Client Reviews
Hear from happy customers about their experience skiing with us.
Bastien taught my two daughters 13 and 17 and myself. All of us thought Bastien truly deserved a 5 star rating. One of my daughters and myself both suffered with a lack of confidence as beginners and Bastien gave us skills and confidence to improve greatly. He as an excellent ability to pitch the lessons at just the right level. When we met with friends for a drink we were surprised to pick up that we’d learnt techniques that they were working on too but after many more lessons than us. THANK YOU BASTIEN!!!
This is the third season we have booked Bastien to teach our children to ski and I cannot speak highly enough of the experience. The group (aged 7, 9 and 12) were of slightly different abilities but close enough to ski together and Bastien managed the situation perfectly. This is a much more personal service than you get from the big ski schools. All of the children progressed hugely and most importantly had a smile on their face after every day. Excellent.
Whether you are an absolute beginner or an accomplished skier, Bastien is the ski instructor for you. In the space of two days, Bastien took my son out for a day of off-piste skiing which according to Owen was the best day skiing ever and he started skiing at the age of 3. Bastien also taught Hannah who had never skied before to go down green and blue slopes with confidence and a lovely technique.
I highly recommend Bastien and Ski Excel whether you want to learn to ski from scratch or whether you want to go and explore what lays beyond the piste.
Notre petit dernier vient de passer la semaine avec Bastien lequel a su le faire évoluer et lui donner confiance en lui sur tout type de neige, lui accorder des temps de pause avec chocolat chaud au rendez-vous ! Calme, patient et sympathique… vivement l’année prochaine avec pourquoi pas des leçons en famille pour aller plus loin ensemble
I had a great week with Bastien! Learned a lot and enjoyed every minute of it! Definitely want to do it again!
Our children had a great week with Bastien. He is a great instructor, speaks really good English and knows where to get the best hot chocolate drinks for the children during a break. After a short assessment in the level of skiing of the children he took them both down the pistes. He can combine different levels in skiing in one lesson. He combines instructing the techniques on the slopes with fun of powder and off-piste skiing. At the end of the week we joined our children and had a fun afternoon skiing down through the woods. Thanks very much Bastien.
Un super prof avec d’excellent conseils tout au long du cours. Une après midi hors piste super complète! Merci
6 etoiles meme Magnifique experience avec Bastien pour ma femme turque super debutante. On recommande 1000 fois.
Bastien was an amazing instructor. He got me from a nervous wreck to doing greens and some blues with parallel within a few days, brilliant. Now time to practice!
Bastien taught my daughter Evie with her 2 friends Johnnie and Ben this Easter holidays. All 3 kids improved so much and had great fun with Bastien. He is kind, calm and very patient, and all their technique improved hugely with just 5 mornings. All 3 said he was the best ski teacher they have ever had, and looked forward to their lesson each morning. Thank you so much Bastien – see you next year!
We’ve just had another wonderful week with Bastien but it was my one on one lesson on Thursday that will long live in my memory; my first experience of both powder and off-piste skiing. By the end of the day l was absolutely exhausted and never so glad to see the chalet – possibly one of the best days skiing I’ve ever had! Thank you so much. Nick
Bastien is an excellent ski instructor. He guided my 3 young boys 10-12years of age in a very fun and exciting way while teaching them carving and slalom techniques. His English is perfect. Definately one 1 I recommend for anyone who’s interested in developing technique combined with some fun.
An amazing instructor, took both of us complete newbies and trained us up over 3 days. We had an amazing time and definitely feel much more confident and comfortable on the slopes. Would not have managed it without him!
Fantastic Instructor!. I spent a long time trying to find an instructor for my first visit to the 3 Vallées and I finally managed to find Bastien. He was very much accommodating from the off both in terms of availability and understanding of your current ability level. In terms of the lessons, there were a perfect mix of technique and fun with the level of progression outstanding from such a short space of time! His ski knowledge is impeccable and always knows how to find the solution for you. Would absolutely recommend to all ski ability types and very much to a beginner like myself. An all round great guy who always has an insightful story for the ski lifts rides to the top.
Bastien – thank you for an excellent week. Ally and Matty really enjoyed it and both feel like they have become better skiers. Ally loved going off piste yesterday!
