 Poster: A snowHead
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Just got back from my first week skiing and loved every minute...
I spent the week with a young group of lads, ranging from 16 to 24 (27 myself). We also had a ski guide/instructor for the week. We covered all aspects of skiing, piste, off-piste, carving, jumps, moguls etc... But we tended to spend most of the time hurtling down a piste at breakneck speeds. I Found i enjoyed carving down a red/blue more the skidding down a black flat-out... i also enjoyed moguls and off piste.
My question is... what type of skiing do you guys normally prefer doing on a ski holiday?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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tomb, You sound like a dangerous individual with no regard for your fellow skiers hurtling down pistes at breakneck speeds and you should be condemned...... 
I'm pretty much the same really, depends who I'm with. When I ski with my other half I'm happy to piste bash and she tends to have a day off get a guide and do some off piste. Other times I'll get really off the beaten track and barely use a lift. Next trip is with the other half then St Anton at the end of March will be former hopefully.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Piste bashing only, blues and reds in most conditions blacks if the conditions are good.
I was in Les Arclast year and it hadn't snowed for ages, all the blacks were either closed or looked like icy death traps. People were still skiing thembut didn't look enjoyable.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| tomb wrote: |
Just got back from my first week skiing and loved every minute...
I spent the week with a young group of lads, ranging from 16 to 24 (27 myself). We also had a ski guide/instructor for the week. We covered all aspects of skiing, piste, off-piste, carving, jumps, moguls etc... But we tended to spend most of the time hurtling down a piste at breakneck speeds. I Found i enjoyed carving down a red/blue more the skidding down a black flat-out... i also enjoyed moguls and off piste.
My question is... what type of skiing do you guys normally prefer doing on a ski holiday? |
Fist week skiing and you managed to learn all that? sounds like bull to me.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I enjoy blues and reds at the beginning of the week and the odd black run towards the end, if it's not too icy. Mainly on piste but not against taking a well defined shortcut between pistes or back to apartment. I ski in a group (family) and enjoy the sociable side of a week away, which means stops for lunch and for a hot drink here and there. We used to go out with a cheese and ham roll, some chocolate and a capri sun and eat them on the chairlifts, so that we didn't waste any time!
I haven't skied for a few years now, looking forward to a few days away at the end of Feb. Not very fit so will be happy to not do too much and enjoy the scenery and fresh air. (I say that but when I get there I'll get my snowhead on  )
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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^^+1
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Snapzzz, indeed...
I was out with a 6 total beginners in Val Thorens on the 14th Jan and by the end of week we took a few of them down bits of reds... Ties in with my experience and that of pretty much everyone else I know too... In my first week I had all day lessons so naturally I was a bit further along the progression than the guys I took out in January who only had mornings. But seems to be the benchmark...
For the week in Jan I tended to hit the harder stuff (reds and the odd black) in the morning while the beginners were in lessons then in the afternoons take them out round some easy blues while I generally mucked about going backwards and nipping off the sides etc. Worked really well cos I knackered myself out skiing hard in the morning then got to chill out a bit in the afternoons!
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I like to find somewhere quiet and alternate between blasting down it and doing my exercises. Seem to be doing more and more of the exercise drills these days though. Not sure if I'm becoming a perfectionist or just getting old.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I'm with Snapzz
A first week beginner going down a black? either going to end up in a cast or crashing into someone at the bottom because they don't know how to control their speed. (only way I'd believe it was if you'd had couple of months being taught in a fridge) 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Angry Squirrel, Do we imagine that a beginner could whiz down a black run unless it was in a resort where they have to have one, rather like Val d's mogul ridden green; one man's breakneck speed is another’s normal. I think in OP he talks about skidding about, but in his first week had already mastered off-piste, carving, jumps and moguls. Poetic licence must be accepted in one so keen.
So as my marketing team used to say don't be mood Hoovers.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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tomb, I've seen that movie as well. 
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I've taught a friend of mine to ski and we were on a black on second day. Not through choice might i add.
Beginners can get down blacks going slowly, traverse. Black doesnt always mean you are good
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You know it makes sense.
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Why do old hacks love to sneer so much? Even back in the days of straight skis, I've seen a beginner successfully and confidently complete a black run on his first week. Also in the straight-ski days, my wife made a controlled descent of an ungroomed red on her first day skiing (she'd had a few sessions on a dry slope first, though), and tackled blacks with ease by her 7th day on snow. With modern carver skis, a strong, fit, aggressive beginner could easily achieve all that tomb with some decent instruction.
I wouldn't want to be below him on the slopes, though 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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What's a ski holiday?
