So this skiing malarky

The missus and I have been talked into going skiing with a bunch of mutual mates just after Christmas. Neither of us have skied before, (did 3 days of snowboarding 15 years ago and loved it). It’s a mixed group roughly 50/50 experienced/total numpties.

We both ride bikes (lots) and have been told the skills transfer pretty well.

So what do we need to know (other than it’s likely to be equally as addictive as MTBing yet even more expensive)? We’re planning to do a Snowdome session before we go (and obviously get lessons out there). Any good online technique resources we should look at? Preparatory excercises?

Cheers,

Jon

It’s bloody wonderful and something that, unless you do seasons, you’ll never master fully.

In terms of prep, head to snowhads.com and have a chat there, they’re a good and helpful bunch. And do squats, lots and lots of squats, this will help minimise the inevitable pain of the first few days.

I can’t think of much you can do to practice skiing without having access to a ski slope. However as a beginner, you will probably spend a lot of time getting up from the floor, so good fitness in general will really help, and good core strength will really help with getting technique right

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/ is worth a look

I’ve never found anything prepares you for skiing other than skiing but that’s maybe because I’ve never done more than 2 weeks in any year

Squats are good but there must be muscles I use for skiing that I hardly ever use for anything else!

Ask your local pub to charge you double for drinks. That should help get you in the zone.

Rachel

Best prep will be the snowdome so try and go more than once, you can “save a days holiday” by recapturing your feel for it. Your bike fitness will help but it would be helpful t do some more strengthening excersize too.

Ask your local pub to charge you double for drinks. That should help get you in the zone.

🙂 now now ! Many resort bars/restaurants are only open 4-6 months a year so have to cover costs in a short period.

Its brilliant and very addictive , core and squat strength helps as does rolling on your side and trying to stand up with a 5/6 ft plank strapped to your feet 😀

Ask your local pub to charge you double for drinks. That should help get you in the zone.

Best skiing quote ever. 😆

Cheap equipment can be a false economy, for example, cheap tube socks, bought for me and my wife first trip a few years ago, I found them overly warm and she found they rubbed horribly, blisters all over her ankles and calves.

Never try to walk any kind of distance in ski boots, get a locker or a ski in ski out hotel.

Listen to your instructor and ask questions of them, there are varying qualities. Large groups are ok for the first trip, but you’ll learn far more with 2 to 1 or even 1 to 1 tuition.

Wear a helmet.

Hire boots will be ok for the first couple of trips, but they are things you will come to loathe, to the point where you will sooner or later want to visit Solutions4feet, this will cost you, a LOT, I found it best to just hand your card over and only read the receipt at a later time.

You’ll find that bluebird days out on the mountain are perhaps the most perfect way you can spend a day, the excitement of the build up while you are on the chair or in a gondola. Clipping in and realising there’s a big flat bit to get over before the slope begins, the initial shaky start to the run followed by settling in and finding you flow, cruising down a slope with your mates, laughing at each other as you stack it, or in my case usually being the one who stacks it then getting a face full of snow from a mate who then offers to help you up. The feeling in your legs that hurts but you don’t care as you love it so much. The pain in your feet from the hire boots, but sod it one look at the view and you are in love again.

Yeah, food and drink can be expensive, not everything about it is perfect, but when you are out on the slopes riding over snow at speed it is such an amazing feeling. Life is about experiences, not how many pennies you saved by missing those experiences. I could go on, but I’m going to cry about the current lack of snow if I do (EU side at least, US and Canada seem to be just fine).

Just do it, you’ll love it.

As long as you’ve got other begineers to play with then you’ll be fine. You need to hang out with others of your standard and attitude to ahev teh best time. Perhaps get them to come with you to the lessons at the Snowdome to start making it a group adventure?

For prep i woudln’t worry too much. you’re fit enough to deal with it. It’ll put a strain on different muscles but general fitness will get you through.

For me, i’d be considering the gear more. You need to get some/borrow some half decent stuff for a few areas.This is where the cost starts to hit.
You can hire helmets there so i wouldn’t worry about that. Decent gloves and socks (not the cheap tube socks) woudl be good. your MTB rucksack will suffice for water supplies/carry equipment, but consider teh water tube will freeze unless insualted, kept in the bag, blown through free of water after every use.
TKMaxx trip for a set of trousers and jacket.
Oakley goggles are actualyl really cheap in comparison to some others.

