 Poster: A snowHead
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I'm a completely rubbish skier, fed up of being the worst in the group and this year I'd like one-to-one lessons every day, all week. I want to get better more than ANYTHING and I'm sure I can with proper attention! I have emailed the Saas Fee school and had no reply, and am not sure how to go about booking in advance. Is it too early? Anyone know anyone at Saas Fee? What do instructors feel like when they have to teach crap people? Am I trying to flog a dead horse? There's nothing I want to do more that ski well enough to just go and do a few runs without it being a cross between an RTA or a Mr Bean lookie-likey competition, but I'm really crap at everything, can't even ride a bike properly.... Somebody help me.
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brian
brian
Guest
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Marg, Yup - at the beginning I couldn't even get down the kids slope without falling every 10 feet or so. The best thing I (and this is just what worked for me) found is to practice on your own after the lessons as said above. I really wanted to learn how to ski once I started and found that trying a few steeper silly things gave me so much more confidence and also took away any fears of falling. Then I went back and practiced a little - then another play. But every person has a different style of learning curve - you just haven't clicked into yours yet. Plenty of advice being passed around here - enjoy. 
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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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Marg , enjoying your skiing is what its all about.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Marg, after 2.75 weeks I was exactly as your thread suggests. I was so peed of that I resorted to a 1-1 lesson. The weather was terrible, but those 2 hrs transformed me into a crap skier that didnt fall over very often. Stick with it, and as Helen Beaumont, says an hour or 2 a day should be enough. You can then practise what you learned at your pace for the rest of the day. Great Skiing can be at whatever level you choose (except the falling learner stage which is just pants). Stick at it.
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Marg, I think a lot of people fail to improve much purely because of fitness. You get to the resort and spend three days days remembering how to ski and get somewhere close to where you were last year.
The next day you're in a purple patch and seem to make big improvements unfortunately that's as good as it gets because energy reserves have been dropping evry day and by day 5 the decline has well and truly set in and no real progress is made.
If you want to make big improvements make every day actually count - get down the gym now and get fit.
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Marg, another suggestion is to ski for more than a week a year. It takes about a week to get your snowlegs back, so you can get a bit stuck if you're not skiing often.
Another suggestion would be to maybe try swapping to another discipline such as snowboarding or even god forbid blading, to see if you enjoy it, and also for the benefits it may bring to your skiing.
My last suggestion would be to find yourself a group to ski with who like to take it easy, plenty of chocolate stops, and don't do anything too challenging, so that you can concentrate on enjoying yourself rather than being the worst in the group.
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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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Marg, Welcome to !
All good advice above! stick with it!
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| rich wrote: |
Marg, I think a lot of people fail to improve much purely because of fitness. You get to the resort and spend three days days remembering how to ski and get somewhere close to where you were last year.
The next day you're in a purple patch and seem to make big improvements unfortunately that's as good as it gets because energy reserves have been dropping evry day and by day 5 the decline has well and truly set in and no real progress is made.
If you want to make big improvements make every day actually count - get down the gym now and get fit. |
Alternatively a break on day 3 really helps....or a hot tub! aj xx
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Marg, i'll slit my own throat by first recommending you consider the epicski academy
I'm a full cert (level III) ski instructor in the US at Winter Park. Come to our resort and we'll make the improvements that your seeking. Someone on our staff will get you squared away.
It is clear you have the desire and that is 90% of the battle. It can also be a dual edged sword. Trying to hard can create a powerful effort as opposed to effortless power. Relax a little and quit being so hard on yourself. Put a big smile on your face the next time you ski and enjoy the experience.
Remember......you only made your best turn once!
Rusty Guy
guyrb@msn.com
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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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Rusty Guy, She's going to Saas Fe! Neither of us can help her! I'm sure we both could.
Marg, Welcome to Snowheads. DON'T WORRY! There are very few natural skiers in the world, so not being one isn't a major problem. I don't know any instructors in Saas Fee, but I do know that the Swiss have changed their system to deal with the modern ski. If you can get it I recommend 1½ hours per day, but you may have to go for 2. Then practise, and as Scrapa says, go a play a little. It's important to separtate study time from play time. Both are equally important.
The liklihood is that your lessons will be around lunchtime. So: first thing a little serious practise, then a little play, then a nice break (no alcohol). Take your lesson, another break and then another play. That way you will improve quickly. Stop comparing yourself to others. Are they really better than you? Perhaps they just have more bravado (that doesn't mean they're better). Stop trying so hard - it takes time to learn any physical skill, and trying too hard makes you stiff and hinders learning.
Ask your instructor which exercises to practise and where to ski - then follow his/her advice regardless of what your friends say - they ar not professionals.
Any decent ski teacher will see you as a challenge, not a pain. If the one you get doesn't seem to be keen - ask for another one! I am always delighted to have students who seem as keen as you are, regardless of their level and ability. 
