Why private, when group lessons exist.
A group lesson, however well-run, is paced by its slowest skier. That is not a criticism — it is arithmetic. Six children of broadly similar age and apparent level will, after one hour, separate cleanly into two who are bored and four who are struggling. A morning programme then becomes a quiet negotiation between those two camps, and progress for everyone settles, politely, around the middle.
Private removes that ceiling. There is no negotiation, because there is no one else. The instructor watches your daughter for two runs and quietly raises the difficulty. He sees that your son's outside ski is lazy and works on it for fifteen minutes while the others have a hot chocolate. He notices the parents are tired by Wednesday and shortens the afternoon. None of this is possible in a group of unknown families — and it is, in our experience, the difference between a holiday and a season.
Antoine Sangouard, who founded Snowtailors after a decade of teaching with one of the larger schools, puts it more simply: a private lesson is the only way to teach an entire family at once without compromising any of them. We have not yet heard a counter-argument that holds.
The best lesson I ever gave was three hours long, four guests, and I never once said the words "follow me". That is private skiing — and that is what we are paid to deliver. Antoine Sangouard, founder
What is included in your morning.
A Snowtailors private lesson is not an hourly rental of a uniformed body. It is a full piece of work — and the price covers the whole of it, not the parts of it you happen to use.
The instructor, for the entire duration
Your instructor is a French state-certified moniteur (Diplôme d'État, ENSA), the same qualification carried by ESF instructors and Olympic coaches. He or she is yours for the booked duration — three, four, or eight hours — and not divided between you and the next family on the books. There is no transition between lessons, no rushed handover, no shared lift queue with strangers.
Pace adapted, language matched
Tell us at booking what your group looks like — ages, levels, languages, the patience of the parents. We match you to an instructor who fits. English, French, Italian, Russian, German and Spanish are routinely available; for less common languages we ask in advance and rarely fail to find someone.
Lunch coordination, restaurant table held on request
We hold working relationships with a small number of mountain restaurants — La Bouitte (when a window opens), Le Chalet du Lac, La Maison, Le Chalet des 2 Lacs, Le Cap Horn — and your instructor will hold a table for the family without being asked. Lunch is not part of the lesson, but the day flows better when somebody who knows the maître d' makes a quiet phone call at eleven.
Equipment and lift coordination
Skis, boots, helmets, lift passes — we don't sell these, but we do organise them. Our concierge desk arranges fittings at the rental shop of your choice (Skiset, Sport 2000, Skiloc) and has the gear waiting in your hotel ski room before your instructor arrives. The morning starts when you put your boots on, not when you queue at a counter.
How a session unfolds.
What follows is a full-day private lesson, on a Tuesday, with a family of four staying at the Pashmina. It is illustrative — every minute is adjustable.
Meeting at the chalet door
Your instructor arrives at the ski room, helps with bindings, checks the children's helmets. The walk to the lift is sixty seconds. No taxi, no wait, no group of strangers.
The reading run
One easy descent, watching everyone. Your instructor is not yet teaching — he is reading the family. Confidence, fitness, the dynamic between siblings, the parent who skis better than they admit. By the bottom of the run, the day's plan exists.
Coffee, mid-morning
Twenty minutes at the Cabane à Pierre, or wherever the sun is. The day's first technical conversation happens here, on the terrace, not on the piste. Children are listened to.
Lunch, coordinated
Your table is waiting at Les Chalets de la Masse — your instructor called ahead at eleven. He may join you for ten minutes to debrief, or he may eat separately at his own table. Both are normal.
Afternoon technical work
The morning identified one thing per skier worth working on. The afternoon is dedicated to it — quietly, without overwhelming anyone. Most progress happens here, between two and four o'clock.
Debrief at the chalet door
Skis off at the ski room, ten minutes of conversation about tomorrow. What worked, what to repeat, what to leave alone. The next day is not a copy of the last — it is its sequel.
What it costs, openly.
We publish our base rates because we believe a guest paying €600 for a full day deserves to know that figure before any conversation. The numbers below are for the standard winter season; Christmas, February and Easter weeks carry a higher tariff, quoted on enquiry.
- Half-day morning (09:00–12:00, 3 hours) — from €80 per hour, all-inclusive of instructor and coordination.
- Half-day afternoon (13:00–17:00, 4 hours) — from €75 per hour, the same instructor available for a full afternoon.
- Full day (09:00–17:00, 8 hours including lunch coordination) — from €600 per day.
- The Tailored Week (5 or 6 days, the same instructor throughout) — on quotation, with continuity discount.
- Specialised programmes (off-piste, race training, children's first lessons) — on quotation, matched to instructor specialism.
High-season periods — the Christmas and New Year week, the French February holidays, and Easter — are priced higher because the resource is scarce, not because the work is different. We will always quote transparently before booking.
Hôtels and chalets we know intimately.
Most of our private-lesson clients are staying at one of a handful of properly serious addresses across the 5 villages. A working relationship with each means the day starts before you have finished breakfast — your instructor is in the ski room with bindings checked while you put your jacket on.
- Cheval Blanc, Courchevel — LVMH's Maison. We hold a coordination protocol with the concierge.
- Aman Le Mélézin, Courchevel 1850 — directly on the Bellecôte piste; we meet you on the snow.
- Le K2 Palace, Courchevel — and the K2 Altitude, K2 Djola. Private piste-side meeting points.
- Le Pashmina, Val Thorens — the village's flagship since 2014. Ski room access, bell-desk coordination.
- Altapura, Val Thorens — ski-in, ski-out from the front terrace; our most-requested address for families of six or more.