Arse protector if you’re snowboarding is one of the best investments i ever made.

And you’re away. enjoy the snow!

Cut your toenails fairly close before you go.

Shaving the hair from the top of your foot can also be useful as it makes getting boots on and off less painful (hairs don’t pull), and you might choose closer fitting boots from the hire shop as a result.

If you use superfeet or similar insoles in your walking boots then they could be useful to take to use in hire boots.

One exercise you could do before you go is to strap a cushion or thick towel to your hip, stand near a wall and then practice dropping that hip into the wall, to free up and get used to the angulation of a turn.

Skis nowadays are more parabolic, like a snowboard, so just unweight the inner side/collapse your inner leg to turn – practice that when you first get on a slope – you don’t need to snow plough or pressure the front of the ski and skid the back end round like you used to have to.

Once used to that try using the inner thigh to direct yourself into the turn, almost committing yourself to falling into the turn.

If you do ESF type lessons then they are just a factoring of least-common-denominator tuition so just use it as a group skiing experience type thing rather than thinking you’ll get much out of it.

Arse protector if you’re snowboarding is one of the best investments i ever made.

For me it was wrist guards.

I do now also wear impact shorts, arse/tail pad in for boardings days, hip pads in for skiing days.

Skiing, if learning in the alps you could take a couple of trips doing lessons before you’re really hitting most of the slopes. Snow domes in UK may help though. I’d avoid dry slopes.

ESF I’d steer clear of. Miserable instructors who don’t really teach. They just bog off telling you to follow them, moan at people, then stop for their mandatory smoke break while everyone stands around.

English led schools can be good, though expect to find ESF instructors swearing at your group as they come past, or worse physical abuse on the English instructor.

Austrian instructors I found were the best.

We both ride bikes (lots) and have been told the skills transfer pretty well.

lolz, would love to hear to the rationale behind that (I’m thinking they’re pulling your leg)

For prep i woudln’t worry too much. you’re fit enough to deal with it. It’ll put a strain on different muscles but general fitness will get you through.

This, plus the other stuff about listening to your instructor (whilst also ignoring some of the ‘techniques’ described above)

For me it was wrist guards.

they helped prevent knackered/aching forearms for me, but I think the consensus is several people have told me, that in a big crash they concentrate forces further up your arm increasing chances of a break there 😯

For me and my mates learning snowboarding (no tuition) was gruelling, it’s very physical and day 3 of a hol was always a massive struggle to get up and out of the chalet, so many aches and pains, but once it clicks it’s almost effortless (unfortunately for me that was after lots of dryslope sessions and 3 or 4 holidays) but it’s good fun getting there 🙂
But we hammered the slopes (literally at times) from first lift out til we were too shattered to take any more, if you have a more relaxed approach (and some tuition) I’m sure the pleasure/pain balance is a little different.

Visiting a dry slope or snowdome is a good idea for an initial taster. BUT… Don’t attempt to jump on a pair of skis as you would a bike and head skillfully down the hill. Join ski-school.

I learned with a few sessions in the Manchester snowdome (xscape?) then went to the Alps with family (all proficient skiers) with the intent ot get a couple of private lessons as and when.

It probably would have been better all round to spend the week mornings in a ski school!

Ask your local pub to charge you double for drinks. That should help get you in the zone.

The Austrian resorts are quite reasonable….like for like in my experience.

We both ride bikes (lots) and have been told the skills transfer pretty well.

lolz, would love to hear to the rationale behind that (I’m thinking they’re pulling your leg)

Quite! 🙂 Its more like you enjoy speeding downhill, but there are no brakes on skis!

IF you decide to go snowboarding, learn to fall over first.

This means, do not put your arms out to protect yourself. Bring your hands & elbows in every time you fall. You might get a bit more bruised but you hopefully won’t break a wrist / arm.

lolz, would love to hear to the rationale behind that

I went dry slope skiing once. (of course it’s nothing like snow and it was only once blablabla so I’m no expert of course so don’t flame me) I found that the ability to see and choose my line down the slope rather than right infront of me, was rather useful. In other words, not panicking about hitting something when I could predict that I would actually pass close to it instead. Which is what I do on the bike, plotting a line through trees and obstacles based on the traction and body position I have.

