Hi,
@laine ! I've done both - a couple of women's steeps camps, and also have been doing the Breck seasonal lesson program for ... jeez, I think 8 years now. It's gone through a lot of changes - unsurprisingly, ones that make the program easier on the ski school logistics and budget while whittling down the student experience (IMO).
Many of the posters so far have made assumptions about the unlimited lesson program. If at all possible, find out. Do you get the same instructor the same time? The same group of students? How much flexibility do you have? What are the blackout dates? How big might the groups get / what's the minimum group size they'll allow before combining? Will there be enough students at your level so that you are taking lessons oriented toward the stuff you want to ski?*
If you must choose one or the other, I personally would choose the unlimited lessons. There's less impact if you have an off day. Clinics can be tricky because you'll be sore and your brain is full but you have to get full value out of that second / Nth day. You may not click with the instructor. I've had clinics where the other students just weren't as aggro or comfortable with steeps as me, so I didn't feel like I got what I came for (and this was a steeps camp - I came to be challenged by steeps!).
Here's my experience with season long lessons: It is beneficial both to ski with the same instructor, and also to ski with multiple instructors. The same instructor can help you with progression and knows your mental and physical abilities and limitations. A different instructor may give you a drill or express things in a new way that will suddenly make something click.
I went from a level 6 to a "skis with level 9s" (I just can't call myself a level 9, having seen the top members of the groups ski) through the seasonal lessons. If there are ski school lift lines, a lesson group is also a godsend, especially on a powder day. You'll get way more vert and way more opportunities to ski fresh tracks. Instructors also may have an "in" with ski patrol and know about a rope drop before anyone else discovers it.
You will likely get to know which instructors you want to ski with, meaning that if you want to book a private lesson, you know some instructors that will give you great value. I have been fortunate enough to do multiple private lessons with instructors who know me, and who I knew to be fantastic and a good fit for me. It's always been a wonderful experience.
You will also get to know other people who ski the same terrain you do. I have a lot of friends I choose not to ski with, because they don't share my skiing preferences. This way you will get to know people who will be great skiing buddies, whether or not you'd hang out with them a lot outside of skiing. (And you may meet some who are both!)
* Instructors will tell you that you will improve your technique on terrain less challenging than the stuff you want to ski, which is true. In my experience though, at a certain level you also want a guide to hold your hand (metaphorically!) through some really gnarly stuff. You may want help with tactics - narrow entrances. Rocks on narrow runs. Strategies for steeps. Line choice. These can be practiced to some extent on less challenging terrain, but it's also helpful to have a guide when you actually go there - especially if you start freaking out and there is no easier way down.
The quality of the instructor is everything. Their Level means little. The understanding of skiing and understanding of teaching means a lot. Too many instructors have a high quotient of natural ability and little understanding of teaching the fundamentals to we who were born with little natural ability but with a big passion for skiing.
Completely agreed, although to be honest I don't remember ever skiing with an instructor who couldn't teach me something. Okay, there was one guy who did teach me some stuff, but mostly seemed interested in jumping off of things himself ... in a level 7 class where we were working on carving and he didn't teach us anything about jumping; he was having fun. But other than that, they've always been helpful.
But some instructors will teach you something, and others will rock your world. There's a huge gap between a great instructor and a good one. I agree that level is not the end-all be-all, but in my experience, the higher the level, the *more likely* it is that you will get fantastic instruction. I always get in trouble for saying this because someone speaks up telling me that they are (or know) a level 2 instructor and they're much better than the level 3 instructors they know, etc, and that's great for them. But statistically, if I know nothing else, I'll take an examiner over a level 3, a level 3 over a level 2, etc. Although note that an examiner is way more likely to put you through technical paces and talk about anatomy and physics. But the great thing about examiners is that they should have a proven ability to teach to a variety of learning styles, and to recognize what is working and what isn't.
A woman won't give you a better lesson than an equally good man.
Bullcrap.
Sorry, that just slipped out. What I mean to say is - in my experience as an actual woman (I assume you're not, but of course I could be wrong) - and yes, some women will have different experiences - an excellent female instructor is innately better because when you see a man do something, you're like, okay, that's great, he can do that. When you see a woman do the same thing, you think, oh, wow, maybe I can do that, too! One of my favorite instructors was once a competitive extreme skier, and is built somewhat like me (but more athletic), and when I see her jump a rock/cornice or ski a tricky line, I see something to aspire to. Another favorite instructor was also once a competitive extreme skier, and when I see him jump or ski a tricky line, I just don't have the same feeling. It's important to have role models who look like you. And note that this female instructor calls this male instructor her favorite instructor on the mountain. He's a fantastic instructor who has taught me so much, and in fact next season I'm signed up to take 20 lessons with him next season. But it's a different experience.