 Poster: A snowHead
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I started at 4 in about 1972. According to my mum I hated ski school and refused to go after the first day. I did however like skiing so went to the nursery slope where I slithered about on my own and with the help of the liftie who did the ticket clipping had things sorted. As far as I can remember the only 'lessons' I did were following an instructor in Italy for 6 mornings on a school trip when I was about 12. I haven't skied now for a good while, preferring the challenge of the dark side, but did one night session at Norquay a couple of years back, and was amazed at how it came back. I might pack some boots for the next trip.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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pam w, at 20 I couldn't afford an instructor and I was too terrified to learn from my Swiss Friends. At the end of a week I could just about snowplough the nursery slope and then had no practice until I went again so didn't get any further forward as I could never remember what to do from year to year. As you can see the 'scarring' occurred far earlier than you may have first thought. 
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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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After a truly awful school trip aged around 12, I next gave it a go in my early 20's to Kitzbuhel, where I loved the whole apres bit and the pretty white bit but found the skiing really tough and in the 15 years or so went maybe 2 or 3 times. Then when my son was 4 and a bit (so I was not quite 40) we thought it would be something nice for him to do....and the rest as they say is history.
Definitely the combination of starting young, good instruction and lots of time on snow makes a huge difference. James is just 16 now and has 50 odd weeks to his credit and, well it is just effortless for him. .....makes me sick!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Annie, Hello! Does James race? No chance of another season?
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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 started at 38 - my wife gave me a ski trip for a combined Christmas/birthday present.
I'll be 55 in half an hour, and have had a total of 11 trips, one of which was 10 days, the rest a week each.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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49. And agree with most of what's been said. I'm 57 now and can get down pretty much any piste but I know I'll never make up for the lost decades.
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30 - 6 years ago. Talked in to going by the OH who has been skiing years, before we met, I always gave the excuse that I'm injury prone. Wondering why I didn't start skiing when I was a younger adult (parents couldn't afford for me/us to ski when I was a kid).
Ski twice a season, have lessons for at least a couple of days a season.
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Started at 46 when youngest of our children was 5 and she was old enough to have lessons at the local dry slope. Wish now had been able to take it up much earlier but in my younger days it was well and truly off the radar and didn't know anyone who skied. Now 58 and normally manage two weeks a season - sometimes I get lucky and have three (like this season) - and try to get down the dry slope as often as I can in the winter months.
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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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Two false starts as a teenager, then fairly regularly - but with quite a few gaps and with not many lessons - for one week a year from the age of 28. 34 years later ie 5 years ago - having not got beyond a low intermediate standard in all those years, but by now having found snowHeads and been furnished with recommendations for British ski teachers - I decided to try and eradicate the old skool habits which I had picked up with straight skis, and learn instead how to use modern skis correctly. I'm still trying. I've still not got beyond 'early advanced' on the Inside Out scale, but at least I've inched myself away from the dreaded plateau and have some aspirations towards further improvement. Whilst by no means a natural athlete or a fast learner, I am fairly dogged, which is why I'm still taking lessons, including coaching at Hemel throughout the year. 
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alex_heney, Happy Birthday! 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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20 years ago aged 34 in Zermatt, not the ideal place to learn to ski!!
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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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Skied from 16 - 18 then switched to snowboarding for 20 years but recently been skiing again and loving learning new skills, also easier skiing with my kids who are starting to learn aged 4 and 5.
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You know it makes sense.
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The wife had it on a bucket list of things to do.... so kids bought lessons for her 50th, and she dragged me along for company, we now ski 3 times a year, Spending Kids Inheritence, that will teach them 
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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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Started at 13/14 i think, got hooked quick!
Once read a paper by a Canadian race developement institute stating that the primary ages for developement in sport are between 10 and 12. Something to do with retention, understanding and physical developement. (this is my excuse for being rubbish basically)...
could probably find it if anyone cares
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Poster: A snowHead
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Started skiing at 37 and instantly enjoyed it.
Looks like a lot of late starters on here. Probably due to the costs associated with skiing. Many people cant afford it until they are settled in careers, house owners etc. I know my parents could never have afforded to take 5 kids skiing every year.
Yes I wish I had started earlier but I still have plenty of years on the clock (I hope) to enjoy one or two trips a year. When I retire I can go for during all the cheap weeks and stay for longer. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Started at 9 on Oldham Owl's dry slope and the first holiday was 2 weeks in Meribel, since then I've missed two seasons out the last 27. One because we moved house and fitted a bathroom and the second because a little person came along.
My son started at 3&1/2 years in Switzerland because they would take them from that age in Veysonnaz, he's now ten.
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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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Age 4, with wooden skis and leather lace up boots.
Skied exclusively at Cairngorm for the first five or 6 years as lived close by.
Character building conditions were the norm....