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Marg, If you can afford the time (and the money), get some lessons and practise in at your nearest artificial slope....repeated practise over here, as well as lessons in resort will pay dividends.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Quote: |
| , another suggestion is to ski for more than a week a year. |
I like this, if it hurts, do more of it!
It's absolutely true though, getting more miles behind you makes all the difference. A few bumps are also useful learning experiences, many adult learners don't learn how to fall safely because they don't do it enough. Your choice of attitude is crucial, if you choose to have fun with it and enjoy every little step forward, you will make progress.
Teachers of adult beginners are not looking for racing material, you will not be a pain for them unless you don't want to learn.
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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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Remember - the more you ski - the more you will improve (with decent teaching). The other thing is that you don't have to be brilliant at it to enjoy it!! It may be that you are skiing with the wrong people. Some people get a lot out of skiing with better skiers as they benefit from being pushed. Others don't. I've seen a few average skiers disintergrate into being totally crap skiers when they've been pushed. It depends on how you learn & your personality. One to one lessons sound an excellent idea for an hour or two a day & pottering up & down a gentle slope until you can do it in your sleep after your lessons is a good way forward. I can remember doing this when I was a beginner - knowing just one run inside out can do wonders for your technique & confidence. There's no rule says you have to ski the whole mountain to enjoy yourself.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I know its in a snow dome but when I booked the ski in a day session at xcape castleford I had 1:1 for 7 hours. Thats only cos on the day I was the only one booked in so very lucky. But i must admit in did me the world of good and I achieved far more then I ever could have imagined.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Frosty the Snowman, yes, but it looks like he'd booked a group lesson and was the only pupil. That happened to me at our local dry slope once too.
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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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Helen Beaumont, I had twigged that, BUT was wondering how much he had saved. For those who dont know; the cost of a private lesson for 1 person is £150 PER HOUR 
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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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Marg, Don't give up! I've been there, done that and got the T shirt...my first trip out I got off the nursery slopes only for the last run of the last day and was terrified to the point of having to be taken off the mountain. Spent the next several trips falling my way down the mountain and desperately wondering how on earth I was ever going to get graceful (but still having fun!) I can highly recommend taking a couple of hours out to take a private lesson or two....I've found that just one or two tweaks in your technique, particularly ones that help you relax, make you ski better than you'd ever have thought!
You need patient, helpful people to ski with....god bless Mr HH for spending hours at the bottom of ski runs waiting for me to struggle down...who won't make you do something that'll frighten you, but will encourage you to try something a little challenging. If you're a different standard to the people you're on holiday with make friends with other people in your hotel/chalet who are at the same stage as you and go skiing together.
Keep trying....you'll have a blast when you finally crack it! Remember, everyone on the mountain had to learn sometime, they all remember how it felt...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Easy way is get down to your dry slope (none of this wimpy soft snow stuff) after you fall a few times on that stuff, like Pavlov's dog you will learn to stay upright (survival is the best teacher).
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Seeing as you are in the Midlands, get yourself over to Tamworth Snowdome, have 2 or 3 private lessons (55 mins each lesson).
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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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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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easiski, These undercutters, Hmmph. Honest thats the rate in the site. I was shocked when i looked for some friend t'other day. Mind you it at the world class resort of Castleford 1850.
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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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Frosty the Snowman, that is shocking! I'd never charge more than £149 per hour.
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| Marg wrote: |
| I'm a completely rubbish skier, fed up of being the worst in the group and this year I'd like one-to-one lessons every day, all week. I want to get better more than ANYTHING and I'm sure I can with proper attention! I have emailed the Saas Fee school and had no reply, and am not sure how to go about booking in advance. Is it too early? Anyone know anyone at Saas Fee? What do instructors feel like when they have to teach crap people? Am I trying to flog a dead horse? There's nothing I want to do more that ski well enough to just go and do a few runs without it being a cross between an RTA or a Mr Bean lookie-likey competition, but I'm really crap at everything, can't even ride a bike properly.... Somebody help me. |
i gotta have a translation. What's an RTA or a Mr. Bean?
something you said intrigues me and made me think about a discussion i had with a client. you say you can't ride a bike properly. what is proper and/or improper. my point is this if your upright and get from point a to point b.....you rode a bike.
a client and i had a rather esoteric discussion about balance and skiing. i contend that as long as you are upright and moving..........you are to some degree balanced on skiis.
aligned well or stnding in the best manner? now that may be a different matter.
i bet you are a better skier than you realize.
how does a ski instructor feel with a student who is having a tough time? hopefully a lot of love and empathy. i have said this many times. the best thing i ever did to improve my teaching was to take a snowboard lesson. on a snowboard i look like an RTA and TWO Mr. Beans.......whoever the heck they are.
i get a hoot out of you people 
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You know it makes sense.
