Should I go skiing?
Discussion
Hi chaps,
Looking for advice as I can't decide what to do...
A few of my friends are organising a skiing trip to France in Jan next year. There will be 10 of us. 3 of us have never skied in our lives before, which will mean taking lessons.
Im the first to admit that im not the fittest bloke in the world.
Is it going to be a waste of money or should I just do it?
Looking for advice as I can't decide what to do...
A few of my friends are organising a skiing trip to France in Jan next year. There will be 10 of us. 3 of us have never skied in our lives before, which will mean taking lessons.
Im the first to admit that im not the fittest bloke in the world.
Is it going to be a waste of money or should I just do it?
woody2846 said:
.
Im the first to admit that im not the fittest bloke in the world.
you've got plenty of time to get yourself fit!Im the first to admit that im not the fittest bloke in the world.
I play three hours of 5-a-side a week and that's probably just enough to get by on a 10 day trip with 8 full days of skiing & boarding
book some lessons but don't do more than two or three hours with the instructor a day - you will be knackered by the end of it but once you've had a vin chaud and a sandwich you can practice at your own pace in the afternoon
book it, you'll have a great time
Plenty of people learn to ski as an adult so you are not alone. You can rent your boots and skis and pick up some ski clobber in TK Maxx for under £100 and still not look a 3.14 key.
Get booked on to a beginners course. You learn in the morning, have a little practice in the afternoon, nap, then meet your mates at the bottom of the slope for Apres which continues to the early hours. Repeat for 5 days.
You don't have to be that fit, but it helps, and you have some time.
Get booked on to a beginners course. You learn in the morning, have a little practice in the afternoon, nap, then meet your mates at the bottom of the slope for Apres which continues to the early hours. Repeat for 5 days.
You don't have to be that fit, but it helps, and you have some time.
go for it but make sure you take out decent travel insurance.
if its your first time snowboarding then you will more than likely break an arm, skiing will be a snapped cruciate ligament.
try not to do it on the first couple of days as it can be a bit boring sat in the challet for the rest of the week.
good luck
if its your first time snowboarding then you will more than likely break an arm, skiing will be a snapped cruciate ligament.
try not to do it on the first couple of days as it can be a bit boring sat in the challet for the rest of the week.
good luck
woody2846 said:
Hi chaps,
Looking for advice as I can't decide what to do...
A few of my friends are organising a skiing trip to France in Jan next year. There will be 10 of us. 3 of us have never skied in our lives before, which will mean taking lessons.
Im the first to admit that im not the fittest bloke in the world.
Is it going to be a waste of money or should I just do it?
Just stay home in bed until you die , gormlessLooking for advice as I can't decide what to do...
A few of my friends are organising a skiing trip to France in Jan next year. There will be 10 of us. 3 of us have never skied in our lives before, which will mean taking lessons.
Im the first to admit that im not the fittest bloke in the world.
Is it going to be a waste of money or should I just do it?
sleep envy said:
what is this 'nap' you speak of?
Well, Sleep Envy, it is what people do for an hour when they dissapear and can be found collapsed on their bed snoring They then wake up feeling a little refreshed ready to get on with the drinking and means they wont look like a mong by Thursday.You should give it a go. I heartily recommend it.
woody2846 said:
Thanks chaps looks like it's a yes then.
Do you think it's worth doing some lessons in the UK before I go?
Got the holiday text this morning so perhaps this should give me the kick up the arse to get fitter-rather than sitting on it!!
Absolutely go to a "snow zone" type place for beginner lessons. You don't want to miss the spectacular scenery when you get there and can only look at your skis.Do you think it's worth doing some lessons in the UK before I go?
Got the holiday text this morning so perhaps this should give me the kick up the arse to get fitter-rather than sitting on it!!
woody2846 said:
Is it going to be a waste of money.
Hell no!!! There are many reasons to take up skiing, and you soon begin to look forward to winters, and although it’s winter being at altitude on a clear day is sunny and just lifts any gloom of being back home. You can ski in spring where it’s 20+ and even warmer in resort, a morning or day of skiing then onto a sun lounger at bar in shorts and t-shirt enjoying a beer.Be warned it’s addictive and although it can be done on the cheap it’s not cheap if you know what I mean. Deals can be done on flights and accommodation and some UK TO’s offer early booking 2 for 1 lift passes or gear hire otherwise the lift passes circa £200 remain constant regardless.
I’ve been at it for many years now, and decided to take a year out a while back and get my instructors quals in Canada, then moved onto New Zealand, and Japan to teach. I know allot of guys who got into skiing later in life and jacked in city jobs to go and train to be an instructor.