Bastien, from ski excel, has a great way to teach kids and to motivate them to allways improve their ski Technique. I was with my 12 years old son in Meribel this year and his ski improvement, thanks to Bastien, was great. I strongly recomend ski excel.
Had an absolutely amazing week with Bastien – incredibly diligent, fun and a great instructor
I definitely recommend Bastien as a ski instructor. I did a 1/2 week of lessons with him. I am a very nervous skier and Bastien understood when to have patience, when to push me a bit, what skills I needed to work on and he was also good company on the slopes. It was easily my best skiing week in a few years all thanks to Bastien.
For the last two seasons Bastien has taught our 2 children and they have improved and learnt so much . This year he has taught our 8 year old daughter on a one to one basis for four days which has now made her the best skier in our family. He made the lessons fun filled whilst improving her all round skiing, taking her off piste, down her first black run and through numerous fun parks. We also tagged along a couple of times and managed to improve our techniques also. I woukd definately recommend Bastien as an instructor as he is extremely patient, knowledgeable and makes lessons fun for everyone of all ages.
5 stars
For the second year running we used Bastien for my boys (age 8 and 11 now). We alternated the sessions so that they had 1-1s because their levels are so far apart. I was blown away by their improvement. Not only is he an expert skier but he manages to get the balance right between fun and technique. The boys love him and have requested him again for future ski holidays. Last year we were based in La Tania. This year in Tignes.
Bastien is an amazing coach! Jolie learned so much in a week and has brought new skills and knowledge back to the UK and is applying them during the 2016 Dry Slope season.
Bastien is a star – four children aged 8 – 14, all beginners, all progressing at a fantastic rate and most importantly having fun. Bastien was helpful and always professional both in communication prior to the holiday and in tuition during the holiday. Totally recommended. Pip Guilding
Bastien’s attitude to safety and local knowledge of the 3 Valleys made this the best guiding experience I have ever had. He also managed to take many great photos which allowed us to remember the places we skied over the two days. Thanks Scottie
We have just spent 3 days with Bastien skiing from La Tania around the Three Valleys area. I was lucky enough to have his sole attention each morning and after nearly 20 years of skiing holidays, he produced my best ever skiing (on my longest skis ever) after the first morning. He engenders confidence by talking to you all the time whilst skiing, continually correcting small things so that I can now coach myself down tricky slopes. I did my first two blacks in his tracks, not watching the gradient and felt very safe. In the afternoons, he took my sons age 9 and 12 and did lots of crazy stuff, fast skiing, through trees, airbags and dropped them back to the chalet at 5.30, completely pasted but grinning. He cleverly interspersed the fun stuff with lessons on technique and both of them improved in ability and confidence. We booked randomly at the last minute and struck gold. So much so, that in future I would consider booking him before my holiday! Not sure why I’m telling everyone actually…. Thank you Bastien.
Bastien is the best mountain guide we have ever hired. We spent 2 days with Bastien skiing off-piste throughout Meribel and Courchevel valleys. He is very knowledgeable, safe and managed to find us untracked routes. Thanks for a great trip and we will be back again.
Many thanks for everything.
Enjoy the rest of the ski season.
I would really like to say a massive thank you for teaching Mason and Bailey to ski. They absolutely loved skiing – much more than they thought they would and they cannot wait to come back for another holiday. Your lessons were such great fun and they made so much progress in the 5 days they spent in La Tania. I would never have believed they would be coming down red runs by the end of our holiday!!
I hope to come back to the resort in time and we will be sure to book you for some refresher lessons.
Many thanks for everything.
Enjoy the rest of the ski season.
What a brilliant 3 days we have just spent with Bastien! Fabulous tuition, fabulous conditions, fabulous fun and much laughter! It’s my 4th time with Bastien and Roy’s 1st and we wouldn’t use anyone else! Thank you Bastien and see you in April!! Love from us both
My first time skiing and Bastien had me skiing like a pro at the end of two days!! Well not really but very safely and doing Blue and Green descents. I had a fabulous time thanks to him and he is a superb teacher, very clear and never getting exasperated with me. We’ll definitely have him again next time we are here probably in April. I’d recommend him, 5 star gold plated.
Thank you Bastien for teaching Joe touring and helping him get ready for the Haute Route. He had a great time and learnt a lot! Am very grateful to you. See you next year I hope.
