Totally discouraged after dry ski slope lessons - advice sought

We are going skiing in 2 days time and I thought it a good idea to have a couple of lessons prior to this as we are all total beginners.

The kids are fine - but I have been totally disouraged. I was so optimistic as I am fairly fit, and I thought I would get the hang of it, but I can't even do a snowplough, or turn the skis or ANYTHING!

Will it get better or am I one of those people who will never get on with skiing?

And if I can't, what else can I do for a week in a ski resort that isn't skiing?

Thanks
Silverflora

Silverflora, don't despair! Dry slopes are harder to ski on than snow. I learned the basics on plastic, and it stood me in good stead when I got to resort.
You will arrive in resort ahead of other beginners as you already know the basics.

Plastic is also nasty to fall on, when compared to snow!

Where are you heading to?

Let us know how you get on, and don't worry if the kids seem to be racing ahead, as adults do learn differently.

There are any number of reasons you may have been frustrated on your first attempt at skiing. Kids tend to to find it easier, with a lower center of gravity, brains that are still in the fast learning stage of development, and less fear of falling. So don't compare yourself to them. Some experience with other sports that require balance and co-ordination make it easier for some people, but if you don't have that, it should still be possible to learn.

It sometimes takes a different approach for it to click. A different instructor, a different environment, or simply a slightly different way of describing what to do.

I would see how you get on in a group lesson at your resort. If it still is not working for you, you might consider a private lesson. Insist on a very experienced instructor. The best thing you can do though, is relax, have an open mind, and have fun feeling like a kid again.

Hi
My husband and I were totally rubbish on our first skiing holiday whilst our then five year old flew down the slopes with great ease.
Shes still better than us but were getting better.

We realised after a couple of days that half the beginners in our groups had been skiing before and booked onto the debutants course because it meant the ski pass and lessons were cheaper. So Id recommend talking to the others. If itys a big resort then hopefully you can find skiiers of similar ability.

Weve found some teachers are great and some have no patience or ideas.On our third holiday we decided to spend a week practising everything said in the previous years at our own pace.

Check the piste maps closely. Some blue slopes are a lot harder than others and you can usually find out from the local tourist officve which are the really tricky slopes and wheres good. I found the easy slopes are less crowded after two days and then you spend lots of time refining turns and snow ploughs.

Beware the ice first thing in the morning (especially if its been sunny the day before and then freezes over night). Youll gpo a lot quicker. One teacher used to say "Open up a big one" when snow ploughing - lol and it always worked.

Good luck.

Stick with it as the guys above have said it is a lot easier on snow

Thanks everyone for your encouraging words!

We're going to Peisey Vallandry and I think the lessons are with ESF. I will certainly give it a go - snow should be a lot softer to fall on!

Just as an aside, I read an article by John McCarthy from 2001
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/france/alps/717068/Les-Arcs-Once-more-from-the-top.html
- and he said he hated skiing until he tried the "Ski Evolutif" method. Is this a good way to learn - and do ski schools still offer it?

I shall report back on our return - hopefully with some good news!

AFAIR Les Arcs domain is where Ski Evolutif was 1st developed as a teaching method. I'm not sure if it's still used, as skis are shorter nowadays. Personally I'm not a huge fan of ESF in Les Arcs, and I've seen enough of them over the years. If you are not getting enough help in your group class contact New Generation, who are a well regarded British Ski School in the area. I believe that they are based in Peisey.

As I understand it, Ski Evolutif is a form of direct to parallel instruction. Beginners are never taught the wedge turn, but use the sidecut of the modern skis to turn with the skis parallel (or almost). The big advantage of this method is that you don't have to unlearn the wedge turn in order to progress. The wedge turn ingrains a lot of bad habits that can be hard to correct. However the wedge turn does allow people to access more of the mountain early, but only gives an illusion of control. With a direct to parallel type method, beginners control their speed with turn shape, rather than the wedge stop. Although this reduces the pitch of slope that beginners can use safely, progress later will much faster.

That Telegraph article is quite old. I think this is a more common way to teach now.