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Learning To Ski

You can learn to ski at any age. If you read the Diary of a First Time Skier, you will see that I have experienced at first hand the exertions of complete novices from 6 years of age right up to 68 years old.

Learning to ski or snowboard is not as easy as it looks. Many people are put off these fantastic sports in the first three days and unfortunately never return again. 
However, after the first three or four days the majority of first timers are decending their first piste and that’s when the fun and enjoyment begins.
So please persist.

Don’t worry that this initial decent of the mountain will be too daunting or nerve racking!
The first slope (piste) that you tackle won’t be much steeper than your living room floor - it is called the nursery slope. Then, over time, you will progress to gradually more demanding gradients:- the green piste - then the blue piste - next the red and finally the black run. If you look at a map of any resort you will see these runs marked on the piste map.
In your first week you will probably only ski green and blue pistes - you will be doing very well if you progress to a red run!

For your first three days though you will probably have soreness and aching muscles and may be disillusioned that you are not by now whizzing down the mountain. Don’t worry that is all to come, but to make the progression to that stage a bit easier there are some things you can do.

1. Improve your level of fitness before going skiing - then you won’t ache due to this sudden shock to the system. 
   (Check out the new section on 'Ski Fitness')
   There are also plenty of books and DVD’s that deal with this. The very least you should do is some leg strengthening by running up and down stairs, or holding the squat position with your back against a wall while you watch TV.
   Borrow some books from your local library - well in advance of your trip !!!
2. Make sure that the ski clothing that you are wearing is comfortable and a good fit.
   Wear it before you go, and change it if it isn’t comfortable at home - ‘cos it’ll get worse when you’re wearing it abroad for hours on end and sweating into it. More about clothing on later pages.
3. Hire boots in the resort rather than buying at home. Then if they are uncomfortable you can take them back (as many times as you like) to the hire shop until you get a pair that suits.
4. Take some lessons on a slope at home. If you live in an area that has natural snow slopes, great! - lucky you! but for most of us this will be on a dry ski slope. There are dozens of these scattered all around Britain (more about these on later pages).

If you take lessons at home this will not only give you the chance to check out your clothing, but also improve your fitness, AND save you a lot of money. A day learning abroad works out at one seventh of the cost of your weeks holiday.

Three sessions on a dry slope (average cost of less than £50 for 3 hours) will save you almost half of the cost of your holiday and could mean that you can be SKIING on real pistes from day one of your European holiday.

Please note though, don’t wear your best ski jacket/suit or salopettes on a dry ski slope ‘cos if you fall you could ruin them. It is far better to wear a cheap waterproof rainsuit (or tracksuit) as this will slide across the surface if you fall, protect you from the weather if it rains and not be too expensive to replace if you ruin it. Also a cheap pair of tough gloves are essential - they might get abit roughed up, but better that than your hands!