Hi Bastien,
I hope you are well. Thanks for these photographs – they are excellent! I did not get a chance to say cheers to you at the end of our holiday so I thought I would drop you a quick email. I really think you did an outstanding job with all the kids during your lessons. By the end of the trip they were skiing really well and more importantly they were loving it!
Thanks again and keep well.
Regards
Dear Bastien,
We cannot thank you enough for the ski lessons for our total novice family of 2 Adults (Yulia and Neil) 2 Children (Sasha and Adam) aged 8 and 5.
They all progressed much further than we thought was possible.
The way you coped with different ages was brilliant, getting the best out of them with much patience, calm and diligence. We appreciated the way in which you passed on your knowledge in such a professional yet friendly manner. They all thoroughly enjoyed the lessons hence their rapid advancement.
We would definitely use your excellent services on our next visit to the Three Valley’s and highly recommend you to all levels of skiers requiring lessons.
Thank you so very much.
We hope you have a great New Year and Ski season?
An unforgettable week with Bastien in Courchevel. We managed to get from zero to parallel skiing within 5 days of lessons. Many thanks for everything and we will definitely come back again to learn couple of more tricks from Bastien. He is absolutely brilliant!!!
Bonjour Bastien,
Many thanks for a great week once again. The boys were missing skiing as soon as they arrived at Geneva airport on our way to Dubai !!
Thanks again
KINDEST REGARDS
A great week with Bastien in Meribel. Children came on leaps and bounds and even Sandy could do the boxes by the end of the week! Thank you Bastien, we’ll be back!
After just a week of lessons with Bastien, Jake can ski blues and wants to be an instructor! Great work. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for the great week’s coaching for the kids. Bastien, you have the patience of a saint! The kids are hooked!
Thanks to Bastien Tognotti at Ski Excel for making Rishi’s lessons so memorable for him.
Hi Bastien,
Thanks again for such an amazing week with the kids, some photos here. Video to follow !
Dear Bastien,
Wow, what an amazing week we had with you! Myself, Molly & Ru were stepping into the unknown headfirst and to be honest this was quite scary. As M&R said recently, you were more than an instructor! You motivated us when things got tough and were very adept at keeping us improving as a group. We always felt safe and secure with you leading in front of us, enabling us to push ourselves and really get the most from the whole experience. We weren’t expecting all the fun stuff off piste; the family park, bumps, woodpark and racing!! We are looking forward to our next adventure with you!
Dear Bastien,
Thank you once again for some great lessons last week. Henry, Anna and Ollie all progressed so much and we all had a great day out across the 3 valleys! Andrew also loved The Grand Couloir!
Many Thanks,
Thanks for four great mornings & the weather was lovely. The kids really enjoyed themselves & can’t believe how well they all came on and they can’t wait for next year.
Hi Bastien,
We really enjoyed the lesson we had and found it really useful for the rest of the week. I’m sure we’ll be back in La Tania at some point and I’ll make sure I give you a call! Thanks again.
Bastien expertly improved the skiing and technique of all four children with varying ages and abilities over the course of a week. Impressive! We would definitely recommend and use again when we visit the 3 Valleys.
Dear Bastien,
Thank you for the photo of Owen and your kind words. Yet again, Owen absolutely loved skiing with you, you have taught him so much but more than anything you are a truly great guy. Owen can’t wait to ski with you again as far as he is concerned you are the greatest ski instructor in the world let alone Courchevel.
Hi Bastien,
I hope you are well.
Many thanks again for the ski lessons last week. All 4 children improved hugely over the week in particular Georgie and Rhys. You did a fantastic job managing the 4 different levels and ages of skiers. They very much enjoyed the lessons and the time with you. Jess and Georgie are now well set up for their school ski trip in February.
Many thanks
Bastien, look at the snow! I’am so happy for you and the businesses of la tania. We’re happy though, we had some great skiing because of you. Have a good new year, see you next Christmas week!
Thanks Bastien for another fantastic day together. As ever, making the most of the conditions and finding some wonderful routes. Looking forward to the next one!
They loved skiing with you and going down the tree tracks in La Tania! Also enjoyed the long ski run back home! Noe said it was his best day:).
