How-To / Lessons Advice Safety Clothing Equipment Vacations Links
How-To / Lessons —————————————————————————————————–
To ski, you need to learn 3 skills: standing up; turning; stopping.
To stand on skis, have your feet shoulder width apart with your toes pointing inwards; this creates a triangle / V shape (referred to as a ‘snow plough’).
Slightly bending your knees creates a more stable stance.
Spreading your arms out wide gives you more balance.
Lean slightly forward instead of leaning slightly back; doing so makes it easier to turn and stop.
Look straight ahead in the direction you want to go, not down at your skis or the snow in front of you.
Confidence is an important aspect of skiing well; the less you believe you’ll fall over, the less you’ll actually fall over.
Skis will automatically move you forward on even the slightest slope.
To go faster, make the triangle / V shape of your skis smaller at the back i.e. move your heels closer together.
To slow down or stop on small slopes, turn your toes more inwards and push your heels further apart.
To slow down or stop on steeper slopes, gradually turn your skis so they face horizontally across the slope instead of vertically down it.
To turn, point your skis in the direction that you want to go i.e. point your skis right if you want to turn right and turn your skis left if you want to turn left.
Only move your feet when turning; moving / swinging your arms / shoulders won’t makes you turn any quicker.
To turn sharply, move your weight from foot to foot as well as pointing your skis in the direction that you want to go.
To turn sharply to the right, put more weight on your left foot; to turn sharply to the left, put more weight on your right foot.
Place your ski pole (a pole with a metal point on one end and a wrist strap on the other) in the snow at the start of every turn; doing so improves your balance.
At the start of a turn, place the end of one ski pole into the snow just in front of you; at the end of the turn, lift up the ski pole.
Alternate between which ski pole you use for each turn i.e. left pole, then right pole, then left pole etc.
It’s advisable that all beginners take ski lessons to learn about their equipment and to perfect basic techniques.
You don't have to be a beginner to take lessons; refresher, intermediate and advanced courses are widely available too.
Most ski schools offer both private tuition and group lessons.
Private tuition is relatively expensive but, because of faster progression and less lessons being needed, it can be a worthwhile investment.
Group lessons are often reasonably priced and allow you to meet and have fun with other people whilst you learn.
A good ski school should ensure that every person in the same group lesson is of similar skiing ability and allow people to change groups if they find one too easy or too difficult.
Advice ————————————————————————————————————————-
A colour code is used to differentiate the difficulty levels of ski slopes.
Europe colour code: blue - beginner / easy; red - intermediate; black - advanced.
USA & Canada colour code: green - beginner / easy; blue - intermediate runs; black - advanced.
If you find yourself on a slope that you feel unsafe on, side step down it (keeping your skis on).
If you’re climbing or descending on foot, keep to the edge of the slope.
The speed at which you ski should be determined by: your ability and experience; the number of skiers around you; the condition of the slope; the weather conditions.
It’s your responsibility to ensure that you don’t collide with or endanger any skiers in front of you; those in front are never held accountable.
You can overtake another skier on their right or on their left.
Never stop unnecessarily if: the slope is narrow; there are many skiers around; visibility is restricted.
Being physically fit means that you can ski for longer and your muscles will ache less afterwards.
Prepare your body for skiing by doing both strength training and cardiovascular training.
Warming up and stretching at the start of a days skiing considerably reduces the chances of injury.
It’s essential to always keep your head, hands and feet, warm and dry.
Drink water at regular intervals during a day of skiing; failure to do so can result in nausea, fainting or altitude sickness.
Drinking alcohol before skiing is dangerous; it inhibits your decision making, slows your reaction times and dehydrates you.
Wear sunscreen factor 30+ and reapply it at least twice a day; this is essential, even on cloudy days, because the suns rays are stronger at high altitudes and the snow reflects its rays.
Lip balm is necessary to protect your lips from drying out and cracking.
Safety ————————————————————————————————————————-
Look for and obey signs and markings on slopes (particularly at the top, bottom and where slopes merge together); they’re there for your safety.
Before using a ski lift, ask an employee of the resort to show you how to get on, ride and get off safely.
Check the weather forecast at the start of everyday and be prepared for drastic changes throughout the day (especially at higher altitudes).
Be aware of how to avoid causing avalanches and what to do in an avalanche situation.
If someone looks in trouble or has injured themselves, do what you can to help them without endangering yourself; if necessary, alert the resort's rescue service.
Skiing has a relatively low injury rate when compared to other recreational activities; however, thousands of skiers are hurt every year.
Most skiing accidents and injuries occur at the end of the day when people are tired and their reaction times are slower.
It’s important to take out insurance before going skiing, ensuring that it specifically includes cover for winter sports.
Clothing ———————————————————————————————————————-
Recommended minimum clothing required for one week of skiing: fleece top x 3; goggles x 1; hat x 1; headband x 1; thermal underwear x 2 sets; ski boots x 1 set; ski gloves x 1 pair; ski jacket x 1; ski pants x 1; ski socks x 3 pairs; sunglasses x 1; walking boots x 1 pair.
Wear multiple thin layers of clothing rather than one thick layer; doing so keeps you warmer.