So perhaps some small skills are transferrable.

oh and everyone is different but I’d get some long socks, my boots are very comfy except the tops chafe against my calves, knee length socks are great for this 🙂
As I said learning is very physical* so you can easily overheat if you dress up for the cold, mostly I have a baselayer under a shell jacket and pants both with vents. Keeping fingers warm is more of an issue for me, gloves get damp and clammy, posher gloves with more breathable outers may work but I use gloves with seperate inners, change to dry inners at lunch time. Separate inner/outer also aids drying them out at night (same goes for boots too)
Standing around waiting for mates or hanging high up on a chair lift in the wind can get cold tho so extra layers are a good idea until you figure out what works for you, snowboarders can get away with a rucksack or camelbak (but don’t overfill) dunno how skiers manage as they seem to be the roadies of the winter sports world, no ‘baks allowed.

*boarding, dunno how skiing compares

We both ride bikes (lots) and have been told the skills transfer pretty well.

lolz, would love to hear to the rationale behind that (I’m thinking they’re pulling your leg)

I think they do, partly

Knowing about lines round corners, understanding that you can be in control without being able to stop within 5 feet, being comfy with a bit of vagueness, knowing that turning needs leaning, …

Sit in a chest freezer, burning money, whist someone hits your knees repeatedly with a flagging maul.

“We both ride bikes (lots) and have been told the skills transfer pretty well”
You are correct don’t listen to them. Directly transferable
For starters you spend loads of cash on equipment, then find you have to buy just one more thing, n+1 principle.
Also you have to buy good gear goggles gloves etc. The good stuff is always the most expensive.
Then there is colour coordination.
Also hiding recent purchases, credit card statements, “Ive had that for ages”.
Next you move onto petty useless forum arguments about nothing, that go on ad-nuaseam.
Then arranging sneeky away trips, “I am only away for 7 days all my mates are going” pathetic pleading.
So yes all the skills are directly transferable. 😆

lolz, would love to hear to the rationale behind that (I’m thinking they’re pulling your leg)

Warren Smith has a downhill mtb section at the end of one of his instructional DVDs, so he reckons it is.

There is the tilting of the bike under you with the outer leg/pedal down on one turn followed by the unweighting of the bike and tilting the other way as you swap the lower pedal positions as you come out of one turn and into the other that is somewhat similar to carving tight turns and unweighting between them as your legs pass beneath you to the other side.

Just returning to skiing this new year after a 4 yr break and taking the boys 7&10 for their first trip.

I agree with turner guy regarding subtle weight transfer being common between skiing and MTB plus the general flow and adrenaline of going downhill at speed.

I also wouldn’t write off dry slopes if you’re a complete beginner and if the costs of the snowdomes look scary. It’s not as good as snow but for 4-5 cheap lessons learning what the basics are, you’ll get loads more out of your week in the alps. My boys are going to their 3rd dry slope lesson this weekend and if they can turn and stop on that, then snow will be easier and they should be away.

Also agree with the general fitness. Learning is really hard work with lots of uncoordinated stomping around compared to once you’re linking turns. I remember my first week in Andorra with blazing sun, stripped down to a t shirt and still sweating cobbs! Again get past that stage as quickly as you can via a few lessons here and it’ll be a better holiday for it.

Think I’m even more convinced now 🙂

listening to your instructor (whilst also ignoring some of the ‘techniques’ described above)

My advice would be:

– Ski, don’t snowboard. Snowboarding is great, but the ability to get up to speed more quickly, and less painfully, and move around on poles, is absolutely the correct choice first time out.

– Lessons before are good, but with a couple of caveats. 1. Only do it on real snow. 2. Just take it to being able to do a parallel turn, once you can do this you can go in a decent ski school group where you will advance more quickly. Spending 2 days in the mountains doing snowplough turns in the numpties group could be soul destroying. Learning beyond this on an indoor slope is a poor choice of time and money as you’ll do this better on a big mountain where you can do a turn 30 times in a row to get it right.