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Poster: A snowHead
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While I've no doubt there's a bit of youthful over-enthusiasm in there, I was going down the blacks by the end of my first week skiing, albeit it after a couple of hours of lessons at Xscape before I went. I won't make any pretensions about doing it in style, but on the right black piste with a bit of self-confidence it's not a big leap of faith.
My little cousin who has absolutely no fear went from having never been on skis before on sunday morning to black runs on tuesday afternoon and got moved up a ski class 3 days in a row. Some people just take to it, who are we to poo poo someone's achievements? OP has clearly had a blast, isn't that what's important?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I had 2 hours of lessons on dry slope since november, so i picked up alot before i even went.
Snapzzz, Not bull, i never said i was great at it all but i gave everything a go. I particularly struggled on off piste compared to piste, but by end of week it'd attempt most sensible off piste (im not talking back country/moutain top runs here, more runs in trees and down sides of pistes etc)
Cynic, i didnt once say i mastered any of these but gave them all a go. As for speeds i was skiing at around 45mph for most speedy runs but did reach 58mph on the black 'casse du beouf' run in serre chervalier.
I'd also like to point out i spent the week with an ESF instructor who watched us all ski and took us down runs according to ability. The guy had been skiing his whole life and spent the last 30 years as instructor... now do you guys believe he would actually let me do what i've said unless i was competent enough to do so??!
It seem to me like people who are lacking in natural sports ability are quick to criticize someone who learned in a week what must of taken them years... jealousy is quite an ugly trait!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Badly.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Frosty the Snowman, Care to elaborate?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I cruise about on piste. Not fast, not slow, usually 2-3 food/drink stops in a day, taking in the scenery and enjoying every minute. I don't ski off-piste, I don't have the ability or the insurance or even the desire. I've been doing this safely and happily for over 30 years.
tomb, you sound like a bit of a gung-ho thrill-seeker. Fine if that's what floats your boat but make sure you are adequately insured, I can smell potential injury here. I suspect you are often out of control. Please don't injure or endanger anyone else.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| tomb wrote: |
| I had 2 hours of lessons on dry slope since november, so i picked up alot before i even went. |
2 hours total? Or 2 hours a week since November? If the latter I could just about beleive that you'd attempt what you say - but no way could you have
| tomb wrote: |
| learned in a week what must of taken them years. |
You could conceivably have learned in a week (plus lessons beforehand) to perhaps be on the same slopes as those who had taken years developing technique, but you certainly didn't learn in a week what takes most people years.
In skiing its a well known phenomenon that the more you know, the more you realise that there's still even more that you don't know. So the less experienced always tend to talk up their achievements while those who are genuinely good tend to play them down. So most people here will have seen/heard (maybe even in the past made for themselves) these sort of claims before and know that given the previous evidence of their own eyes when seeeing those who make such loud public claims about their early prowess actually ski, they usually aren't as good as they'd like to claim. Not because they may not be doing well given their limited experience, but because they simply don't have any appreciation of how much more there still is to learn.
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Okanagan, very well summed up, i'm a crap skier by the way
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I prefer off-piste. Away from first weekers hurtling down pistes at break neck speed.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| tomb wrote: |
| Frosty the Snowman, Care to elaborate? |
It was an answer to the title question - knees now on the point of collapse, skiing with legs as straight as possible, downhill ski leg invariably straight = Badly
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Okanagan, your missing the whole point of my original post. I never claimed to be an expert skier after a week. What I said was that I tried all those styles of skiing, maybe not technically perfect but I managed to get down okay. As for the practice before hand, I did minimum of 2 hours a week, I'd normally have a 2 hour lesson followed by an hour of me practicing drills we'd gone over in the lesson. I'd also sometimes get an hour or two practice in on weekday nights. I also read 'the athletic skier' cover to cover about 4 times and again putting the drills into practise on the dryslope.
Also again as I said earlier, I was with an instructor the entire week, and where I was lacking in technical know-how, he certainly wasn't. I did nothing all week where he thought I was out of my depth, he didn't hesitate to pull you up if he thought so either. I had brilliant feedback off him and he awarded me a ESF level 3 merit out of a possible 4 levels... Now again I know this is a bit of a Micky mouse scheme and is not comparible to something like a basi award but he still awarded me higher than some of the group who have been skiing far longer than I. I doubt he did that just to massage my ego??!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| tomb wrote: |
Just got back from my first week skiing and loved every minute...
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Excellent! This is the most important bit. Hope you're hooked and will have many more trips 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| tomb wrote: |
| Okanagan, I had brilliant feedback off him and he awarded me a ESF level 3 merit out of a possible 4 levels... Now again I know this is a bit of a Micky mouse scheme and is not comparible to something like a basi award but he still awarded me higher than some of the group who have been skiing far longer than I. I doubt he did that just to massage my ego??! |
Was it just before the end as you were discussing how much of a tip to give him?