We’ll be in touch if we come back to the 3 Vallées next year.
Dear Bastien,
Thank you so much for teaching Ollie and Anna last week! Their skiing progressed hugely and for the first time Ollie really enjoyed skiing!
We have already booked a chalet for half term 2015 – have you started taking bookings for next season yet?
Many thanks,
Dear Bastien,
Sorry I didn’t see you yesterday. Thanks for the lessons, a great experience for all. Next time we are back in the 3 valleys we will be in touch.
Best wishes,
Dear Bastien
Thank you very much for the video clips, they are great.
Owen had a great holiday, thoroughly enjoying his skiing with you.
We will certainly be back next year and Owen will be asking for Bastien!
Have a great year and take good care of yourself.
Hi Bastien,
thanks for a wonderful week with our three kids !
They have progressed hugely and enjoyed it a lot.
They are already talking about next year with you so count us in for Chinese New Year 2015 !
Regards,
Thank you Bastien for some really enjoyable few days – great instruction and good fun.
Looking forward to some off piste and more carving next year (or this year if I can persuade Tom!).
Ski Excel has always been brilliant with my boys. Bastien is excellent! He’s knows what kids and parents want.
He’s crazy enough to keep my boys interested and excited when skiing, but on the other hand, he’s sensible enough to reassure me and their mother that the boys are well looked after by him on the slopes (on and off piste)! He’s the perfect instructor for them!
Thank you Bastien, for your excellent instruction. Thanks to you I have been able to progress my skiing to a level I never previously thought possible.
You are, by far, the best instructor we have ever had. I always come skiing to the 3 Valleys because no other instructor will do. You are simply THE BEST!
Hi Bastien!
Hope you are doing well. I had an awesome day skiing!
I made a short movie here
http://www.magisto.com/video/Nl1AIwhQFzcgXEVnCzE
So im in Val Thorens from 24th February, do you have any days available?
If my friends are interested then I will come with them, otherwise it may just be myself.
Many Thanks & Regards
Hi Bastien.
Can’t thank you enough for the wonderful week my two had under your instruction. You were so supportive and kind that they really thrived. I was particularly impressed with the way you encouraged Sarah as she has often struggled with her confidence in the past and she really managed to stretch herself.
Both children have only good things to say about their time with you and we are looking forward to enjoying family time on the Slopes together. When we come back to the three valleys we will definitely be in touch again.
Kind regards
Hi Bastien,
Thanks so much for sending the photos, they are lovely, especially the ones with them waving their poles in the air!
The girls had a really fantastic time and enjoyed it even more this year.
We have already booked our apartment for the same week next year- do you think you’d be able to teach us again? Mon 29th to Friday 2nd Jan perhaps? I know it’s a very long time away though so do get in touch a bit nearer the time and we’d be happy to pay the deposit if you can fit us in.
Enjoy the rest of the season!
Hi Bastien,
Thanks again for tutoring Harriet, Tom & Lucy.
We are all so proud of what they have achieved this year. Harriet skied for 13 miles on the Friday covering lots of Reds, Blues and a Black run!
Will be in touch if we are returning to Meribel next Christmas!
Once again many thanks
Dear Bastien,
Thank you for your e-mails and photos. We hope that you have had a good Christmas and are now enjoying some great snow.
We really enjoyed our week with you. Your enthusiasm is contagious, your energy boundless and it’s great fun skiing with you! There are many teachers who can ski very well, but it’s very special to find someone like you, who can ski and teach and make it all fun at the same time.
We all had a great time – and I have no doubt that we’ll be back to La Tania next time to ski with you!
With best wishes
PS Tom says he’ll see you next year for the Grand Couloir!
Dear Bastien,
Sorry it has taken me so long to write to you. I hope that you are well and have had a good season – we often check the weather in the 3 valleys and I think you have had lots of snow! Thank you for the many lovely photos – they are great! We all really loved seeing them.
I have been meaning to write because we wanted to give you a huge THANK YOU and to let you know how much we enjoyed skiing with you in December. You were wonderfully patient with the children and – an even bigger challenge! – with us grown ups too. We all felt that we had improved lots during the week we spent with you and can’t wait until we have a chance to ski with you again. We look forward to next year! Although I am sure you have lots of dedicated fans already, please don’t hesitate to use us if you need a reference of any kind.
