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  5 of 5, "Which Snowcamp?" 01/02/2011 @ 22:43 |
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| 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: |
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| Booked Through |
| BoardnLodge.com |
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| Times Visited |
| 2-5 Times |
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| Review Detail |
There seems to be an abundance of snow camps at the moment and having been on a few different snow camp weeks, I thought it’d be helpful for those deciding between them to share my thoughts…
Pro-Riders vs Professional Snowboard Instructors:
A lot of camps are coached by pro-riders, but there are a few run by professional snow schools. It will depend on what level you’re at as to which one you’ll get the most progression from – if you’ve only done a few weeks riding then the instructors will certainly deliver results in terms of riding technique and confidence building. But if you’re a confident rider on most terrain and want to move onto freestyle skills or off-piste then riding with the pros, in my experience, is far better.
A common misconception that you won’t get proper coaching from pro-riders is nonsense, out of all the camps I’ve been on I’ve learnt far more from them, and have been slightly pushed out of my comfort zone attempting windlip drops, steeps and Cab 180s. Most importantly, you are never forced to do anything you’re not comfortable with but the groups are always so supportive and encouraging, you find yourself attempting things you never thought you would.
Girls’ Camps vs Mixed Camps:
I’ve always been a bit reluctant to go on an all girls’ camp but went on one recently to put to rest my preconceived opinion. I think a lot of girls worry about being hindered by male bravado and feel that riding with lads can be intimidating. I’ve also heard suggestions that us girls learn differently – we do? Really!
I personally prefer riding with a mixed group and find that riding with boys pushes me to progress rather than squashing my confidence. Sadly, I returned from the girls’ camp feeling like I’d not progressed at all, and certainly didn’t learn anything new. Suffice to say, I’m not likely to go on one again. This is of course down to each individual and I’m sure a lot of ladies love the girlie vibe.
The camps I’m comparing are Our Camp, Just Snowboard Camp, both based in Morzine and Animal Snow Camps. One of the key things to check out before booking is how much tuition you’re going to receive - I wasn’t aware that the Just Snowboard Camp was 3hrs per day for only 5 of the 6 days and was very disappointed by this. The rest of your time is guided which is fine but not quite the week I was expecting. Whilst this is the norm for ski school bookings, you pay more for the privilege of a ‘proper instructor’ (£970) compared to 6 full days teaching with the pro-riders on other camps , Animal (£760) and Our Camps (£830). For me, this is a no-brainer! I should add here that whilst Animal have pro-riders (Johno Verity, Dom Harrington & Kate Foster), they also have Steve Addicott who is CASI/BASI qualified and coaches the British Junior Team, as does Sonia Shaw, who also runs Our Camp with Gilly Seagrave. Our Camp are very well organised and have a great pool of pros to ride with, even Jenny Jones if she’s not competing. I just wish they did more mixed weeks.
The thing which puts Animal Snow Camps in a league of their own is the numerous resorts they go to, they change these from year to year to keep things fresh and interesting. You can now head to Japan, which I’m definitely hoping to do one year. For this season, I’m heading back for my third trip with them in Italy this year and know for sure it’ll be an awesome week full of new snowmates, new tricks and great après/nights out.
If you’re a confident rider on all runs and want to start dabbling with freestyle and off piste, or perhaps you’re already into the park but want to progress onto harder tricks, 360s or front flips then for me, the Animal Snow Camps win hands down. |
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