Ok you lot … D O N E … Now closed for entries? including you Zikomo … your first ‘ski trip’

A snowHead

1964 or 65, school trip to Solden, with hugely tall cable binding skis and lace up leather boots. Two of the girls got sent home after the headmistress found some boys in their room. Can’t remember much about the skiing.

A snowHead

@Pamski, sent home on their own? More trouble would brew I would have thought or did some teacher have to leave early to accompany them?

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@ster, yes the headmistress accompanied them,and then returned, and we were left with some other old bat!

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I’m going to say Feb 1985 (struggling to remember), age 16, school trip to Andalo in Italy, after maybe 3h dry slope lessons at Uxbridge. Found that snow was a lot slippier than Dendix.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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1968 ...Souz d'oulx ....cable bindings with 212 cm skis ...a friend loaned me double lace up boots which gave me blisters trying ti tighten them ...I went out and bought some leather (thats all there was in those days) clip ones ...but I do remember drinking copious amounts of gluvine ..and the crepe stall on the slope at Sestriere selling crepes soaked in liqueurs for 1000 lire wink

After all it is free

January 2007, in my late thirties, to Les Gets. A group of friends (all experienced skiers) kindly invited me along on their trip, despite me never having skied before. I had a few dry slope lessons before going, so I did at least know how to get boots and skis on and could manage a basic snow plow turn. The snow situation in Les Gets looked pretty dire in the run up to our trip, but it all changed as we arrived, with a couple of days of snowfall followed by cold, sunny days. I had a few private lessons, felt like I made quite a lot of progress (but probably made rather less in reality) and loved the whole experience. When I got home, I immediately booked another week off work and went out to Meribel in March '07. Been hooked ever since.

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Woah look at the bulge

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@Origen, you beat me. 1964, age 4, on a slope in my village in Austria. We used to drive from our village near St.Pölten to the nearest skiing in Lillienfeld (I think). I guess there still used to be snow back then!

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I think I may have beaten everyone with my false start (there are loads of those on the thread, aren't there?) since it must have been in around 1961. I was invited by good family friends to join them for Christmas in Crans-sur-Sierre, long before the place became the big agglomeration called Crans-Montana. I remember the leather boots and being whacked on the head by a ski which was attached to me by a lanyard. Nothing after that until 1973, and intermittently thereafter. The bug only really bit very late, when I discovered snowHeads and the decent tuition to which I was introduced by snowHeads, about 14 years ago. Like many, I wish I'd started earlier and taken proper tuition more seriously.

@valais2, you can put me down in last if you like, 2019 aged 36, as a family of 4 beginners we managed two trips to a tiny resort in the czech republic before lockdown. Wife broke her coccyx slipping and landing on a drain cover before even getting skis on. The rest of us did a week of all day group lessons, discovered the youngest daughter at 4 was a bit of a natural and having never skied before was out on the main slopes by the end of the week.

It was quite warm that first week but when we returned it was much colder, but the now 5 year old didn't want to know, she was fine last time without goggles, snood and fleece or jacket done up so she was adamant she would be fine again. Hypothermia after a few runs, very ill all week needing to be cared for permanently by wife who managed to ski about 10km in two weeks of planned skiing. I wondered why we bothered at times while we were there but looking back I am glad we did. Managed to do another 5 holidays since then and although there has been an injury or illness on every one of them, they are getting progressively more minor so I am feeling hopeful about this easter Very Happy

You know it makes sense.

January 2015 for the first trip age 35, though had some sessions on the Sheffield dry slope in 1996 as part of our PE lessons (awful, vowed never to bother again, it was all so darn painful...)

The 2015 trip was to Poland with my now husband, and was more focused on going to the ski jumping in Zakopane for his birthday - our two days of skiing were pretty basic and the surroundings brown, and we fumbled through lessons, but for some reason we got hooked - must have been the sausages and wodka. Laughing

We've gone from that to now spending as much time as we can get away with (brexit and work allowing) in the mountains every year.

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

@Glosterwolf, goodness...horrible re coccyx and hypothermia. Sounds like a full recovery though.