The old 'you're the most improved skier in this group' line.
As Rob says great you enjoyed it though.
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Fifespud, again in OP I said I didn enjoy this type of skiing.
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You know it makes sense.
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tomb, I love your attitude. Skiing well takes strength, courage, experience and good instruction. Those who lack the first two tend to downplay their importance. Those who possess an abundance of strength and courage tend to maximise the value of their experience and instruction, and progress at a phenomenal rate.
Just be aware that not everyone on the slopes has muscles of iron and nerves of steel. If you're skiing fast, give others a very wide berth.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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tomb, well you hadn't mentioned that you did 2 hours every week on a dryslope since November, naturally that would make a bit of difference...
One of the guys we took out had been to chill factore with me for 3x 2 hour sessions beforehand and he was by far the best skier of the bunch at the end of the week. As in he was getting down reds without looking like he was about to die/take someone else out like the others were... I have no doubt that he could've got down a black, but it wouldn't have been especially pretty.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| tomb wrote: |
| I did minimum of 2 hours a week, I'd normally have a 2 hour lesson followed by an hour of me practicing drills we'd gone over in the lesson. I'd also sometimes get an hour or two practice in on weekday nights. I also read 'the athletic skier' cover to cover about 4 times and again putting the drills into practise on the dryslope." |
So with that level of instruction/guided practice you weren't exactly a typical first week skier (but it also rather refutes your claim to have
| Quote: |
| learned in a week what must of taken them years |
I was simply pointing out that as most people here will have been involved in skiing for long enough to have heard plenty of exaggerated claims of prowess, the level of cynicism is entirely understandable.
However given that your self-confessed level of control on steep slopes is
| Quote: |
| skidding down a black flat-out |
then if you really
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| did reach 58mph on the black |
then it's not surprising that people will conclude that you probably weren't really in control. For comparison the average speed for the winner of this Saturday's World Cup downhill was 60.67 mph. And they're doing that on specially prepared pistes with no other skiers in the way! Perhaps you should be applying for the British team?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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tomb, Rishie, BinkiBelle, bobmcstuff,
dudes
I am more concerned about your off piste skiing
and some of you with an instructor
without the necessary safety equipment or training
was it safe ?
ok bye
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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So a comparatively new post comes along to say they absolutely loved their first week skiing, and several posters choose to poo-poo all over them. Well done, hope you feel big and clever.
OK, so there is some exuberant reporting, but as the poster says they never said they'd mastered anything, just tried it. Yes, it's very doubtful that anything was actually carved but I can easily believe that black runs were successfully attempted. As for the "break neck speed", everything is relative. I doubt the speeds reported are correct, either a faulty GPS reading or mistaking kph for mph.
Any road up, congrats to tomb for getting the skiing bug, may you slide safely for many years to come.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Fifespud, I don't think the was the case, he even awarded the person who was responsible for booking the trip a lower grade than me... Now according you our logic surely he would of shot himself in the foot there by not awarding this person the highest award??
gatecrasher, I did 58mph once, on a quiet slope at dinner time with no one else in sight... Can you honestly tell me you've never had a go at the same thing?????
Okanagan, Fair point. I do agree that, that particular statement might of been slightly obnoxious but I just don't understand why that when someone does well at something he is immediately labeled a lier and ridiculed for it? Was I not entitled to take offence?
And to reiterate for the people who obviously are not understanding my OP, I was in control the whole week. My instructor made sure of it. He pulled people out of the group who weren't up to scratch. And I only ever hit 58mph once on a quiet slope and is not a reflection of my avarage speed for the week? Can I make that any clearer???!!
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To answer the original question (anyone remember that?)... How do I ski?
Gently! My work consists of hours spent in an office (often without windows, or if they have, a view of other offices) sat in front of a number of computers working my brain far too much. I have an "always connected" life with multiple gadgets connecting me to the multiple email accounts from multiple clients/jobs.
For me, skiing is all about moving silently through the countryside taking in the wonderful scenary and nature in all its rugged glory. I've been skiing for 10 years (only a week or two each season though) and while I have the ability to do a red or the odd (non-icy) black, I enjoy the long cruisey blues much more.
I see other people pushing themselves and their abilities to the limit, and I don't begrudge them the challenge that they enjoy from that... but for me... skiing is all about being calm, away from the pressures of the other 50/51 weeks of the year.
So while you others are racing across the Blues over to your next mogul field, if you pass someone pootling along singing quietly to himself, I'm not mad... I'm at peace
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| chemistry wrote: |
| how you found the ESF lessons |
"I went to the ESF meeting point. But that's not important right now..."
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Hard and fast with little care for others.
"out of my way, peasant"
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FAQ
looks like we missed out on another British hopeful! Hang on though