Wear at least three layers of clothing: base layer; insulating layer; protective layer.
The outer layer of your ski outfit should be both waterproof and windproof.
Avoid skiing in any clothing made of cotton; it becomes heavy when wet and dries slowly.
Buy a warm fleece hat that covers your ears; this is important because a significant amount of body heat is lost through the top of the head.
Sunglasses should: provide 100% ultra violet (UV) protection; cover your eyes from all angles; securely wrap around your head / ears; be shatterproof.
Goggles should be worn whenever you’re skiing in snow or rain.
Ensure that your gloves give you enough flexibility to comfortably hold your ski poles.
Don't tuck your ski pants into your ski boots; pull them over the outside to keep the snow out.
It’s recommended that you buy ski boots before you buy skis because they have the biggest bearing on your comfort.
You should be able to move your toes and ankle within your ski boot but your feet shouldn’t move from side to side and your heel shouldn’t move up and down.
Walk around in ski boots for a while before trying them with skis; doing so lets you adjust to them without putting yourself at unnecessary risk of injury.
Only wear one pair of socks at a time; wearing more reduces the blood circulation to your feet and makes them colder.
Avoid blisters by wearing thick socks made of stretchable material.
Thermal underwear (normally made of wool) provides considerably more warmth and protection than cotton undergarments.
Equipment ——————————————————————————————————————-
Always rent ski equipment before buying it; doing so lets you know which equipment is best suited to your needs and taste.
Go skiing a couple of times before buying any equipment so that you’re sure that you enjoy it and will continue to go in the future.
Try ski equipment before buying it and don’t buy something just because it looks good.
If you’re a beginner, don’t rent / buy equipment intended for experts; it will be harder to learn basic techniques using it.
There's a very wide range of skis available; all ability levels and price ranges being catered for.
What you want from your skis: light-weight; ease of turning; stability at speed; vibration absorption.
Your skis should be no longer than the height of your chin; longer ones make it harder to turn.
If using your own skis, get them serviced before using them after a considerable time of not skiing.
Buying ski poles will improve your balance, acceleration and speed.
For beginner and intermediate skiers, cheap ski poles are often adequate; the benefits of the more technologically advanced materials used in expensive ones only being noticeable to advanced skiers.
A fanny pack / bum bag, is useful to keep personal belongings in whilst skiing.
Buy a ski pass holder that you can attach to your clothing; having one means you won’t have to keep getting out and putting away your ski pass in your pocket / bag.
Vacations ——————————————————————————————————————–
Spending for a skiing vacation will likely include: travel; accommodation; ski pass; ski lessons; equipment rental; insurance; food and drink.
To reduce the cost of a skiing vacation: avoid peak season; book as late as possible; go to a smaller resort; stay further from the slopes.
If you're a beginner, don't go to a resort with lots of advanced runs; you’ll be paying a premium for facilities that you won’t use.
For beginners, ‘learn-to-ski vacation packages’ are available from some tour operators; they include ski lessons in the overall price of the holiday and are generally good value for money.
Prior to signing up for ski lessons, ensure that English speaking instructors are available.
Before booking a skiing vacation, view a resort's website to assess their facilities and find reviews of them by entering ‘resort name + review’ into an internet search engine.
Some resorts are more socially orientated than others and include night time entertainment (this is called 'après-ski').
The most popular ski destinations are Canada, France and the USA.
Pas De La Casa (Andorra): For younger skiers on a budget who are interested in night time entertainment as well as day time skiing.
Saalbach Hinterglemm (Austria): Popular with tourists because of it’s beginner and intermediate slopes, ski school and nightlife.
St. Anton (Austria): Known for its lively bars and nightlife, St. Anton is ideal for groups of friends holidaying together.
Banff (Canada): More than 200 slopes and situated in the heart of the Rocky Mountains.
Lake Louise (Canada): Variety of slopes and excellent dining, shopping and nightlife.
Whistler (Canada): Regularly voted the No.1 ski resort outside of Europe; this resort offers fantastic scenery and skiing for all levels of ability.
Chamonix (France): Attracts people of all ages and abilities due to its location and range of slopes.
Courchevel (France): 600 km of slopes provide lots of variety and make this the world's largest ski area.
Flaine (France): Family orientated resort that has a good range of slops for beginners.
Saas Fee (Switzerland): Picturesque village in the Alps that is particularly popular with couples.
Aspen (USA): Busy and glamorous resort that has an internationally renowned ski school.
Breckenridge (USA): Extensive beginner slopes and a ski school with an excellent reputation.
Lake Tahoe (USA): One of the most beautiful ski locations in the world and offers the widest range of winter sport activities in the USA.
Vail (USA): The largest single ski Mountain in North America has a European feel to it and caters for all levels of skiers.
How-To / Lessons Advice Safety Clothing Equipment Vacations Links
www.ifyouski.com : Equipment and clothing advice. Improving technique. Search for skiing holidays.
www.ultimate-ski.com : Skiing articles. Advice and tips. Find quotes for equipment rental, insurance and accommodation.
www.travel.yahoo.com : Reviews of ski destinations. Resort statistics. Up-to-date weather reports.
www.snowheads.com : Skiing forum. Discuss all aspects of skiing.