We worked on the basis that the Groms needed clothingn which was even better than ours ... lots of Peak Performance and similar top end gear ... and then other SHs here benefitted from the hand down.....never had any complaints about cold other than Grom1 with cold fingers - sorted that by making her wear an extra layer on her torso - that fixed it even in minus 10.

A snowHead

mine was '92, Bulgaria, four of us went, it wasn't long free of the soviet union so things were impoverished, and a little weird, but it was massive fun. Our ski instructor explained that they hadn't had snow for a while so there was a lot of blue ice, ( melt freeze , melt freeze, ie glass) he felt once we got our basics on our long skinny skis, that it was important to learn to ski ice. So we did, our lessons were 9 am, till lunch which we had with our instructor, then as soon as we had a quick meal back on the mountain till 3.30 or 4. We went back the next year, and had the same sort of system, and after that Ice was no longer an issue for us, our instructor was a hoot, and ex army so he wasn't a sympathetic guy, we heard a lot of get up your not made of glass, ski on, lol.

A snowHead

January ‘06 to Whistler for two weeks with my newish boyfriend (now Mr Noceros), his sister and brother-in-law and two other couples.

I was the only “non-skier” and had spent the previous autumn taking lessons at dry slopes and practicing like crazy. I’d got to the point where I could plough / wobbly plough parallel everything that was available to me to practice on.

We all went for a “quick ski” as a group on our first afternoon before ski school for those of us that needed it (3 of the Cool

the next morning. I was severely over-terrained and bust an ACL half way down my second run of the trip….
I spent the rest of the trip hopping and hobbling around our apartment and getting taxis to meet Mr N’s ski school group for lunch (his instructor was great and would ring the apartment to tell
me where they were going each day).

Had about 4 years off, then got back on skis (again via dry slope lessons) and haven’t looked back. Currently managing 4-6 weeks in the mountains / yr and trying to take my BASI 2 (that’s a whole other story of mishaps)

Need to go back to Whistler some time and re-ski that piste (I know which one it was). It owes me.

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

@KNoceros, crikey! I think I like the 'overcoming early disasters' replies the best. Very Happy

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1990 Soldeu Hotel Bruxelles.

My dad's mate was a travel industry lecturer and he organised a ski trip each year. Me and a couple of mates were invited along to fill a few spaces. Learnt in the ski school, which was excellent.

That trip was epic, I was totally sold on the mountain, watching these "superhumans" flying down the piste and I wanted a piece of the action. I took lessons each trip after cuminating in a week at Taos Ski Valley circa 1998 when the school was still run by the Mayer brothers IIRC.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Learnt to ski at Halifax Dry Slope, 1990 - Wednesday afternoons with the Bradford Uni Ski Club. Never went on the trips though, for some reason (probably money)

First trip was with my mate to Borovets, Christmas week 1996. The resort was green, there were a couple of pistes open at the top of the mountain. It was so bad we got a refund on our pre-booked beginner pack of snowboard hire and lessons. When snow came halfway through the week, you couldn't lay hands on a rental snowboard for love nor money as they'd all been snapped up by people who knew the score and were out first thing. We rented skis and just tagged on the back of a beginner class for free instruction.

We did spend cash hiring boards and going up the gondola on our own, but my pal had an accident and ended up being stretchered off the mountain.

Despite that, we'd booked a second ski trip within a week of our return: we'd hired salopettes and jackets from a local shop and on returning the gear and chatting about our trip, they said "well we knew it wouldn't be great but you'd already paid so we didn't want to spoilt it for you. Why not come along on our big group trip next time?". We booked on there and then for a week in Passo Tonale in January 1998 - we arrived to find plenty of snow had just fallen, had a week of blue skies and an upgrade to a 4* hotel (the Piandineve) that had opened ahead of schedule. 64 of us on the trip, we drank the bar dry twice in one week, they loved us and I fell in love with ski trips. Barring issues with health and wealth, we've been away every year since

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Valmorel c 1982 my brothers' school ski trip. Not sure my brothers were that happy but I loved every moment of it. I couldn't afford to go again till 1998 when I randomly ended up with the Ski club of New Jersey on a trip to Sunday River. I spent three days on sheets of ice and death cookies till I was stretchered off the mountain with a broken pelvis. The following year a friend persuaded me to try a trip to Meribel. I hadn't appreciated just how terrified I'd be after the accident and the first few days were so frustrating - I knew I loved skiing but my head wouldn't let me. After a total throw my skis off I'm never doing this again type tantrum we downed to many vin chauds at the rond point and skiied home. I think I fell over on every turn but it cured my ski terror. The next morning instead of handing back my skis I extended my trip for an extra week and booked another trip for a few weeks later. Been hooked ever since with COVID my only missed year.