– Ski school. GO!!! I’ve been many times, but every time I still book some time in lessons. Even after my 1st week I was better technically than people on the same trip who had been 10+ times but had had maybe a couple of lessons and 100s of bad habits. First week maybe 5 mornings – it’s totally worth it.

– Go! It’s a great holiday.

he ability to see and choose my line down the slope rather than right in front of me, was rather useful. In other words, not panicking about hitting something when I could predict that I would actually pass close to it instead. Which is what I do on the bike, plotting a line through trees and obstacles based on the traction and body position I have.

+1 this was my impression on my first go at proper skiing about 4-5 yrs ago, now got holiday booked for Austria in Feb!

A dry slope before hand will still be useful as it will get you used to balancing on skis and also get you past the learning to snow plough – as that is probably tougher on dry slopes.

But you will skid on dry slopes more as you can’t really edge, so when you get out to the slopes you must ensure that you do not fall into the intermediate skidding round the turn with your arse out, as it is very easy to get stuck in that mode and always remain an intermediate.

We did 3 dry slope lessons before we went the first time and then put ‘competent snow-ploughers’ on the form, or 1 years experience, and went straight into the middle grouping of the intermediate group of lessons, which was handy.

If you get into skiing then really consider the Warren Smith ski academy in Verbier for future years – Verb is expensive but his instructors are absolutely fantastic.

there are also some very good instructional videos on YouTube I’d suggest looking at. I think if you can get into your head what you are supposed to be working on before you even go, it can only help.

Not just for beginners either, as the lessons go right through the range and I find them very useful for giving me key thoughts to take on the slopes.

Are you skiing or boarding?

IMO the trick is no to do too much in the 1st couple of days. No matter how fit you are the snow plough is a torture device.

If the boots don’t fit you, or hurt you don’t be afraid to take them back and swap.

IMO boarding is easier to learn, but a complete pain in the arse getting around.

You don’t need lessons, but you will get more out of your week if you do. I never had them and got to International Standard.

If you going to La Plagne I would definitely recommend Reflex Ski School

I think you need to be careful teaching yourself as there is so much stuff out there where people are using old and new techniques.

I have only done one Warren Smith course but find his videos are brilliant because 1) his technique/ideas are spot on and you can see other ski schools adopting/pinching them (you can see them doing the same thigh steering exercises) 2) the imagery is excellent including the helmet views.

There’s also some small books to go with the vids which are also good for the imagery.

If you are near Surrey I could lend you them, but I would probably just go with the first DVD rather than risk information overload.

book your knee reconstruction operations now, so you can roll straight into the operating theatre from the airport on your return.

suggestion: buy some boots now, in a shop. you don’t need to spend LOADS, generally more money buys ‘lightness’ rather than ‘betterness’. Hire boots are often shite, and can make for a pretty miserable week.

You can sell your boots when you get back, but you’ll probably keep them…

I am a keen skier – perhaps done 75-80 weeks, and I’m not a brilliant MTBer.

I started MTBing to stay fit for skiing. So yes, I think it is fun and addictive.

Once you start skiing narrows, steeps, deeps and trees, there is very definitely a shared bunch of skills in balance, line choice and psychological approach. But even before then.

You will never learn as much again as in your first week, and you should have a ball. But remember to enjoy the mountains!

Go to a dome rather than a dry slope if you can.

clavboy 😆

OP – where are you going?

Techniques do transfer between bike and skis with the whole weighting thing. However I find the muscle use is very different. Used to do two week ski trips each year and found two weeks out all day almost every day aggressive skiing still left me weak on the bike. Skiing lacks the climbing muscles in particular. It does rely on leg suspension a lot more. If you ride hard downhill and out of the seat a lot, especially on a hard tail, then that’s probably good for ski legs 😀

Pick the right place and don’t worry too much about the price of drinks. The last fair few trips I’ve been on the food and beer has been cheaper than in my local – even more so now with the exchange rate.

That said I did once order a pint of Galibier and the waitress warned me it was €12 a pint. After I got the nod from the Finance Director (OH) I went ahead to save place. Luckily the exchange rate was improving and we’d started to move away from parity.

Pick the right place and don’t worry too much about the price of drinks.

Slovakia[/url]. €1 a pint. Three course meal on the slopes for €5. 😀