Beginner, mid 50s

A snowHead

My partner is leaving her native Australia (no ski experience) and having her first ski holiday in January aged 55, for 5 days. Any suggestions for how to introduce someone to skiing at that time of life? eg 2 hours per day, 3 hours per day, all day?

Thanks!

A snowHead

Make sure the holiday overall is a good one! One to one tuition with a good instructor, for maybe one or two hours a day, depending on general overall fitness, preferably late morning. A nice long lunch together, then maybe another hour or so on the slopes with you in the afternoon. If she is into spas and swimming follow the skiing with that and a nice dinner! Being in the water is a great way to relax post ski muscles. Good instruction and nice snow conditions make the whole introduction to skiing so much easier and offering alternative activities for some hours each day may make the ski holiday experience that much better if skiing is a bit of a shock! Go somewhere pretty and generally spoil her! That way she may want to go again even if skiing does not instantly strike her as being wonderful! Smile

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I started skiing by joining group lessons and in my opinion it was a great way to start. You're in a group who are all in the same boat and it can be great fun. I still treasure my first ski week and for me it was a very good introduction to skiing. It's cost me a fortune since, but hey ho. Maybe private lessons can work too but I suspect I would have been enticed however I started. Very Happy

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Boots. Comfortable ones. I have seen too many beginners give it away because they are in agony due to dud boots.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Fitness, my wife used to be fearless but now she's so unfit she really struggles and it really knocked her confidence.

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@rolandr, what other active stuff does she do? Lessons in a small group (max 6) are ideal. More sociable than private and cheaper. But where and when are you going? If she is not reasonably fit and active could be a bit tricky. Is this all your idea?

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I was 47 when I started my wife was 48, a bit younger than your partner but not that much, we booked a Ski World learn to ski package 2 1/2 hours in the morning and 1 1/2 in the afternoon with ESF. We are both reasonably fit nothing extraordinary, I'm with geepee skiing in a group was great as you had that shared experience, the group size varied between 7 and 10.

After all it is free

Thanks very much all, great replies once again very helpful

Adult groups can be hit or miss fepending upon when/where you go. Sometimes there are so few adults around that there is, at best, one group filled with every age/ability/nationality. A busy resort at a busy time would be no problem.

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Have a couple of pre holiday group lessons in an indoor snow slope before you go. They will be good fun, obviously in English, and she will get the hang of how to get boots on and off etc sorted in a friendly environment.
Make sure you chose a resort with some really good beginner slopes at the bottom of the mountain. In my experience, as a nervous beginner (albeit in my 20s at the time), it really helped my confidence if there were nice gentle slopes that you could ski down at the end of the day, rather than icy narrow pistes which had to be coped with at a point when the thighs were burning. Perhaps try and find a resort where there is some good skiing below the tree line if it snows. Skiing in whiteout conditions is hard for anyone, but as a beginner will feel very disorientating and quite scary, even with an instructor.
I don't know where you were thinking of going, or budget, but I have always thought Courchevel 1850 is bang on the money for beginners (not the cheapest place, but there are a few value chalet operators there an if you are goin in Jan, you should be able to grab a last minute bargain). Big plus there and Courchevel 1650 is the availability of native english speaking ski instructors/schools like Ski New Generation.
Alpe d'Huez also has some brilliant beginner slopes, though the village itself may lack alpine charm.
Am sure others will be along soon with suggestions of suitable destinations....

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

So many good ideas.
Boots - essential. Your first job is to make sure the boots fit -YES, REALLY -you need to take responsibility for this
Next challenge - decent instruction - ski school is fun IF she can cope with it, otherwise your support is required
If not, private lessons essential
Finally - have fun!

snow reports

@geoff10, thanks for the backup on the boots. Take lots of time to (at least 20 minutes) to walk and mope around in the boots. They are gonna hurt but some may be OK for 5 minutes in the shop but become unbearable after 20 minutes on the piste. Really spoils the fun. I have had more than one fellow skier have to tap out early due to boot torture.

@rolandr, Group lessons are ideal if you are placed in a group with folks of a similar age and fitness level, but the chances of there being lots of other 55 year olds around are small, so I would opt for private lessons. Be sure to insist on an instructor who is used to instructing mature guests and who understands that they may not be as supple or dynamic as younger guests. 2 or 3 hours a day for the first 3 days, then see how it goes.

I would also look at finding a resort which offers more than just skiing - so a nice village centre, spa facilities, pool, mountain restaurants with stunning views and a sun terrace etc if your partner is into that sort of thing. My vote goes to Austria rather than France. Zell am See, Saalbach, Wagrain, Kirchberg and most of Ski Amade would fit the bill. No language issues as everyone speaks English and plenty to see and do when not skiing.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

@Mollerski, lots of older people, and certainly lots of aussies, are pretty fit and active. We are not all doddery and pathetic you know. wink

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

2 hours private should be no problem if the instructor is 'teaching the student' rather than 'teaching the lesson' - by which I mean pacing the lesson to suit the student's level of fitness, keeness to learn, general coordination and mobility etc. This applies to all students, whether aged 5, 25, or 55.

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Beginner, mid 50s

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