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First time skier


cincinatti kid

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Hi

I'm just after a bit of advice and I wonder if anyone can help me? I'm thinking of booking a skiing holiday next month but I've never been skiing before. It all seems so complicated what with lift passes, equipment hire etc. Not to mention I don't have a clue what resort to visit.

Can anyone advise me on how to proceed?

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It's probably best to go with a package that includes a ski school. They'll then lead you by the hand. Austria is usually a good value for money option with good English speaking instructors. If you're prepared to buy my 21 yr old son a beer he can advise further - a qualified ski instructor he has just returned from a job in France. PM if interested.
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I'm jealous - the first week skiing is the most fun IMO. I caught the skiing bug maybe 7/8 years ago, and have gone twice a year every year since.


If you go with any of the big ski operators - Crystal, Thompson, Neilson, etc - they can arrange your equipment hire, lift pass, and ski school for you, and guide you through the whole process. You don't have to worry about anything.


Austria and Italy are both cheaper than France or Switzerland, and have some great skiing. Try to go for a resort which is high up (resort at >1500m, highest elevation >2500m), to make sure you aren't skiing in slush or ice. Avoid cheapo deals to Bulgaria, the snow is not reliable.


You don't need a huge resort, because on your first week you won't be able to take full advantage of it. But try to find somewhere with a good selection of green/blue runs.


Try to get accomodation close to the lifts - or at least close to a "ski bus" stop. Walking in ski boots while carrying skis is no fun at all.


Websites such as fasttrackski and iglu allow you to search packages by price/conntry/resort, and will include info such as number of beginner runs, elevation, transfer time, proximity to lifts, etc. But be careful about booking through them, as they will invariably add ridiculous surcharges - and won't tell you about them until they're taking your payment.

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I went to Val d'Isere at the weekend for my first attempt at skiing. I was useless but then I can't even ice skate. Beautiful place though. If you go you have to have lunch at Folie Douce! Only thing that lets the resport down is the transfer time between there and Geneva airport - 2.5 hours drive. Enjoy wherever you decide to go Cincinatti!
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Try not to allow yourself to be taken up the mountain on a charming cable-car ride by more experienced skiers in your party - to have a lovely lunch at a restaurant in a spectacular setting, only to part company and then spend the rest of the afternoon desperately trying to get back down the mountain on your own.


Especially the last half hour, shuffling down on your bottom shamefully as every wasted muscle and sinew in your very soul cries-out as one in purest agony.

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Mrs *Bob* is a lucky woman!


If your budget can stretch then the skiing in the US and Canada is amazing and obviously has the advantage of English-speaking guides and guranteed snow.


If you avoid the "rich" resorts like Aspen then it can be good value once you're out there and there is oftern more to do off the slopes too.


Horses for courses.

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Since you are a first-timer, you don't really need to look at the most expensive big resorts (Three Valleys, Tignes-Val D'Isere, etc), but can take advantage of the smaller resorts, as you'll probably only use about a dozen runs in the first week. MM is right in that Austria provides a nice balance between value and quality, as does Italy. France and Switzerland is expensive.


Maybe look at Obertauen or Schladming in Austria or, if you like a bit more nightlife, maybe

Sauze d'Oulx in Italy. Stick with the bigger players - Crystal Ski or Thomson Ski (same company now), Inghams, Neilson or Skiworld. All can do travel/accommodation/lift-pass/ski hire/ski-school deals. I assume you can cadge some clothing from a friend?


The Ski Club site gives a comprehensive guide to all resorts plus snow levels.


Happy skiing... or, or course, snowboarding!

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Completely agree that Austria or Italy would be your best bet. What are you looking for other than learning to ski? Is good apr?s ski important too? Would you prefer a chalet or hotel? Package deals including equipment hire and ski school are a good option, depending how much you are looking to spend it may be worth joining the Ski Club GB, membership gives good discounts on holidays from most of the major tour operators. I will admit at thus stage that I am a rep (Ski leader) for the club, however do look at the website there is loads of information on different resorts, suitability for beginners etc. If you have somewhere in mind PM me and I am happy to give you the lowdown :-)
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Also there is 'snow-zone' in Milton Keynes. It's an indoor ski slope (real snow).....they do one hour lessons up to whole day courses. Go and do a couple of lessons there before you go to give you a taste of what to expect. Also go for a set of ski's one size down from what they'll give you for your height. Helps you when you are a beginner.
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+1 on what DJKQ said. Doing a lesson or two up at MK or Hemel Hemstead would mean that, if your ski school groups splits (for beginners they often chuck three or four classes together for the first day or so and then stream them on abilities) then you don't end up in the section with the total no-hopers. They'll get you past the initial snow-plough bit and maybe into snow-plough turns.


And don't rule out snowboarding, either. The learning curve is higher for the first couple of days, but after that it gets much easier - I've taken people off-piste after three/four weeks, something you'd probably never achieve on skis. I would recommend knee pads for your early snowboard forays. Bum protection is useful, but the hotel towels have been used by friends for this!


Oh, and a helmet - but you should really get a helmet for skiing as well.

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Thanks again. The above points do raise a question I wanted to ask:

How many lessons would I need?