Don’t worry about being unfit a) you have plenty of time to remedy that and b) if you have good technique piste bashing isn’t that tiring. As someone else mentioned gravity is on your side, just point your skis into the fall line and away you go!
With several indoor ski domes across the UK it’s very easy with the time you have to get to a reasonable recreational standard before you go on your holiday. That way you won’t have to waste valuable time and money on the nursery slope in resort being told “This is a ski, this is how you put it on.” Huge waste of time and money. I’ve been with groups of beginners before and it’s surprising what you can achieve with a few hours on an indoor slope-the main thing is to try to get to a level where you can enjoy yourself, this means getting around Blue runs without falling too much. The indoor slopes have learn to ski in half a day classes which are pretty decent and should have you making linked snow plough turns within that time then you can get further lessons or hit the big slope on your own. When you see the indoor slope for the first time you’ll probably think-“How steep is that?! I can’t possibly ever do that” Then you will. Dry slopes are a cheaper alternative, nothing like the real thing but good enough if there’s one local and you want to keep costs down-they hurt when you fall.
You mention the ‘F’ word. If you like the thought of good and cheap(er) beer consider Austria, these are huge sweeping generalisations but while Austria lacks the huge linked areas (no good to beginners anyhow) found in France and high altitude resorts (Austria ahs those too). Austria is the home of après ski beer is less than half the price it is in France and the food is more reasonably priced too. There are some half decent places in France for nightlife but it’s that expensive I usually don’t bother.
You’ve much to gain and little to loose from giving it a go, you only live once and all that.
a311 said:
woody2846 said:
Is it going to be a waste of money.
Hell no!!! My ski holiday is the focal point of my holiday year, and I haven' missed a season for about 15 years now. I am excited already this year and I'm not going away until March !!
That said, I hate being a beginner at anything, and didn't quite enjoy my first week as much as I would have liked. But once I started progressing, I got the bug, big time.
DeadMeat_UK said:
I hate being a beginner at anything.
This is so true, probably a man thing?!
I forgot to add in anticipation you may ask- to ski or board? I’m obviously going to say ski here as that’s what I do although I can board to a reasonable level I’ll try and give an unbiased point of view.
Two very different learning curves. If someone picked up a pair of planks for the first time I would expect them to get to the stage in a week to be getting around the resort fine, i.e. not falling every 5 mins tackling Blues and perhaps tamer reds fine but without finesse. It’s all down to the individual but going from snow plough to parallel turns should also be achievable-it just feels natural after a while. Issue with being older like with anything else is the fear factor-we tend to hold back when we’re older, we don’t bounce as well, don’t heal as well and in general have a higher sense of self preservation. This is a huge barrier for allot of people, to get better you really need to push yourself.
In the first week of picking up a board generally I would expect most will spend the first half on their arse. Generally if you had an identical twin and one picked up a pair of skis and the other a board I would expect the skier to be getting around much more.
With skiing you reach a plateau much more quickly than boarding. Some spend their entire lives at this-a decent recreational skier, which means they can tackle most slopes and a bit of off piste maybe. It’s hard to get past this level without some pro coaching.
As you progress with boarding the leaning curve isn’t as steep and you can become a pretty proficient boarder quicker than you could become an advanced skier IMO.
You can go faster on skis, on hard pack or ice I’d rather be on skis. People who do both on a powder day would reach for their board before their planks, sadly for a recreational skier (discounting this season so far) these are few and far between. Advances in ski technology has changed the off piste weighting a bit with fatter floatier skis, ditto for park skis.
a311 said:
DeadMeat_UK said:
I hate being a beginner at anything.
With skiing you reach a plateau much more quickly than boarding. Some spend their entire lives at this-a decent recreational skier, which means they can tackle most slopes and a bit of off piste maybe. It’s hard to get past this level without some pro coaching.Am topping up with more coaching now to really master it rather than get down it.
Decision point for me between ski or board is generally the snow conditions. Learning to board on hard pack isn't fun so ski if it's not soft.
For me boarding is less technical so shorter learning curve, skiing more technica =l longer curve.
Try either of both at the snow dome before you go but don't go anywhere near a dry slope within 5 weeks of your trip. Dry slopes are pretty hard and unforgiving.
All IMHO.......
For me boarding is less technical so shorter learning curve, skiing more technica =l longer curve.
Try either of both at the snow dome before you go but don't go anywhere near a dry slope within 5 weeks of your trip. Dry slopes are pretty hard and unforgiving.
All IMHO.......
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