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Easter 1971, Les Agudes, in the Pyrenees, aged 12, on the Bristol / Bordeaux French exchange.

My family lived in Mont de Marsan, but had a holiday home in the village of Gouaux de Larbouste.

Went for 2 weeks every Easter, for the next 8 years.

After all it is free

Slightly off topic, but on my second trip, 1996 in Pitztal we were in a gondola and were getting serious looks from the other punters, when I asked my Swiss mate why he just said because Romy had a snowboard...serious attitude it was. Thankfully things have changed...attitudes and skis.

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This is such a happy thread for a change, everybody talking, despite setbacks and delays, of their love for the mountains. Thanks valais2!

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@Hurtle, ….thanks H….yes feels good…

Am updating dates table as posts come in….

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@valais2, does it feel good that my first trip was to 'your' place? Must say, after so many visits, albeit nearly all in the summer, it still feels a bit like 'my' place too. I really should save up and go back but, sadly, I don't know of anybody who would join me.

@skim, that’s some serious injury! And I _totally_ understand the post injury “brain won’t let me” feeling that you describe. (Been there. Still sometimes wear the T-shirt…)

You know it makes sense.

1985 Artesina school trip. I thought it was 84 but got my years wrong on my username Confused

It was great. Evening sledging on the pistes. Large hotel was packed with kids from different schools and they had arcade machines including track and field and a few pinball machines. Roomed with 4 others. We put our batteries on the radiators to recharge!! (I didn't have a walkman just a torch!) Remember freeze thaw one morning was a shocking wake up call. First time out of the country as well. Amazing time.

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

School trip over New Year 1981 (I think; or 2) to Leysin.
First afternoon, after morning lessons, 2 other girls and I, left to our own devices, decided to go up the mountain where the teachers & other more experienced skiers had gone.
Snowploughed our way down a long black run, moguls and all. (Bet that we were popular! Don't remember it being busy though.)
Won the slalom race at the end of the week.
Happy days rolling eyes

Annoyingly, my ability (and confidence) has only declined since.

A snowHead

Ok I give in - 1996 Breckenridge on a corporate freebie

3 days of instruction with Mary Beth who was a Ski Pro in the winter, a Golf Pro in the summer, lived in Daddy's condo in Breck (he was a VP for General Motors) and modelled sportswear in her spare time. Knows everybody. I mean everybody!

Started with 10 on the first morning, down to 2 by the third day so Mary Beth all to ourselves. Hated the first day. Couldn't stop on even the most benign slope without throwing myself to the ground and the boots killed me (that's been a theme...) Changed boots and saw someone do a hockey stop on the second day and copied it. Transformed everything.

Only remember a little bit of the skiing, my overriding memory was that Mary Beth's life was so much better than mine. Have been trying to emulate it ever since. Did seasons, bought an apartment, passed BASI L2, was even vaguely competent at golf for a few years. I haven't modelled sportswear.

She's still out of my league and I'm still jealous of her. Laughing

A snowHead

1989, aged 20, Hotel Teleferic, Poiana Brasov, Romania. My friend and i decided we wanted to try skiing so booked a learn to ski package with Inghams, much to the annoyance of our long term boyfriends who we didn’t invite. We had a course of lessons on the dry slope at Bracknell before we went which was worthwhile. Snow was rubbish but we had a fantastic time. Evenings were packed with organised activities and lots of alcohol. It was a few months before the fall of Ceausescu, black market cash exchange, people wanting to buy our jackets and very different to anything I’d experienced before. It snowed heavily on the last night.

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

I am joining the class of 2019 with Glosterwolf.