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Of course children get an advantage if as they start skiing young but only if they spend these time with ski schools and not dragging along by their parents side who might not be great skiers themselves, yet somehow believe that if their kids snowplough alongside them on blue slopes after 8-10 holidays they may miraculously improve. If you put 7 y.o. in a ski school in 10 weeks his skiing can get quite a long way.
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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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Impressed by how many people have started quite late and really got into it.
I did a week aged 12, a week at 17 and have skied every year since I was 20. Now 43.
My kids started at 4. Fortunately they liked it immediately and they now love it (11 and 9). With that in the bag I'm now happy to tell them that they have got no excuse for not getting better than me
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Started at 21, bad time for a male to start, how I and others around me survived those early years! I also raced a motocross bike so fear was not something I knew about. Managed 2-3 weeks every year since, now 48, the only "sport" I have ever been better than useless at
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Started nearly 27 years ago at 34 and have managed to ski every year since and several weeks a year for many of those. In the early years regularly skied the dry slopes. Good instruction played a major part of my enjoyment of skiing and the mountains. Apart from a snapped Achilles tendon I have managed to stay pretty much injury free. Having dived (scuba) since I was 16, it seemed to be a natural complement for a winter activity as I got older. Basically fancied trying it and got hooked
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I first went skiing at 26. Started snowboarding at maybe 33 but came back to skiing in my late 30s when my children started to ski. They joined the local racing club and before I knew it I was a veteran racer and a trainer in the club.Now 46 and finding it increasingly hard to stay ahead of my children who are now 12 and 14.
You can learn as an adult and reach a high standard. But it takes a lot of effort. I ski more days thsn my kids and train really hard. But you can't do much about getting older and it just seems to be easier for kids to learn.
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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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Started at 38, and got hooked
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Started at 38 and hooked from that first click into bindings.
Half of me wished I'd started earlier and the other half glad to find that there are always new things in life to learn and become passionate about. I don't tend to view age as a barrier to pushing oneself. Sure, I could be fitter, but I'm generally reasonably happy about my skiing with just over 2 weeks per year on average on the white stuff. 50 now.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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Started around 10 years old for about 4 years, followed by a hiatus until early 20s and could pay for myself. One week/year - now 50+ 
I'm sure the early start is responsible for all my bad habits (still do stem turns when it gets "hard). Started going to ClubMed about 6 years ago and the included ski school has definately improved my technique.
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@32 in 2006. Have done 2-4 trips per year ever since.
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You know it makes sense.
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alex_heney,
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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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4, while growing up in Austria. Unfortunately not in the middle of the Alps, but with skiing in easy day trip reach. Had a long break from about 17..25 with just a couple of sessions in Scotland, then moved to Munich for the simple reason that it was time to go skiing again! Never looked back.
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Poster: A snowHead
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44, 4 years ago, my now 9 year old started at the same time and is way better than me!
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I started in 2008 when I was 25.
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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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24 and I don't want to talk about my age now! 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I think starting young is a massive advantage as in most sports. Of course you can start later and still get to a decent level, but those who start young and continue to ski always look more natural. I started at 13 and trained quite hard in my teen years and have always since found skiing second nature even after periods when I haven't skied for several years. But I think even 13 is quite late compared to those who started at say 5 or 6. My first daughter started at 2 and now at 4 is already starting to fly. If she takes an interest I'm sure she will be much better than me before she even reaches her teens.
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Having watched my sons learn at a very early age I would agree that 13 (the age when I started) is quite late. I think you learn in a very different way once you are past the age of about 7!
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about 12 I think, skiied for about 5 years (so roughly 5 or 6 weeks) before moving to snowboarding.
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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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60
A ski trip (to see whether I could manage it) was on my retirement bucket list.
6 years and 11 trips on I am still managing it.
Having missed/wasted so many years I am determined to continue 'forever' and keeping the weight down and keeping fit has led to a life-style change with a healthier diet, gym 3 times a week throughout the year, summer cycling over the South Downs, dog walking twice a day and golf twice a week.
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I started in my mid 20's. I wish I had sarted much sooner.
My kids started when they were 7 and 4 (I think), on their last trips they were 15 and 12. They looked very natural on skis; very much in balance, they were fine in medium sized bumps, jumps and cut up powder and probably spent most time on slopes around 25*-30*.
They aren't quicker than me yet, but it can't be far off. 
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FAQ
Eventually I was motivated to learn by a combination of my existing love for the outdoors/mountains and my OH being a keen snowboarder who hadn't been for years and was itching to go again - when booking our first holiday we chose a resort with plenty of non-skiing activities, in case I wanted a break, but didn't end up doing anything but skiing all week as I was hooked by that point!
). Went abroad for the first time at about 15 to Claviere (Hotel Roma) and did a few trips to Glenshee. Drifted away for quite a few years as I had other interests but picked it up again only to drift away for a further 10 years as my wife had no interest.
