I'm struggling to think how rob@rar's technique for putting skis on would work on a steep slope. You'd fall over, wouldn't you?
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Realise that while some Blue pistes are only slightly more difficult than the hardest Greens, some are almost Reds.
When you think about it, it should be obvious that almost all pistes in a resort could be sorted into order from "easiest" to "most difficult" and that the resort has just split them up into Green / Blue / Red / Black blocks. (With the boundaries possibly slightly arbitrary, particularly if they need some "back to resort" runs classified at not too high a level ). It took me a few years wondering why some Blues were much more difficult than others
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?
@James the Last, nope, use your poles for balance when you are crossing your leg over to put the downhill ski on. The steeper it is the more necessary this technique is. If you're in deep snow you can use the "tails in the snow" technique, but for firm snow crossing your downhill leg is best.
So I have been skiing off and on since 1978 so why did no one tell me this.... Thanks @rob@rar, along with the how to stop yourself on a steep slope I have learned two very useful techniques...
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@pieman666, I've been skiing even longer and only learned this from Dave the Husky (or whatever he's now called on snowHeads, Diverskify as was) a couple of years ago. He also showed me that it was easier to click into the binding with an upward movement of the front of the ski, rather than by stamping into it.
What is the biggest mistake/lesson learned that you took from your first ski trip?
Don't get over-confident.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Actually I think the single most important thing you have to learn on your first ski trip is that falling (on the piste) doesn't hurt THAT much and doesn't usually result in broken things/death.
Once you start to lose that fear you risk a little more speed and on skis speed is (usually) your friend.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Don't wipe the inside of your goggles
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.
Don't overdress. You'll sweat like a geordie in a maths test (substitute stereotype of choice) when you're learning.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Don't look in estate agents window
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
When carrying your ski poles please hold them vertically. Do not hold them horizontally and swing them behind you. Ski resorts are full of blind children who are reduced to begging on the pistes because of this thoughtless practice.
You can provide endless amusement for folk on chair lifts by schussing with your bum stuck in the air and your poles forming a large "V" sign in the air above. This is just how all the top racers do it.
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.
@GorillySticks, You will need lessons. Mountains are bigger, steeper and trickier than a fridge. Fridge time is a good intro, and might take you to lesson 2 rather than lesson 1, but you are a total novice and need lessons.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@rob@rar, I teach that method from day one. One guy a few weeks ago before it snowed properly decided to put the bottom ski on last. One ACL later his daughter took great joy in telling him at every opportunity that he didn't listen to Chris.
The main benefits of using this method is you can always create a 90° angle between your leg and whichever ski you are putting on.
@Chris Bish, Good advice there, I remember a few years ago going up a chairlift in Grindlewald and hearing a woman on the blue run below saying to her husband in her best broad Yorkshire accent ' ee its nowt like Castleford is it' the fact that terrain changes on the mountain had totally thrown her. A 180° turn no longer meant she was straight across the slope!
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Chris_n wrote:
One guy a few weeks ago before it snowed properly decided to put the bottom ski on last. One ACL later...
Errr, the video clearly shows putting the top ski on first and the bottom ski on last.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@James the Last, he steps into the lower ski first. The vid is shot facing up the hill.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
James the Last wrote:
I'm struggling to think how rob@rar's technique for putting skis on would work on a steep slope. You'd fall over, wouldn't you?
Assuming you're right about the way the video is shot, thanks @dode. Glad I didn't try it the way I thought it was...
I think you are right, but I have just had to watch right to the end find that out; at the beginning the person in the background is heading away from the camera, suggesting that the video is shot facing down the hill....
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Everyone needs lessons.
Skiing southern alps in mid april is wierd combo of ice, waterskiing and sunburn.
It is possible to break a ski in half.
Its really difficult to ski on a broken ski
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?
James the Last wrote:
I think you are right, but I have just had to watch right to the end find that out; at the beginning the person in the background is heading away from the camera, suggesting that the video is shot facing down the hill....
Ah, the perils of getting tips off YouTube! Downhill ski on first, always.
Just remembered another one I got caught out on a few times.
Make sure you know the current exchange rate when you arrive in resort. Your rep will sell you some or all of lift passes, lessons, ski hire, extras etc. If they charge you in the local currency you can check you are paying the correct price, and if paying by card most banks will use a market exchange rate, plus a fee, to convert to £. But some reps make it "easier" for you by charging in £, and it is not unknown for this sometimes to use an exchange rate that is some way off-market, more likely in their favour.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Quote:
But some reps make it "easier" for you by charging in £, and it is not unknown for this sometimes to use an exchange rate that is some way off-market, more likely in their favour.
When sitting on the transfer bus the rep will come around trying to sell you lots of things, the main one being a lift pass. Of course you will have done your research and discovered what an x day lift pass costs in the resort and you will know what the exchange rate is. Normally I get my lift pass from the lift pass office so I can get exactly what I want reliably, but on one occaision the tour operator was selling lift passes in sterling £20 cheeper thanthe lift pass office. I suspect due to a crash in the value of the pound between the TO buying the tickets and the date of travel. Of course I bought it on the bus
Be patient. Don't try to ski before you can walk. (i trashed my knee after my first morning on snow trying to do something I didn't have the capabilities to do yet).
If you take yourself to the doctor, tell someone where you are going. It avoids the search parties being organised to find you when you've already been shipped off to a hospital some 3 hours away.