We hope you have a busy time now the school holidays are here again and are very jealous of all those people who are spending their holidays skiing! With best wishes
Hi Bastien
Just to say thank you for the photographs that you sent, I have sent these on to everyone. The group were very complimentary about you and the instruction they received from you. The group and I will certainly recommend you to anyone we know of coming out to La Tania in the future. I hope the rest of the season is still going well for you.
With thanks.
Regards
Dear Bastien,
Thanks so much for emailing us the photos, they are lovely. We had a fantastic time in La Tania and you really made it for us. Lily and Pearl can’t wait to come back next year and have some more lessons with you!
Thanks again and take care,
Dear Bastien
Yes, I have received your email and look forward to seeing the photographs!
I had a wonderful experience. Thank you very much. Hopefully we will come back to Courchevel next season and we can carry on!
Best regards
Hi Everybody
My photos of the trip are here
I had a really good time. Fun people, great skiing, tremendous exercise, good food, interesting political debate :-).
All the best Ben
Hi Bastien,
I’m back in Berlin and just had the chance to load up the pictures and reflect on the trip. You are an excellent teacher and guide and we all had a terrific time. Thanks again. I put the pictures that I took with my phone on this website in case you want to download any of them.
https://picasaweb.google.com/elizabethjfish/Courchevel2012
Please let me know when you might have the chance to upload or send the videos… I’d love to show my family some of the skiing!
All the best,
Hi Bastien,
I hope you are enjoying the new snow this week, looks like conditions have got much better again. Shame to have missed out on some new powder! – thanks again for all your hard work last week, we really had a great time. I’ll be in touch soon to confirm our plans for next season but please keep the week beginning 6th Jan free for the moment.
Best regards,
Hi Bastien and Mike
I have to thank you for your patience and real expertise over the 2 sessions. I am pleased you helped me overcome my ski fears and now feel like I am progressing a bit every day. I had a very valuable experience and would highly recommend anyone that needs that extra push to ski with you!
Many thanks
It has been lovely seeing you again and I have adored skiing with you. I have learnt so much and had so much fun!
Speak soon
Dear Bastien
A big thank you for looking after our motley crew in the February half term, as last year you calmness and patients really helped the children and it goes without saying your ability to teach them how to ski is excellent.
Harriet & Lucy have come away from Meribel this year with so much more confidents and by the end of the week they skied with the adults quite happily. Ryan truly enjoyed it and Tom is ready to have another go in December!
We are coming back for more on 29th December 2012 so I will be needing your services again!
Have a good end to the season and thank you once again.
Take care and we will speak later in the year.
Best wishes
Hi Bastien
Thanks for two great afternoons last week. Really good to do some new routes. Loved the route down to Jairaz.
Many thanks for a great holiday last week Bastien. You are the best instructor we’ve had in all our years of skiing.
I have just spent 2 fantastic weeks with Le Ski staying in Chalet MarMau. The staff and food were fantastic.
While there my family and I had private instruction from Bastien Tognotti whose company is called Ski Excel. We have used him before and I cannot speak highly enough of him. Before long he had my 6 and 9 year old grandsons, their parents and I skiing the bumps very fast and performing 360 degree turns, an amazing feat. He also took me down the Grand Couloir which was an ambition of mine to do it before I got too old (I am 59).
If you think you no longer need instruction, think again, give Bastien a try, I am sure he will have you skiing to a level you never thought possible.
Hi Bastien, Mike and Greg,
Sorry about this belated email but I thought I would drop you a line to say thank you to Greg for the ski lessons he gave my niece and nephew on 18th and 20th December in La Tania.
Both Matthew and Emily really enjoyed the lessons and were so excited about going in the lifts near the top of the mountain with Greg. We think their skiing has come on for only their second week helped by the pre xmas weather, snow levels and Greg’s help of course.
Good luck to Ski Excel this season and hope to see you soon, we will of course recommend your school to others and hope to have some lessons ourselves next year if we come back to the 3 Vallees.
Best Wishes and Regards
Hi Bastien,
Just texting to say what a fantastic time Olivia and Toby had last week and we are amazed at how much they improved from day to day. You made the holiday very special for them.
