+1 for solutions for feet, Colin is a really nice guy, super helpful and knows his stuff.

I had my boots fitted there and he he measured my OH but didn’t have the stock so we ordered them on his recommendation and she had them fitted at Rivington Alpine who were also fantastic. Couldn’t recommend either of them highly enough.

You can often get some good bargains at the outlet villages too if you look around and keep popping back.

As has been said above don’t skimp on the boots, you can pick up skis pretty cheaply secondhand if you know what you’re after or last years ski over the summer.

I find that I can get away with two full sets of thermals and 3/4 pairs of socks as long as they are merino so they don’t go stinky.

Also as mentioned above most of the generic outdoor gear that you already have (cycling/hiking/sailing…) will work just fine in the mountains so you might not need to go too crazy with new kit.

Good luck, have a great season. I’m starting to get excited about snow again too!

As has been said above don’t skimp on the boots, you can pick up skis pretty cheaply secondhand if you know what you’re after or last years ski over the summer.

Get friendly with the chaps in the ski shop where your guests are hiring their skis. They should be willing to help out a little, I’d have thought! One nice idea is to look at buying a set of last year’s rental skis from them. But, if you do this, don’t go for the entry level beginner skis, they’ll have been trashed! Try something a little pimpy that wouldn’t have been hired as often, and even then not by anyone likely to have mullered them!

I find the more expensive the gloves, the better.
So do you buy all your gloves in resort then?

No I don’t buy them in resort. Instead of going through every type, make, material etc of glove I thought I would give straight forward, no waffle advice. In my opinion and experience out of the 4 or 5 pairs I’ve owned, the more expensive they have been, the warmer and more durable there are. I’m sure there is good cheap pairs out therelike you have, I’ve just not found any that I like.

Sorry if this sounds like a rant. Just woken up.

all this talk of getting the best boots, or not scrimping on boots is worrying me a bit. Get the best fitting boots with the appropriate levels of flex. Often, the higher priced boots are aimed at the top level skier and are stiffer than intermediate models. I’ve seen too many “all the clobber, what a nobber” types actually hinder their progression by skiing in boots or planks that are too stiff.
I would actually buy in resort if you’re staying there all season. I did; I went back twice to get them adjusted when my feet developed issues and he sorted me out for free. Plus sorting any warranty issues in the UK from St A would be harder.

all this talk of getting the best boots, or not scrimping on boots is worrying me a bit. Get the best fitting boots with the appropriate levels of flex

Why worry? All we’ve done is point him towards bootfitter(s) who will deliver just that. The right boot for the job.

It’s never too early to talk about snow!

I see you’re in Cheltenham – pop in to Horace Bartons (road behind Cav House, formal wear but the ski bit is downstairs) for a chat and try some gear on. I’ve not been in for years but Giles Barton used to race on the British team and the family are strong skiers and should offer good advice. Handy and local for a first look…
http://www.horacebarton.co.uk/winter-sports/

Save where you can but good boots, gloves and goggles are essential for comfort and performance.

As above, if you’re going to be in resort – and there from November – I’d consider buying in resort. My best experiences have been boots fitted by a good fitter in resort. Any decent shop will offer a fit guarantee and help fine tune the fit to ensure comfort in with the price – and the fitter is directly on hand throughout the season to work on any problems. If you buy in the UK, you would have to pay for this service in resort.

If you’ve only done 3 days skiing, perhaps hire boots for a couple of weeks while you progress into a solid intermediate boot rather than buy a beginner boot and need to upgrade, or get something too stiff now that will cramp your development.

Most tour operators include kit hire in the deal so you can try all sorts of brands out (all have different fits) and get in with the local shops (take lots of clients in!), weed out good from bad and when you are ready they’ll sort you out at seasonaire rates.

mmmm snow!!!

I think all the advice so far has been excellent. I certainly echo the advice of others, to use a good recommended bootfitters. I used Lockwoods, but would probably look elsewhere next time. They did a good job, don’t get me wrong … but I think it could have been better.

Again, TKMaxx have some excellent bargains around the start of the season, selling off last years stock. I got some fantastic bargains.

Remember the ski world is the same as the bike world … all designs change annually, and there are snobs who only want the newest latest kit.

I had four pairs of twin-tip ski’s ranging in price and function. None of them were latest model, and I had just as much fun on the mountain as some dude in his brand new ski’s and top of the range spyder gear!

I spent Xmas one year in Courchevel 1850 … which ordinarily is not cheap, but when you see the Russian millionaires wandering around in their Dior ski suits that never get anywhere near a piste, then you realise that it’s just to be seen, and not to enjoy the fun that the mountain can offer.

Enjoy your time away!

The TKmax near me quite regularly has westbeach jackets for about £50. They also stock the Nike “acg” ski gear, which (contrary to what you might assume) is actually very good.

As others have said – boots and gloves are the things to spend some cash on. Although with boots I would advocate doing a blind test. ie: don’t look at the prices, choose the 1st 2nd and 3rd most comfortable, THEN factor in cost. I did that, and ended up with the second cheapest boots in the store 😀

Interesting fact – while most purpose built French ski towns are names after their elevation (Les Arcs 1800, Les Arc 2000 etc), Courcheval 1850 is named after the Russian women.

They look 18 from behind, 50 from the front.

Badoom tisshhh!

I’ve seen too many “all the clobber, what a nobber” types

Lol.

If you’re going out for a season, then you can afford to stay indoors on really bad weather days (or what we recreational skiers call really good days = heavy blizzard/high winds etc), so amybe all this high end gear isn’t needed.

If you can afford it, get into ski school and get some good tuition for a few days, It’s the same as any sport really, iron out any bad habits before they set in.

Have fun. that’s what it’s all about at your age 🙂

All the advice so far has been superb – thank you all.
I know everyone has a prejudice against all the gear no idea types.

As I’ve said I’ve been skiing for one week and obviously still a beginner but as I am out there for 5 months I would rather spend £200 or so on some decent boots, then buy gloves/goggles to suit as well. I’m working full time at the minute so can afford these comforts and would much rather spend my money on something which will get a lot of use.

I’ll talk to solutionsforfeet and go on their advice re:boots, if the best solution is to use hire boots for a couple of weeks then use bought boots which are stiffer then I’ll go with that, I’m just looking to add some comfort and something that’s going to help rather than hinder ability.

Thanks all very much, this is a steep learning curve at the minute! Popped into horracebartons today – they don’t stock ski boots until October.