beginners advice please

IceGhost wrote:Have fun, don't push yourself too hard, have a darn good health insurance plan, take your time. You'll love it. I found it helpful to talk to other skiers and heed thier advice :P Befriend and orthopedic surgeon

To give a little perspective, I'm on the slopes fifty to seventy times a year. I have never needed to see a doctor for any injury from skiing or snowboarding.

Trencher

Hi Ruby,

We are also a family of 4 (2 adults at 40+ and 2 kids, 10 & 15, who were 9 and 14 when we first went).

We have been skiing for the last 2 years, and hopefully again in 2009.

On both occasions we have had group lessons. It can be a bit of a rabble to begin with but I have found that it soon settles down and you find yourself in the appropriate group. Its easier if you're complete beginners as you would go straight into the beginners group. Our kids have left us behind now and are in different groups!! but they want to snowboard next year.

I had never skied before we went and my wife had been when she was at school. We went to a local dry slope for a family session but I just wanted to know what it felt like with skis and boots on. It was easier to learn on real snow in the resort.

Personally I wouldn't spend money on dry slope lessons

Enjoy it. Just ski within your capabilities, and don't worry if you feel others are making more progress, you will get there. I couldn't get the prallel turns last year but this year it clicked and I was fine and was able to ski red runs this time with confidence.

All the best to you.

Personally, I would never compare indoor lessons to those out on the alps. In my experience, indoor lessons are rushed and geared towards the best person in the group - lessons on the snow are quite the contrary.

I had an indoor snowboard lesson in milton keynes which completely put me off snowboarding. My Partner (a seasoned skier) had a few lessons on snowboarding in the alps and loved it. I suppose the lesson here is that nothing compares to being out there - in terms of lessons as well as scenary/atmosphere etc.

We are taking the kids next year (14 and 9) and I am completely sure they will be better than me! I can confirm though that the norm is separate lessons for adults and children, then meet up for lunch and ski together in the afternoon.

julietP wrote:Personally, I would never compare indoor lessons to those out on the alps. In my experience, indoor lessons are rushed and geared towards the best person in the group - lessons on the snow are quite the contrary.

I suppose the lesson here is that nothing compares to being out there - in terms of lessons as well as scenary/atmosphere etc.

Perhaps the OP could look at learning on a dry slope. My own experience: I took 4 hours of tuition on a dry slope, and had some practice time by myself. After the ski-off in resort, I was put into a group who all had 5 weeks on-snow experience. So, yes, lessons could be seen as rushed, but then again, I think I learned more in the tuition time.

If I was in a group having tuition, and the lesson was geared to the weakest group member, I would be asking to move groups, since I don't expect to be standing around. I don't need to pay an instructor to stare at the wonderful scenery, I need a lift ticket for that.
It will all depend on how you view lessons, for some folks, it's a social activity, for others, it's to improve their skills.

Bandit, with all due respect you seem to have missed the point here.

You are replying to someone who is nervous about skiiing due to a negative experience on indoor slopes. I'm not saying that it is necessary or indeed always the case that lessons on the snow are geared towards the weakest in the group. What is true however is that there is a lot more flexibility in moving between groups which is not available on indoor slopes where you've booked a 1 hour lesson.

I would also add that the scenary and atmosphere of the alps (or any ski resort) does add to the experience of skiiing be you a beginner or expert.

Ruby1 wrote:Hi, we are a family of 4, our children are 10 and 8, we would like to book a ski holiday for next year. We have had 3 x 1 hour lessons at an indoor real snow ski centre. I was very nervous during the lessons and found the instructor was keen to push on to the next thing and I really wanted to spend more time practising what I had learnt in order to gain confidence. As a result of him pushing me (not literally), I ended up careering down the larger slope having not mastered turning at all and the only way I stopped myself from crashing into the wall at the bottom was to sit down, this has now made me dread the thought of going on a skiing holiday. I am really keen to go skiing but I feel I need an instructor who is patient and will work at my level or I may get put off the whole thing. Is it better to go for private lessons as a whole family? We may also be going with another family with children of the same age who are also beginners so they could make our group larger. I welcome any advice and also any recommendations of the best places to go etc. Many Thanks

The point, as I understand it, is that this group are no longer beginners. Unless the other family, have also had instruction to the same level, there will be a mismatch. If the OP views skiing lessons as a social activity for the family, that may be fine. How will the OP feel if the instructor wants to push on because she is the best in the group.

The views from either a dry slope or a snowdome, are pretty irrelevant if you are intent on learning. However, the views from many of the UK dry slopes are quite amazing. The standard of tuition is also quite high.Instructors are qualified through either BASI or ASSI. Ruby could seek out a patient dry slope instructor in this country for a couple of private lessons to get her confidence back.

Ruby 1 i would suggest you have some private lessons and learn at your own pace,That way you will learn to love skiing and not loath it.If you enjoy what your doing then you will gain confidence and progress at a much quicker pace.Good luck and stick at it.


AJ Adele

Ruby1

Please don't let one bad experience from a seemingly thoughtless instructor put you off many years of potential enjoyment!

A couple who holidayed with TonyH and I in Sauze this year had a similar experience before we went. They paid a significant amount of money for a days lesson, where from what I can gather they learnt almost nothing of use nor relevance.

The idea of private family lessons sounds a good one - you'll spread the cost, be together as a family and learn as a family whilst having loads of fun laughing at one another and celebrating your progress.

Try to find a resort with a reputable ski school (there are many) and don't worry about being pushed too far too quickly - its not in any instructor's best interests to do so.

BUT, if you feel uncomfortable at any time tell him or her and ask to be shown again or if you can repeat the previous bit, which you were happy with.

Also, one gripe of mine is that people these days seem not to want to have the necessary amount of lessons. Yes, I know they can be pricey, but they are worth it if you are in any way serious about our wonderful sport.

Go for it and have fun, because thats what its all about...