We are a group of friends planning a three-day break in mid-March. We have booked flights to Geneva and have hire cars sorted out, but are having some problems finding accommodation. I've done some searching on the internet, looking at the Mont Blanc resorts on both the Italian and French sides, but most of the hotels and B&Bs seem to be bookable only for a complete week. Any shorter breaks seem to be full board with all transfers included. Do you have any suggestions for a resort where we could find suitable accommodation?
Rebecca Wilson

Konrad Bartelski answers: It can be difficult finding short-break accommodation in advance because most resorts like the easy sell and, as you rightly point out, prefer to let their beds out in weekly blocks. However, the trick is to wait until just before you go. Call the local tourist office and ask them if they have any rooms free for the forthcoming weekend. Most tourist offices now run a computerised system to find any empty beds and fill them up at the last minute. Many of the Europeans only go skiing on the weekends, so many of the resorts are organised to offer that facility. The other option is to look for a guest house or hotel just outside of the resort. For example, in Moutiers there is a large hotel at the train station, which apart from the half-term holidays should have a few beds free in the middle of March and gives you access to masses of skiing in Courchevel or Méribel etc. Again, Sallanches is only a 20-minute drive from Chamonix, and not only can you find a bed, but the rooms should be quite a bit cheaper, too.

Chamonix Tourist Information (0033 4 5053 2333, fax: 0033 4 5053 8742). Sallanches Tourist Office (0033 4 5058 1788, fax: 0033 4 5058 3847).

· My grandson, aged 16, is a keen surfer and a proficient skaterboarder. He now wants to learn snowboarding. As an old, now retired skier, I am anxious that he should learn properly to avoid accidents and injuries. Can you suggest where, how, and for how long he should seek training in this new sport?
Ken Drysdale

Danny Burrows answers: As a proficient skater and surfer, your grandson should find the basics of snowboarding an absolute doddle, especially as these are the very origins of the sport. However, it would be advisable for him to obtain at least one day's tuition, to master the basics of board control. These are available both in this country and abroad but my advice would be to conquer these first steps before embarking on a holiday so as not to waste precious snow-time. Snowboarding lessons in the UK are available either on dry slopes or on one of the indoor slopes that have been opening across the country. Indoor slopes are preferable, because snow is infinitely more forgiving on a beginner's posterior than the Dendex material that is used on dry slopes.

Indoor slopes: Tamworth, Snowdome (08705 000011); xscape, Milton Keynes (01908 200020).

· If you have any questions, write to Ask the experts, Guardian Travel, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER, or email ask.the.experts@theguardian.com