Learning to Ski in Britain

The Value of Learning in Britain

As mentioned above, it can be invaluable to learn the early stages of skiing in Britain.

There are three ways to do this:-
(a) On a real mountain/ slope - but this is (very) limited by the vagaries
of the British weather. - Read the section on 'Snow in Britain'
(b) On artificial snow in one of the fast developing SnowDomes scattered
around the Country. - Again read the section on 'Snow in Britain'
(c) On a plastic slope. - Read the section on 'Dry Slopes'.

Remember skiing on a dry slope is harder and nowhere near as enjoyable as learning on snow or abroad. It does, though, save you a lot of money and makes your experience abroad even more exciting.
However, don’t be put off skiing if you are struggling on the dry slopes!
Remember - Your first 3 days of skiing (& snowboarding) whether at home or abroad, are the hardest. So you might as well get them out of the way cheaply here, in order to make the most of your time abroad.

Whatever your choice, you will learn:-

How to put your boots on and fit your skis to them
How to walk on your skis (both on the flat & up a slope)
How to slide down a slope
How to stop your skis
How to turn a corner

Once you have had some success at these moves (you don’t have to be perfect at them) you are ready to improve on this on real pistes in an often wonderfully sunny European country.

However, at risk of being boring, I have to repeat:
Don’t be put off by learning on a dry slope - it is much harder than on snow
After all, dry slopes are little more than upturned nylon scrubbing brushes - hard to get your skis edges to bite into and - much harder to fall on (and you are going to do a lot of falling!)

PLEASE PERSEVERE - it will be worth it when you are abroad