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Rusty Guy, RTA Road Traffic Accident, Mr Bean a character played by Rowan Atkinson a sort of comic disaster waiting to happen
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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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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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D G Orf, thanks
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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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Blimey I'm overwhelmed with this response! I do actually feel encouraged!
Oh, Yes, balance, coordination, nerves. It sounds ridiculous but I DESPERATELY want to do it, not all day every day at 70mph but well enough to go down a few runs, on my skis, in a mostly vertical orientation relative to the horizon.
I've bought my own boots for this holiday and am stomping about the house in them for a bit each day to get used to them, and I've been using a static exercise bike for a few months as I was aware that my legs were made of pipe cleaners and blancmange. Legs are getting better. OK I can get on an ordinary bike and go from a to b on a cycle trail, but I can't go on roads because I'm scared, and I can't hit a ball and I run like a chicken, I'm sure you're familiar with the type...
I have only been twice before (a year apart) and joined the beginners class both times as week one was an unbearable disaster. I had to be REALLY persuaded to give it another go. Week two was much, much better and made me think I COULD do it if I had some personal attention. I do feel anxious that a personal instructor will be fed up with me!
My otherwise lovely partner has been lucky to escape a ski pole through the head, for example "Steep? That's practically uphill!" I do like the mountains and the hot chocolate with brandy outside, and the atmosphere in the evenings but I do HATE the "you can't fall over THERE" looks. I've heard skiing accross the pond is good because they're less snooty?
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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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Marg, A few gifted ones are away with it after a few days, the rest of us have either suffered what you are going through, or they have short memories.
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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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Marg, I can't tell you much about the instructors at Saas-Fee, but ski school runs from 10.00-13.00 and they don't offer private lessons during that time. I would suggest you go to the ski school office as soon as you get to the resort and before you even think of unpacking and book, say, three days of ski school for the mornings until you set yourself some useful goals and some private lessons for the afternoons. I found the first few weeks really depressing when I first started to learn, but it does get better. After that, its a matter of setting your own goals and just enjoying being out in the fresh air and sliding over the snow.
Two further thoughts. I didn't intend to say you should only take three days of group lessons, but only that you can review the situation at the end of the three days and decide whether you want to continue with group lessons, private lessons or both. Also, there is no ski school on a Sunday except for beginners (I don't know about private lessons).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Marg, Don't let the "pub boasting" depress you. A lot of people tell you how good they are, how they did a black run on their second day, how they skied at 70mph and so on. THESE ARE ALL LIES! A half decent skier will not boast, and when asked is more likely to say something like "I can get down most things" or "I can ski OK". If they're putting you down then they're not good skiers. Don't let this testosterone influenced rubbish discourge you!!
You really won't be a nuicence to a private instructor. We like to have the chance to really teach. We like to have follow-through. It can be sould destoying for an instructor to have big classes as you really can't teach properly with 12 people in front of you - it's instruction, not coaching. I would say, go the office and arrange your lessons straight away, make sure to explain than you're nervous and want to learn, but find the class thing unhelpful. The secretary will be able to fix you up with an instructor who suits your needs, but you must be honest about these. I don't know how many ski schools there are in Saas Fee, but if you don't get a helpful secretary, then try another school.
You CAN do it - look, both Rusty Guy and I would love to help you - that's 2 ski teachers giving you advice already. Have fun.
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Marg, Before travelling, try giving the Saas-Fee Ski and Snowboard school a call on Tel. 00 41 27 957 23 48 and explain your needs. "Where to ski" gives a mixed view of this ski school and quote a price of SF58 (approx £26) for 1 hour of private tuition.
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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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this is the most endearing plea that i have heard in some time. heck....come across the pond and i'll do it gratis for a day. i'd love to help you on my day off. we'll make it a joint project. we'll get you up and running. i won't get fed-up!
easiski is right on the money concerning ability. everybody on the internet is an expert. as an aside the longer i teach the more i wonder about my teaching ability. i used to always think my lessons were pretty good. now i realize their are a myriad of ways to "skin the cat" and i find myself finishing lessons and often wishing i had proceeded down a different path. an examiner in our division, who has posted here on occasion is weems, and the man is the most self deprecating guy i know. i also assure all he can "turn em".
in terms of practical advice i'll offer one tidbit and that is to "under-terrain".
go find a run someplace that offers plenty of open space and a very mild boring pitch. inject what i term tos or time on snow. gain ownership of appropriate movements prior to seeking steeper terrain. the key is to find terrain where you are seeking to go faster as opposed to seeking to slow down.
OK....a little help......blancmange?
you sure you folks speak the same language we do? 
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| Rusty Guy wrote: |
| OK....a little help......blancmange? |
It's a dessert, sort of a wobbly, solidified custard, often flavoured with things such as strawberry or raspberry (or more likely, chemicals that approximarte the taste and colour/color of those fruits).
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FAQ
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