My first time on skis was in Tignes in that year. I was invited along by some friends, there was 1 relative newbie snowboarder in the group and all the rest were advanced skiers. I hadn't been to any UK indoor slopes or anything like that prior but when in Tignes did sign up immediately for beginner group lessons with ESF. The lessons would take place in the morning and one or two from the group I was travelling with would be happy to potter around with me in the afternoon and give me a few tips here and there. Had an amazing time, was very lucky with the weather, every day of that week was a blue sky day. I've been back to Tignes twice since and always love seeing that little nursery slope by the poma lift where i spent quite a lot of time that first week. Being taken to the Folie Douces on day 1 though and having to get down that underrated supposedly blue slope after only three hours of skiing was a bit mad! Survived it though….

Quite envious of people who started skiing when young(er! - I know its all relative!). I was already in my late forties on my first trip but certainly been trying to make up for lost time since then! I’ve got an ambition to get 56 weeks of skiing under my belt by 2031, I've calculated (in a completely non-scientific way) that this will be due compensation (albeit paid from myself to myself) for having missed out when younger. Even if it is completely arbitrary, you've got to have something to work towards right?! Very Happy

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Late 70’s (78 or 79) mum & dad drove me up to Cairngorm to meet my big sister and (then future) brother in law. I had a pair of dad’s oilskin work trousers on and a big woolly (fairisle, maybe) jumper on. Before we started, he was kneeling down doing up my boots whilst I held onto these new fangled things called skis. Dropped them, edge on, onto his head, drawing blood from a rather impressive slice. I could tell he was pissed off with me, but thankfully he never totally gave up on me. We just played about on the snow down from the car park…. And I was hooked.

Same as Greenday and Jedster, did a (well a couple of) school trips to Voss between 81-83 I think, as a first foreign foray. Then a school trip to Bad Kleinkirschheim before the teacher’s strikes put paid to any more.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Cyprus Troodos 1975 -- Forces Expedition Training (aka - a two week ski holiday were I only had to pay for ski/boot hire !!).
Cyprus Troodos 1976 -- Forces Expedition Training (aka - a two week ski holiday were I only had to pay for ski/boot hire and, because the heating system had broken down I was paid 'Hard Lying' money.... Smile

Leather boots, skis with cable bindings. Arm raised above your head, wrist height dictated length of Skis...!!! : Heel movement was about 6 inches ; I learnt to just throw myself down the fall line, couldn't possible fall over because the length of the skis provide a perfect platform..
Only allowed on the T-bar after the first week ; First week it was walk back up, then later using a 'Rope tow'

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1976 in Söll aged 24 as a student. Couldn't afford lessons but was doing linked snowploughs after 2 or 3 days. That was with reach height skis. I haven't had anywhere near enough lessons as I've always skied on a budget (worked in education so it was always peak weeks) so I've probably developed loads of bad habits. I don't ski off piste and don't want to (now) and find blacks too much work generally (but ski them now and then). Mrs billb has retired from skiing so I do very little now. My younger son (who originally learned with me in Aviemore) is pretty good now. He's off to VT in mid March and I intend to join him for a couple of days (first time in 3V). We're also going to Annecy for a couple of days so it's more of a general holiday now with a bit of skiing. Have skied in 7 countries. For me it needs to be a bluebird day ideally.

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With some of the “disastrous start” stories here, I am hugely impressed that you stuck around to be able to post! Think I would have chucked it immediately and taken up tiddlywinks, good on you!

After all it is free

@Orange200, …tiddlywinks…good God you take an eye out with those….

April 2001, Avoriaz. Aged 25. I remember everywhere being green on the coach up from Geneva, but then there was loads of snow in Avoriaz (with an extra metre of snow the week we were there according to the tourist office).

Had some lessons in Fairwater, Cardiff before we went but also had lessons when we were there.

Flight from Gatwick, self catering apartment, lessons and lift pass was less than £500 each!

I still have loads of photos from the trip and really should return to Avoriaz one day.

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I'm going to say Count Hill High School dry slop circa 1985 for a planned trip to Meribel that winter. Due to dads work comitments that fell through so we went again in 87 to Meribel.

Help!!

Ok you lot … D O N E … Now closed for entries? including you Zikomo … your first ‘ski trip’

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