course. Most seem to be able to speak English easily too – like Welove2ski’s recent guide in the Val Gardena, Oswald Runggaldier (pictured above, at the top of Val Gardena’s famous World Cup course, the Saslong.
Prices for group lessons are very similar to those in Austria and France (because of the strength of the Swiss Franc, Switzerland is more expensive). But in common with most Italian schools, the rates for private lessons are significantly cheaper. In 2012, two hours’ private instruction for two people cost €100, compared with €165 with a British ski school in an A-list French resort.
Good facilities for children
The blue-riband experience for kids in Selva Gardena is with British family-ski specialists Esprit. It offers exclusive ski school classes for the children of its guests, with smaller class sizes they you get if you book direct with the local ski school. So your child won’t be lost in a multilingual babble. The company’s chalets aren’t as close to the nursery slopes as some of the hotels but the company’s reps either walk the children over or take them in a minibus, depending on the location.
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