Helping a beginner stucked before a steep one...

Being new to the sport myself and very much a beginner (indoor lessons only so far !!! )the point about a pste map is a good one for me. Is a piste map that easy to follow ? and therefore avoid getting into situations or runs that your not ready for or is it easy to get "lost" and finish up at the top of a Black.Before anyone answers this I could quite easily get lost in my own house as my directional sense is non existent )

The piste map will give the colour of the piste, so you will be able to plan your route avoiding Blacks and reds, please book lessons they are a must and will only improve your enjoyment of skiing and the
Instructors will take you around the piste that is manageable for your level.
Your indoor lessons are just a start continue lessons when you get to resort 8)

Thanks Ian, and sadly for my pocket !! I have to totally agree with you anyone who has never skied before who thinks they can just hit the slopes and ski is either sadly deluded or a genius. I have had two full days tuition and whilst I'm "getting the hang of it " Ski lessons are definately on my list for Jan hopefully by the end of the week I'll be able to say I can ski.

terencewind wrote:I started off last season with a friend (so we're both beginners) with a different preference for adrenaline surges. So wanting to cross from one run to the other, we came to a spot where it's really steep for about 300m.

My friend panicked, and the junction (which leads to an easier run) was 500m uphill, but walking back that distance was not an option as it gave an impression of a 5km hike uphill through the snow. After a 15-min hesitation, I tell you, she was just about to cry.

Finally, she tried also going down step by step using the edges of the skis to grab on to the slope. Might seem like a good idea for 300m, but just less than quarter of the way down, she soon realised that she has reached a point where it seems just too steep to even do that. So she turned forward and headed straight on downhill, yelling her hearts out down the way.

Obviously it was terrifying, but unavoidable as that's the only connection to the next lift, which allows us to ski down, unless we decide to walk 3 km on foot back to the point we began.

My questions is: How do I help a beginner conquer his fears and ski down a very steep slope? Are there any tricks to this?

Simple questions: what the hell were you doing there in the first place, as it was obviously way too difficult for her?

Well, people do make mistakes. You really need at least three years of lessons before you let yourself loose on the unsuspecting public. People sometimes forget they are in the mountains, and danger is often not too far away.

Lessons are not just about learning to ski, but knowing the rules of the mountain, and some mountaincraft, to keep you, and others safe.

Nice demonstration of a fall, there, Pablo, but I liked the adjacent video.

geo wrote:Thanks Ian, and sadly for my pocket !! I have to totally agree with you anyone who has never skied before who thinks they can just hit the slopes and ski is either sadly deluded or a genius. I have had two full days tuition and whilst I'm "getting the hang of it " Ski lessons are definately on my list for Jan hopefully by the end of the week I'll be able to say I can ski.

Those two days of lessons will give you head start and will possible put you in a higher group in resort, have a fantastic time and let us know how you get on 8)

I think anyone could get caught during the early years of their skiing as I found out to my cost in Niederau :shock:. Piste maps are eratic and it's why places like St Anton should be avoided until you're confident. Saying that, the same could be said about Val D'Isere but maybe to a lesser extent?

First and foremost, as has been said, learn to skid. It's absolutely invaluable :thumbup:

terencewind wrote:Why didn't the skis go off???

I don't know why his skis didn't come off. One of my skis came off when I just skied into a pile of powder with my right ski.

I got stuck on a run once, like you and your friend. In my case it was entirely my own fault. It was the first time I'd skied on snow for 30 years, after some refresher lessons on the dry ski slope. I was doing really well on the blues, so the friend I was ski-ing with suggested I tried going down a red.

Well, it was a total disaster. I couldn't do it safely and under control, at all. But luckily for me there was a blue piste running parallel with it and I managed to walk over the slight incline dividing them and ski back down the blue. After another couple of days of practise I was fine on that red.

And about a month ago, when we were autumn ski-ing on the glacier at Tignes, we got stuck on a red at the top because all the snow had come off it and all that was left was the base layer of hard glacial green ice, which is almost impossible to ski on. We side-slipped down the side of the piste until we reached the snow.

These things do happen sometimes, and you have to work out a way of getting down safely, and under control.

As far as piste maps go - I have long had a 'thing' about them. Every resort I go to seems to have at least one mistake on the piste map. And sometimes a blue seems more like a red, or vice versa. I don't find them very easy to read, myself, either, because they are 2-dimensional and obviously the mountain is 3-D. I can remember staring at a huge piste map once, wondering where the piste I wanted had gone, until I realised that it was hidden behind the shoulder of the mountain, on the map.

The best thing to do if you're a beginner, is only to ski where your instructor has taken you, because you can be quite sure it's safe, and you won't get lost (assuming you are having lessons in the morning, and ski-ing on your own in the afternoon).

Best of luck with your next ski holiday, :D :D

Ally