Thank you very much,
Kind Regards,
Hi Bastien
I trust you are well
I just wanted to thank you for helping my two eldest boys. They are really pleased they had lessons with you, and are looking forward to next year’s lessons already.
Many thanks
See you next year and thanks
Dear Bastien,
I wanted to write to thank you for an excellent day of off piste skiing lessons.
I had a fantastic time learning to ski through the trees and I learnt a huge amount despite the weather being so bad.
I feel that my technique is much better now and would feel a lot more confident skiing off piste.
It was great to meet you and I hope that you have a busy and successful season.
I will definitely be in touch in December and maybe we can do some more off piste!
p.s. please could you send me the photos and videos you took as I would really like to show my family and friends!
Many Thanks & Regards
Dear Bastien,
I’d like to thank you for your kindness in taking care of our two ski crazy children last week. You turned them from nervous beginners into such confident snow lovers in one short week.
Thank you,
Dear Bastien,
The wisdom in returning to La Tania once more was totally justified by the fantastic time that the family had in your care. We just loved your willingness to take us to those places that we would never have found on our own.
With best wishes,
Dear Bastien,
Les Trois Vallees has always been on my list of favourite places to ski. Now we have discovered SkiExcel, we will be back.
Felicitations,
Dear Bastien,
We had a fabulous week and will be back for more next year, may we book you for 6 days the week of 3rd April 2011? Hope you had a good final few weeks to the season, maybe you are enjoying the snow still with the freedom to go where you choose!?
Kind regards
Bastien
A quick note to say a big thank you for the top skiing lessons. To go from struggling to snow plough to shooting down red runs and enjoying a whole lot of fun off-piste stuff to the side of the slopes after 2 morning’s lessons is down to your great teaching. Both Jo and I really enjoyed the lessons and Ollie hasn’t stopped talking about you and the skiing lesson, it’s a shame he ran out of energy 1/2 way through! We’ll definitely look to book some more time with you next season when we’re back in the 3 Valleys.
Ski fast and take chances
Hello – How are you?
I wanted to say thanks for a fun day skiing on Thursday. Maybe catch up later in the season. Take care and keep in touch.
Dear Bastien,
We safely arrived home.
Callum will be in Wolverhampton today and Geert in Utrecht (Netherlands).
We want to express our appreciation for your teaching skiing to Callum and taking so good care of him during our stay last week in Meribel. He has made quite some progress.
With kind regards and looking forward to see you another year,
Hi Bastien
Good to hear from you. I have been meaning to drop you an email to say thank you for giving us a lovely week over New Year. We all had a great time and are looking forward to March now!
Hope all is well and you are getting plenty of snow-and some sunshine!
Kind regards
Hi bastien,
its paul here, i almost forgot to send you this pic from niamh and ethansski week.
They both thoroughly enjoyed their week and were very sad to go home hope things pick up for you for the rest of the season
all the best
Hi Bastien,
Jack had a fantastic week with you. He says he learnt new skills and had great fun. It sounds like it was a great success.
Thank you for organising everything and putting so much thought and energy into such a great experience.
All the best,
Hello Bastien,
Just a short note to thank you for the ski camp last week. The kids had a fantastic time, not just ski-ing but also with all the afternoon activities that you organised so enthusiastically. A real success!
Best regards,
Dear Patsy,
We all had a really great time and despite not being regular skiers I did find myself online when I got back checking out prices for next year. I was even reading my ‘how to ski’ book on the bank holiday today. We had great fun putting the video clips together to a backing track of ‘walking in a winter wonderland’ and the theme from ‘Ski Sunday’ – just need to pick up the pace and keep the bum tucked in a bit more!
We really did appreciate all your efforts with Bea and Max and Jonathan. You did very well to bring them on and keep them together despite their different abilities. It was great to see them taking it all in their stride and coping with the snowfall on the Thursday.
Hope all well with you and hope we do get the chance for us all to have lessons next time. Best wishes and thanks again
Bastien,
Thank you for a fabulous day skiing yesterday. I had a great day and as always learnt so much!
Thank you also for your help regarding the skis. I definitely could not have found a pair for Richard without you.
We are skiing together today and will probably go for a drink later, so if you want to join us after skiing and catch up with the others, you are welcome to join us. No problem either way – just give us a shout later of you would like to and I can confirm where we will be.
