First ski-trip lessons learned

Returned from our first ever skiing holiday on 27th and would like to share a few experiences good and bad.

Salzburg Airpot, picked up the hire vehicle without a hitch on to Kaprun which when we arrived was like a picture postcard scene, snow gently falling, absolutely stunning. Our Interhome chalet was beautiful - so far so good.

Ski boots. After two days I was ready to give up, my shins and calfs were absolutely killing me and I thought I was being a complete wimp. I spoke to the manager of the ski school who took one look at my boots and told me that they were the problem. He said that I should take them back to the hire shop and have them changed and not ski that day. What a difference a pair of boots make!!! I would just like to add that the ski school Germot Schermer in Kaprun were fantastic, the first day we arrived with our hire ski's they said that our ski's were not the best for learning and they replaced them with shorter ski's which were definitely easier to manage. (What have I learned here, I should have booked the hire equipment with the ski school and I would not have missed a day's skiing).


Ski School. The ski school was excellent but I wish I had booked private lessons. I personally found that having to try out the moves in front of others in the group made me nervous and I seemed to lose all sense of co-ordination and balance and standing about in the wrong boots was agony and tiring. The children though loved their group lesson and their instructor was fantastic too.

Once I changed my boots I ventured onto the beginners slope and was surprised and happy to find that I could ski down and that the right moves were instinctive. The only disappointing thing was that due to lack of snow it was very icy and for a beginner that can be a bit scary.

Unfortunately for me on Christmas day I came down with flu so the rest of the holiday for me was a bit of a nightmare.

For a first sking holiday and a DIY one at that it was pretty good with everyone really having a great time (there were 10 of us in all). One thing that we all agree on was a god-send was the hiring of the minibus, no long walks in uncomfortable ski boots carrying skis and no on and off buses. We also made several trips to the hire shop changing ski's, boots and swapping ski's for snowboards. The hire shop(Sport 2000) were great at changing stuff, no problems and no charge.

Everyone of us wants to go skiing again in the future and so hopefully with all that we learned this time the next time will be even better!! :lol:

dianep Well done, talk about in at the deep end :D With the knowledge you now have, future trips will be much easier to plan. You were fortunate that your dodgy boots got picked up quite quickly, that was a good ski school mgr.
I have used Interhome over many years, and they have always provided a good service. Shame about the flu though :(

The main thing is that you want to go again, the rest put down to experience, I like group lessons, but perhaps next time get some of your party together and book private. :wink:

Diane, valuable points made there, particularly about the boots. First timers get no help at all from the people in the hire shops unfortunately, they treat it like a sausage factory and get you out as fast as possible without discussing what might be right for you.
I would always suggest beginners take shorter skis as they help you control yourself easier and faster.
I learned in a pair of boots that made my shins bleed, no one told me any different, but I sure appreciated a decent pair of boots when I got them!
If you can learn to ski on icy bare slopes, the rest will be like a walk in the park.
Hope you have got the skiing bug and got rid of the flu bug, and get yourself booked for the next trip!!!

yeah the hire people dont seen very helpful when boot fitting beginners/inexperienced people...a little advice on how tight the boot should be, and what pain should NOT be put up with, would go a long way

the lesson i learned is definately go with private lessons...2x2hour lessons came out around the same price as 5x2hour group lessons but i learned so much in that time

always warm up and warm down

and lastly

push yourself and try those red runs that look scary and blacks by the end if you are brave enough

sami_glasgow wrote:yeah the hire people dont seen very helpful when boot fitting beginners/inexperienced people...a little advice on how tight the boot should be, and what pain should NOT be put up with, would go a long way

the lesson i learned is definately go with private lessons...2x2hour lessons came out around the same price as 5x2hour group lessons but i learned so much in that time

always warm up and warm down

and lastly

push yourself and try those red runs that look scary and blacks by the end if you are brave enough

You had a bad experience but not all hire shops are as bad as you have experienced. 8)

I never seem to really improve with my skiing which is highly annoying when I'm constantly talking myself through each turn - one week a year doesnt help but .....Ive now booked a 2 hour lesson on my first day (£60) and thats it rather than ski school for 3 mornings - not much difference in price but do you think this is a good move? :(

Tony_H wrote:First timers get no help at all from the people in the hire shops unfortunately, they treat it like a sausage factory and get you out as fast as possible without discussing what might be right for you.

This is exactly what we experienced in Austria. In that resort the boot fitters knew little to no English, so no discussion was possible.

Tony_H wrote:
I would always suggest beginners take shorter skis as they help you control yourself easier and faster.

What would you ask for in the hire shop, beginners skis?

sami_glasgow wrote:yeah the hire people dont seen very helpful when boot fitting beginners/inexperienced people...a little advice on how tight the boot should be, and what pain should NOT be put up with, would go a long way

How much pain is acceptable? The boots I had in Austria were agony to walk in, although the boot fitters hadn't showed us to loosen the clasps when walking. When you talk about tightness, are you saying that there are different width fittings available for each foot size? If I remember correctly, it was the top of the boot that was too tight and did cut into my shin quite a bit.