Get boots that fit. If they hurt keep going back until they don't.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
No more on-the-bus sales from Crystal reps. H&S issue apparently, no longer deemed safe for the rep to walk about the bus on the windy roads.
After all it is free
After all it is free
1. Just because the brochure says you can ski back to your chalet, doesn't mean You can ski back to your chalet.
2. 10 minutes walk to the lifts from your accommodation, doesn't mean you can do so in ski boots, while carrying skis and bringing your kids.
3. Whatever you are taught will become obsolete every decade or so and you will then have to relearn how to ski "properly" again.
4. "Helping" your beginner girlfriend/wife to ski, is even more problematical than letting them map read.
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.
rob@rar wrote:
@James the Last, nope, use your poles for balance when you are crossing your leg over to put the downhill ski on. The steeper it is the more necessary this technique is. If you're in deep snow you can use the "tails in the snow" technique, but for firm snow crossing your downhill leg is best.
Get to the top of the mountain on whichever day has the best weather forecast. I've met lots of beginners who just stay in the valley for the entire week. Even if it's too difficult to ski down, have lunch/coffee in the mountain top restaurant, enjoy the view and take the gondola back down.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Just realised i havent said thanks,
As ever all my little nagging thoughts and ideas have been squashed or embraced by the experiences and words of the SnowHeads. Cant recommend this place enough.
VT in 8 days.....proudly rocking my SH stickers!!
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.
dode wrote:
Following on from @Themasterpiece, you will find that that when you are trying to put on your downhill ski it was a tendency to slip down the hill away from you. To stop this lay your skis facing across the hill, stand with both your legs downhill of your skis. Lift your downhill leg, cross it over your other leg and click into the downhill ski, then bring over your uphill leg and click into your uphill ski. That way you are always stepping uphill into your skis.
I just tried that....Now I have a hernia and a dislocated hip
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
For an absolute beginner the first day or two of lessons can be quite daunting. You'll probably fall over a lot and getting back up is a technique you'll have to master and by the end of the day you'll be very tired. However usually by the third day you'll find that you're able to slide down a gentle slope without falling and put in some linked snowplough turns. It was at this point that I was hooked!
The other tip I'd emphasise is that make sure your ski boots are comfortable and if they are causing you pain don't hesitate to go back to the rental shop and get them changed!
Last edited by So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much on Mon 6-03-17 8:46; edited 1 time in total
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
All been covered, but some points I'd emphasise.
Take lessons. Learning a bit on dry slopes or in snowdomes before going is great, but the mountain is a completely different environment. In any case, you'll improve much quicker with lessons, and the faster one improves, the more enjoyment one gets .
Make sure your boots are comfortable (or as close as possible). Even as a fairly experienced skier, I got caught out by this one a week ago. Tried a first pair which were way too loose, so asked for a tighter fit. Second pair seemed better, so went with that, but turned out to be way too narrow on the foot and my left big toe kept banging into the boot. Stupidly I didn't change them at lunch on the first day (partly because we skied easier in the morning as going with a less experienced skier, only to leave them in lessons in the afternoon). That first afternoon was really quite painful, and had a blackened toe by the end of it. Went back to the shop to change, and the difference it made to my skiing the next day to have a comfy pair was amazing (no longer apprehending the bang with every right turn helps). Suitably chastened . Shop will be quite happy to change boots for you at any time during the week, so if things are uncomfortable, don't hesitate to head back there.
You will fall, initially. It really doesn't hurt, but can be quite hard work getting back up again repeatedly. Tips on how to put skis back on have been shared (as a beginner your bindings will be loose so your skis will come off easily, this is to prevent injury).
Get fit. Skiing is much more fun when you're not blowing out of your @rse all the time, and not having to take breaks (that's what chairlifts are for ) means you have more time for actual skiing.
As some point, you will be hooked.
Have fun!
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I would recommend "paying attention to your surroundings"
A) it's easy to focus on learning - you're in a beautiful place, take the time to enjoy the scenery.
B) Do learn where you are on the mountain - if an instructor took you down a specific run to push you, know which one it was so IF you having skiing friends willing to take you out in the afternoon, they know where you've been and what the instructor felt you were capable of. They should understand and not try to push you further, which could leave you disheartened and miserable - leave that (the pushing, not the disheartening) to the instructor.
C) Learn to navigate on the mountain (not Bear Grylls style, but simple things like reading the piste map, piste markers, where you are in relation to lifts / the sounds of lifts etc.) One day, you will be 'on your own' and if the weather closes in you will want to find your way home.
D) Understand that on bad weather days, or when bad weather sets in, they may shut certain lifts that you may rely on to get home. On such days determine which these may be and plan your route accordingly. (stay on your side of the mountain, that sort of thing)
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Sunscreen = good, even when not sunny
Leash on gloves = very good. How many lost gloves can you count from the chairlift?
French reds are harder than Italian reds = not good if you do reds in Italy first.
Not all toilets are sit down, be prepared ! Learn how to counter balance in your boots.
A pint of Leffe at the top of the last run of the day = faster skiing but crap technique.
Save lots of money for ski holidays as it is highly addictive.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Top-Tip:
Download the relevant resort app on your phone and, when you look out the chalet window and see nothing but fog/cloud, check the app to discover that the mountain tops are actually clear. We sometimes forget the weather is often better higher up.
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?
At this rate i`m going to have all the knowledge and none of the ability. 6 days and counting!!! Cant believe im 34 and im doing my first ever ski trip!
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
). It took me a few years wondering why some Blues were much more difficult than others 
