Where do i start?

Thanks for all the good advice guys... at least I assume it's good advice, not that I'd know the difference between good and bad advice at the moment!

I've spent the last two days at work hiding in my office avoiding doing work and surfing t'interweb to try and find out more about skiing. As I said I know very little about it, despite the fact some of my earliest memories are of watching Pirmin Zurbriggen on Ski Sunday in the mid 80s.

My searching has uncovered a few more questions though. Firstly, how much should I look to spend on clothing? A jacket's not an issue as my North Face Decagon is designed for winter sports already, but what about trousers? Also, what's better to go for? Salopettes or trousers without braces? Finally, people have recommended getting goggles, but there's so many out there to choose from, with so many different coloured lenses, what do I need?

Thanks again, and apologies if I appear really ignorant!

Since you already are a TNF user - check out the Freedom pants. I bought a pair this year, and they are pretty good. I, also, like my Spyder pants, but they were a bit more money. :)

I think goggles are oversold sometimes. Unless you are skiing while snow is falling, or in a lot of powder, I don't think they are a necessity. But, if you are buying - I like the Oakley Wisdom. I think I have the persimmon lenses, and they work well for night skiing, too. If you get black, they might be a little dark for overcast/snowy days. If it is bright, and sunny, I just wear dark glasses.

Good luck, and you will have an awesome time! A little bit of time on skates might make your life easier too.

Dshenberger wrote:
I think goggles are oversold sometimes. Unless you are skiing while snow is falling, or in a lot of powder, I don't think they are a necessity.

I don't agree: I much prefer wearing sunglasses but would not go out without goggles in case of a change in the weather. It's pretty well a safety issue. Cold wind alone can make your eyes water to a distracting extent if you are wearing glasses.

My unauthorised tip, is to start doing your squats and other ski related exercises which can be found on this site or check out welove2ski.com for other tips .
By doing these, you will have a chance to start conditioning your muscles to start working in a way you may not have used for a long time.
It does require that bit of extra pre trip effort, but the ultimate pay off will be that it will just make it a much less painful intro to skiing and a much more enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Have a fantastic ski and be patient with the frustrating learning process because if you find a passion for it you'll develop the skills soon enough.

Just got back from my first week skiing at Les Deux Alpes. I absolutely loved it!

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice before I went, i was all really useful.

By the end of the week I manage to get down a few blacks, not particularly quickly, or classily, but it was under control and I wasn't worried by them. My instructer even sent me down one on my own cos he could see I was getting really bored with waiting for the rest of my group still struggling to snowplough down blues!

I shall definitely be going again... this season if I can afford it!

Not quite so Completenovice

Completenovice,
What is the cost of happiness!

What is the cost of great memories?

What is the cost of fitness?

It all is about your priorities!

In 50 years you will look back and say, "great thing I found J2ski site and all those people" ! Now that I own this ski resort I can truly say skiing is great"!

completenovice wrote:Just got back from my first week skiing at Les Deux Alpes. I absolutely loved it!

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice before I went, i was all really useful.

By the end of the week I manage to get down a few blacks, not particularly quickly, or classily, but it was under control and I wasn't worried by them. My instructer even sent me down one on my own cos he could see I was getting really bored with waiting for the rest of my group still struggling to snowplough down blues!

I shall definitely be going again... this season if I can afford it!

Not quite so Completenovice

Nice to see you progressing. Hey, I have written some beginner's skiing tips in my blog. You might want to read those few articles in http://homeboyski.com/2007/11/30/learn-to-ski-skiing-beginners-tips-part-i

There are three articles so far and more coming. I hope it's useful for you.

For others, sorry for spamming my blog. I believe my articles could be helpful for 'completenovice'.

Great replies from those above.

My tuppence worth: think back to the time when you didn't care - didn't care about falling over, didn't care about what strangers thought, didn't care about acting your age.

We've all been there and we've all been where you are now.

In my experience, the people who just get on with the game are the ones that make the best progress.