Have a great day and thanks again,
Hi,
Just want to say thank you for a fantastic day of tuition with Bastien on the 8th of March 2009. He made the day so much fun and is an excellent teacher. I will recommend him to all my friends. Bastien is great with all ages and abilities from children to people like myself. I’ve started skiing late in life, I’m in my early fifties but after tuition and remembering everything he taught me, I was able to ski all the green runs and a blue run in Courchevel in a week. Next time in Courchevel I will budget for more tuition with Bastien. Thanks Bastien hope to see you next year!
The children had a fantastic time with jimmy and have come on in leaps and bounds – will be sure to recommend him to friends.
Hi Patsy,
Just a quick e-mail to thank-you for the time and patience you showed the boys last week. They really enjoyed skiing with you!
I also benefited greatly from my lesson with you and hope to move forward with more confidence.
As we discussed please add me to your mailing list and I will be in touch as soon as we firm up our plans for next year.
Once again – thanks
Kind Regards
Hi Patsi
Just sending a belated big thank you to Jimmy following our ski lessons on 10 & 12 Feb. We both really enjoyed the lessons and received lots of good sound practical advice from Jimmy along with support and encouragement – he has the patience of a saint (and we tested that out thoroughly!) Undeterred by a frosty nose and touch of altitude sickness we went back on the slopes for a few more hours after a lengthy lunch. We will definitely return to Courcheval for more ski-ing/training – on our final day the snow stopped falling and we could really see and appreciate the fabulous views – amazing…
Thanks again Jimmy!
Hi Patsy
Just wanted to say thank you for your patience, and help last week – we had a great time and I think we improved.
We did go back to Courcheval we really liked it over there. Marek skied the slopes from Verdon – I sunbathed in a deckchair so we had a great time.
Hope to see you next year
All the best and thanks again
Hi Patsy
Please can you thank the wonderful Jimmy for his incredible skill and patience teaching my children and me to ski. Having never been very confident on skis, he managed to completely turn that around and now you can’t keep me away. And as for the children, they can ski! After only a handful of lessons they were zipping down the slopes bringing tears to my eyes. Jimmy is a marvel and I’ll be in touch about next year soon.
Re: photos how annoying. I’ve attached one if this goes through then I’ll send the other two in two separate emails. If it’s too big then I think I’d better send you hard copies! Let me know if you get it.
Patsy,
Just a brief note to say a huge thank you for your time, patience and encouragement over the last week. Both Darcie and I have benefited greatly and the ski lessons were great fun, hard work but immensely rewarding
I have committed this morning to coming back to 1650 for the New Year, and will also be back in April for a further week. I am just awaiting Le Ski confirming dates and whatever and as soon as I have these and can confirm availability I will drop you a note and see what we may be able to sort out
Hope that you are enjoying a quieter week.
Will be in touch over the next day or so with firm dates
Best wishes
Hi Patsy,
Long time no see! How are you both. Just found your website through a link on the Craigclowan site. Hope you have both had a brilliant season.
We took the children to Canada for two weeks. It was amazing and their skiing has come on fantastically. You would be very proud of them – definitely couldn’t have done it without the grounding they got from you.
They had masses of ungroomed pistes there and so everyone was bouncing over moguls by the second week. Particularly impressed with Jake who was popping down black moguls by the end of it (as was his mother!).
Best wishes to you both and hope to see you sometime.
Hi Patsy,
When does skiing start again?
It seems such a long time ago and I really cannot remember if I have booked Felix and Casta in.
I really hope I have as we had such a cracking skiing holiday and you have done a fantastic job on Felix’s skiing. He is really finishing his turns and parallel skiing.
WOW I was so impressed. Casta too… She can do a pommer and she has got rid of her ski clips and she fell in love with her ski instructor as usual !!!!
Felix managed to ski Mont Fort and Tourtin and was really chuffed with him self!
So all in all I am so pleased with them both and feel that we need to carry on with their progress……
I hope you have had a great season, the snow was so good this year…
Look forward to hearing from you
kind regards
Hi Patsy
Just a quick note to say thank you so much for organising Jimmy for us – he was absolutely brilliant with the kids, and we all enjoyed our day out with him on the last day. And every lunchtime he thoroughly entertained us with his stories!!!
