Hey Captain Stag....a good bit of banter here...I must say that most people who know the area (AND IT SEEMS THAT YOU DO) would say Cardies is the way forward for beginners but you must admit that all of this is relevant when offering OPINION only and there is no right or wrong answer either way you have to take into account personal experiences- your own and those of people you know...If you look at the things that make up the overall exp. of a first timer in the snow theres also things like lesson quality (of which a lot depends on your instructor and whether they are hungover or not etc etc