Skiing is HARD - 5 beginner tips
If you learnt to ski when you were a child then you are very lucky. Learning to ski in your 30s is difficult, and it’s near impossible to not to feel waves of frustration crash over you as toddlers swoosh past while you lie in a heap in the snow…
I am lucky in the sense that my partner was practically a professional ski-er. Growing up in Switzerland he learnt to ski the same year he learnt to walk! And that’s not an exaggeration - that is how young Swiss people are when they learn to ski! Additionally he is made of patience, which let me tell you is tested every time he hits the slopes with me and his 10 year old daughter! She has a years experience of skiing over me and being little, is definitely finding it easier. She rubs this in my face a lot!
Let me tell you there is nothing more terrifying than feeling out of control as you hurtle down a slope while your partner screams ‘slow down’ - ‘I can’t’ and eventually fall and continue down the slope. And bless him - he never once reaches me laughing… often he reaches me before I fall and I just ski into him and he brings me to a stop… made of patience - I told you! I am just waiting for ‘you’ve been framed’ to be in touch to be honest.
So here is what I have learnt having completed my second round of skiing (about 6 days in total):
Learn to manoeuvre - this is more important that skiing and I still haven’t mastered it! But if you cannot manoeuvre you are fucked! You cannot get yourself off ski lifts and be safe, and you cannot get on ski lifts, magic carpets or button lifts… whatever! If you cannot get around on flat snow, everything is so much harder!
Forget the sticks! At least in the beginning; they are a hindrance and of no use to you when you are learning! Yes you look cool with them when you are carrying them on the ski lift but when you are trying to turn and falling over they are just another piece of equipment to hurt yourself with. Maybe bring them as items you can use to practice turning, otherwise leave them in the car.
Learn to stop! Enough said! Going is much easier than stopping - stopping is key.
Try and fall to the side rather than forward or backward. Another skill I haven’t got yet. When you fall to the side you are less likely to injure yourself and you stop! My falls are usually the result of me panicking when I feel I am losing control and then what way I fall is not a real choice! None of your falls will be graceful, and neither is trying to get back up with your skis still on… which leads me nicely to the last tip!
Don’t give up! A bad day of skiing is really rough! You will fall a lot. I have turned so hard I ended up going backwards down a slope; I have fallen off button lifts and had to be picked up by the attendant (check out YouTube videos of button lift fails- it’s harder than it looks)… You will see children skiing with terrible technique who are so laidback they could do ski limbo, and yet they make it to the bottom no problem. Us being taller, heavier with longer skis - we are punished exponentially more for every small error! Take comfort though- every successful turn and run means so much more to you, the improvements are a lot more obvious, and the feeling when you do a successful run is akin to winning the lottery (I imagine)… and at the end of a long day you can truly enjoy it safe in the knowledge you have definitely earned your apres ski!
so what are you waiting for- get your skis on, stay safe and hit the slopes!
Sho xx