Best wishes
Hi Patsy
Just wanted to say a huge thank-you to you and Bastien, Max, Erin and Macky loved Bastien and learning to ski. Stan on the other hand was a bit stubborn but I have never seen anyone more determined or patient than Bastien he was great, maybe Stan will come round next year.
Thanks
Dear Patsy,
Many thanks for an excellent, wonderfully distracting, few days.
Hi Bastien,
Just a note to thank you for Finlay’s lessons, he really seemed to enjoy them. Also we thought you might find this photo of Finlay amusing, clearly he is now an expert in the use of ski poles!
Anyway thanks again for his lessons and I hope the rest of the season is good,
Kind Regards,
PS On Friday afternoon Fin skied down the black run “Dou Des Lanches” above la Tania with Andy, it was Fin’s idea
Dear Bastien,
Thank you for a fabulous weeks skiing. I cannot begin to tell you just how much you have done for my confidence. I thoroughly enjoyed every day and can’t wait to come back next year. I may even have to come back before that!!
Considering I had decided that I wouldn’t go skiing again after last year, you have managed to completely change my attitude in just one week!! I think you are an amazing instructor giving so much advice, help and tips both in theory and practise and seem to know exactly just how to get the best out of everyone. So thank you very, very much!
Have a good rest of the season and I hope the teaching goes well in Scotland after that.
I think this weeks skiing is about the best holiday I have every had, entirely due to all your efforts, so once again, many many thanks.
Best Wishes,
Dear Patsy,
Thank you so much for this week,
I never dreamed I would get as far I have. It’s all down to your fantastic teaching, patience, support and ability to listen.
I have really enjoyed my time with you and look forward to learning with you again soon.
Love,
Hi Patsy,
Hope your season is going well, thanks for your help with Ben and Owen in January they really enjoyed it and came out of themselves playing in the snow. We are still practising pizza and chips in the lounge.
We are now looking forward to next year and although we haven’t finalised what we are doing we were wondering what your availability is like during 2009.
The dates of interest are the week of….
Many thanks
Regards
Dear Patsy,
We have just returned from an excellent week skiing in La Tania. Bastien took our girls for lessons for the week and I just wanted to let you know how much they enjoyed it. Bastien was absolutely great with them, encouraging them to really get the most out of their skiing, he was tirelessly positive with them, especially with my youngest Natalka, who can be a difficult character at the best of times! Anyway, he has done a great job as they are really eager to try again next year. If we return to La Tania, I hope to book the holiday early enough to get myself some lessons booked in with you, as well as the kids.
Many thanks & kind regards,
Dear Patsy and Bastien,
Happy New Year, a bit late and I can’t believe that it is nearly February already!!
I’m sorry for being so rude and not writing sooner to say thank you both very much for the great time we had with you before Christmas. We all had a fantastic time and as usual left feeling that we had improved a lot. I hope that you are having a good time with good snow. There has been great snow even in Scotland and Daisy went on a schools ski day. She had a wonderful time and the teachers were very impressed with her and have ear-marked her for their team in future years – so she was quietly chuffed! (All your hard work)
Hope you are both well,
Thanks again,
Hi,
We came on holiday in January to La Tania and booked three lessons with Bastien. It was a last attempt for my wife to learn to ski as she was getting to the point of giving up. She has had ski school lessons and several ‘private’ lessons which were simply a guided tour but contained no actual tution.
What a difference one lesson with Bastien made!
He was patient and involved, trying several different exercises to see which would work, while all the time giving confidence and encouraging her.
By the end of the week she was enjoying skiing, which is something I didn’t think I would ever see!
We cannot thank Bastien enough for his time and patience, it was greatly appreciated and we will certainly be recommending him to our friends. There is no doubt that we will be back to the area and will definately be booking some more lessons.
Please send him our best wishes, we hope the season goes well for you all.
Kind regards
Hi Patsy,
Got home okay. Just want to thank you both very much for everything. Hope you both enjoyed your day out today and hope the rest of the season goes well for you both. Stewart….
Speak to you soon.
Dear Patsy & Bastien
Seen a huge improvement in Adam during the last block which is great so can’t wait to get him out onto the snow now.
Here’s hoping for a great winter.
Yours Sincerely
