1 week skier

I learnt to ski last year at exscape in Castleford and have had one week skiing in Austria (kaprun) where I did fine after first couple of days on proper snow. By end of week I had skied a couple of black runs and felt ok. I like most people am now hooked and am going away over Christmas (kranska gora)and intend to go at least another twice next year not sure where though yet.

How do I now advance further other than just going out on my own and skiing, I wouldnt mind taking more courses or lessons and preumse this would be better done actually on the piste rather than dry/artificial snow.

I would also like to know if its worth buying my own boots and can someone explein the difference in skis from begginer to intermediate. All advice welcome and im a solo skier most of time.

Steve

Manston wrote:I learnt to ski last year at exscape in Castleford and have had one week skiing in Austria (kaprun) where I did fine after first couple of days on proper snow. By end of week I had skied a couple of black runs and felt ok. I like most people am now hooked and am going away over Christmas (kranska gora)and intend to go at least another twice next year not sure where though yet.

How do I now advance further other than just going out on my own and skiing, I wouldnt mind taking more courses or lessons and preumse this would be better done actually on the piste rather than dry/artificial snow.

I would also like to know if its worth buying my own boots and can someone explein the difference in skis from begginer to intermediate. All advice welcome and im a solo skier most of time.

Steve

It is a simple answer to your question every time you ski take lessons at your'e stage it is imperative you continue the improvement don't get sucked in to skiing with friends who are better skiers it can help but cannot replace lessons. Good luck.

Ian

Thanks for that I am only going for a few days at Christmas so probably wont take up lessons then but presume in a bigger resort next year it would be well worth doing.

Steve

Manston wrote:Ian

Thanks for that I am only going for a few days at Christmas so probably wont take up lessons then but presume in a bigger resort next year it would be well worth doing.

Steve

I strongly suggest that you book in for at least one private lesson each morning, maybe only an hour, as this will help you a lot. Nothing wrong with doing what Ian said dont do, as long as you dont just now think you can ski and go off without any lessons or input from anyone.

You want to enjoy it and have time to prastise and see the place you are going to, but dont do it without lessons as a 1 week skier. Go get some lessons booked, now!!!

Manston,
I agree with Tony and Ian, you really must get some more lessons. There is always more to learn. I have had 5 weeks of ski-ing as an adult, and I'm still having lessons. I know they're expensive, but I think they're well worth it, and they make it more fun if you ski in a group, because you can all have a good laugh together.

One of the problems with teaching yourself to ski, is that you pick up bad habits and they can be very difficult to unlearn, which may mean that you reach a certain point in your ski-ing ability and then you can't progress any further. Last year, we had a man in our ski class (upper intermediate) who was convinced he should have been in the advanced class. His ski-ing was really terrible, and he looked awful, although none of us told him. He thought, because he could get down a black run that he was a great skier. But when conditions got difficult, after a heavy fall of snow, he was hopeless.

And, another thing to consider, is the safety of other people using the slopes. Someone last year was ski-ing above me on the piste, lost control, and came hurtling down the slope and very nearly collided with me. In lessons you learn to ski slowly and under control on even the hardest slopes. It is very frightening when someone above you loses control.

So, have fun, but please have some more lessons.

Ally

Tony_H wrote:

Manston wrote:Ian

Thanks for that I am only going for a few days at Christmas so probably wont take up lessons then but presume in a bigger resort next year it would be well worth doing.

Steve

I strongly suggest that you book in for at least one private lesson each morning, maybe only an hour, as this will help you a lot. Nothing wrong with doing what Ian said dont do, as long as you dont just now think you can ski and go off without any lessons or input from anyone.

You want to enjoy it and have time to prastise and see the place you are going to, but dont do it without lessons as a 1 week skier. Go get some lessons booked, now!!!

No what I meant to say was ski with better skiers but combine that with your'e lessons 8)

Manston
I echo the views of the other contributors of this thread. I would add that there is no better way to make friends than ski school, everyone is there for the same reason & many a laugh is had along the way especially when it comes to après ski. A good instructor will take you on the best runs for your ability, pick out the best line & take you to parts of the mountain you might miss out on as a lone skier. My advise, join a ski school make friends along the way & enjoy the buzz from being with like minded people. A good instructor will be able to advise on boots & skis to suit your skiing style. Have a good holiday.

Finn

Definitely take some lessons as all have said before.

As far as skis go, it boils down to how forgiving the ski is. The more advanced the ski, the stiffer it is likely to be and therefore the less forgiving.

Boots are your best investment, and there's plenty of threads about boot fitting on here.