I know that's like asking how long's a piece of string, but I'm quite a sporty bloke and have always picked up things quickly. I looked at some of the websites suggested and they offer ski lessons for a whole week which seems quite a lot and quite pricey.

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I'd say two one hour lessons is enough to give you the basics.....how to ski with controlled speed and snow plough turn. It will give you a real head start before heading of to the ski school on the piste and you'll find yourself (as Loz says) skiing down a beginners piste by day three as opposed to still being on a nursery slope waiting for the no hopers to get to any kind of basic level (although the ski schools do tend to move you up a class if you get ahead of the others).
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Get about 5 days *morning* lessons if you can at the resort. That gives you the afternoon to practice on your own. Honestly, you can never have too many lessons - I've got about 30 weeks snowboarding experience (and a few more skiing) and I'm still getting the odd lesson to help my technique and progress me. Bad technique is hard to shake off and will cause you problems once it starts getting bumpy or powdery. Better to get it right first time.


Group lessons are not too pricy - especially if you go through your operator. E.g. Crystal will sell you six days lessons for ?136 at Mayerhofen, which isn't a bad price. But it does vary wildly. Make sure it is something you check when looking at a resort and even check online with schools directly. You don't have to go through your operator, but they usually have preferential rates


As for MK or HH - just one two-hour lesson should give you a great head start.

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I have just come back from chamonix for the first time, not much snow, lessons are essential and do do not go up the mountain slopes via cable car until you are a proficient skier and you are absolutley sure you do not have a fear of heights......which i discovered.....
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Or go up in the cable car to see the fantastic views and then come down in it again (it will be enpty on the way down lol). Check the weather forecast first though. Poor weather can close in on the top of mountains very quickly and the cable cars can be shut at a moment's notice in poor waether.
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Good news is that it is now snowing quite heavily in the Alps. They are forecasting half a metre so things will improve. You can save yourself quite a bit of money bt booking a flight , say from Stanstead to Bergamo by Ryanair and then finding your own accommodatioon in say somewhere like Aprica - ideal slopes for beginners and also cheap hotels - try Hotel Funivia - we got a double room half board last season for euro 60 a night??(that was price for 2 people sharing) Dont forget to budget for lift pass (euro 30- 35 a day) and lessons (private lessons say euro 50 per hour for two people = euro 100 per day)
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First of all skiing is fantastic and it's never too late to learn. There are not too many holidays I can think of where I want to be out by 9am every single day.


Some lessons before you go are not essential but of course you will need ski school in resort and by the end of a whole week you should be having a great time. The huge advantage of taking a few lessons before you go though, is you jump ahead of all the other complete beginners and get to be skiing properly on the slopes much quicker.


Bromley Ski Centre in Oprington does lessons and is open in the evenings as well. They run courses for complete beginners and it will get you used to using a button lift which can be a nightmare for some new skiers. They also run ski holidays which are pretty good value.


Don't buy any kit, renting online before you go saves a huge amount of money. Buy your ski clothes online or get down to TK Maxx, Finches in Forest Hill is good but a lot more expensive. Avoid half term and Easter if you can as the slopes will be quieter and holiday prices much cheaper. Book 2-3 weeks before for the best holiday deals ifyouski and igluski sites are good.


For lots of great info go to the ski site - snowheads - where the answer to your original question has been given hundreds of times and you can get lots of info on individual resorts.


A little bit of fitness work on your thigh muscles before you go would help, even if its only 5 minutes a day, lots of stuff on this can be found online. Last bit of advice - no more than one beer at lunch, if at all, leave the drinking for the evening.

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Chamonix is not somewhere very suitable for a beginner.


A lot of resorts have nursery slopes at the top of the gondola / cable car, some all the slopes are accessible from a gondola / cable car ride eg Mayrohofen, Klosters, Sol (excluding the very early nursery slope).


If you can have lessons before you go you will progress quicker and get more out of the holiday.


I used to teach at a dry slope and number of lessons needed really does depend on the individual..... fitness and confidence go a long way with skiing!! As mentioned if you can master controlled snow plough turns and stopping between now and going you more than likely will be comfortable on red runs by the end of your first week on snow.


I can't ski this season, first one in around 11 years! I usually ski around 5 weeks per season and am missing it so much!! Beware, it is highly addictive ;-)

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I would recommend having an instructor with good English. I went to St Anton with three friends, all good skiers, who deposited me at the nursery slope every morning then disappeared until dinner time. For the first few days I was progressing well with a British instructor. Then suddenly he was called away and was replaced with a 19 yo Austrian girl who liked to laugh a lot and who normally taught tiny tots (i.e. children with no fear). She immediately took us to an almost vertical blue run and told us (my class of about 10) to follow her, laughing and smiling the whole time but unable to understand any of our questions. We were still snowploughing at this point and very slow to manoeuvre so the result was that half my class went down the slope on their bottoms and several of the girls took off their skis and dragged them behind them as they were so terrified. One poor chap slipped half off the piste and we had to haul him back on. This was very dangerous and traumatic! I since learnt that St Anton has some of the most challenging slopes in Europe...so not the best for beginners anyway :)
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