 Poster: A snowHead
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I don't count false starts, because I learned little and the gaps between trips (courtesy of family friends - my parents couldn't afford to take us skiing themselves and there were no school trips available) were so long, I might just as well not have bothered. Finally decided, in 1973/4, that I needed to learn how to ski, so handed in my notice and signed up for a season as a Supertravel resort rep in Verbier. VERY bad season, so bad we had to bus people to other resorts. Learned how to ski moguls a bit (that's all there was, car-sized jobbies created by people doing jet turns) but totally got the bug. In 2009, I embarked on UN-learning all the bad habits I had acquired skiing for one week per year (mostly) from 1975: this remains work in progress. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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78 or 79, aged 10 or 11?? Got excluded from the primary school ski trip to Abernethy for pulling the eyes off Kermit the frog, it wasn't me (I was framed). So big sis and future brother in law took me up Cairngorm, kitted out in dad's oilskin trousers and a thick woolly jumper. Bro in law showed me how to carry the skis on my shoulder, then bent over to do up his boots, I dropped the skis and they landed edge first on his head, red snow everywhere. Fell in love with it that day though, even if my sodden woolly jumper weighed more than twice my bodyweight by the end of it.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Wed 17-09-14 19:32; edited 1 time in total
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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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1974 with a school trip. We went to St Moritz and stayed in a youth hostel; and if memory serves the exchange rate was about 8 SF to the £.
Like Steilhang, we had leather boots, but they did have clips at least.
Couldn't afford to ski again until I was in my early 40's.
Will return to St Moritz if I'm fortunate enough to will the lottery 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Hi Snowheads,
For me; February 1991. A school trip to Lofer in Austria. My form tutor was ski mad and convinced me.
Despite the 26 hours it took to get there (It snowed in the UK closing the airports) I still loved every minute of it. I think the non stop skiing from the top of the mountain back to the hotel towards the end of the week was what hooked me.
I managed a couple more school trips after that but missed 10 years after school when I had to start paying for it myself! I now ski every year and have dragged numerous friends from complete beginners to far more accomplished skiers along with me.
Hoping to ski a lot more this year as I have just convinced my boss to allow me 8 weeks leave during the season where I will mostly be in Chamonix 
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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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For me it was wih my parents but it was thanks to the school trip being full, my parents decided for us all to go as a family to learn, we did lessons at Tumbridge Wells first then went to Mayrhofen for a week. That started a life long love for the whole family (all of us still skiing), and we are now inflicting it on our children 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Bulgaria Feb 2012, i'd always wanted to Ski, but didn't have the desire to go by myself, several friends muted it but would never commit to it. Got with a new GF who was part of a Tennis scene, one of the guys in the group had a couple of places in Bulgaria and had started going regularly. Eventually i got invited along and we did a group trip, loved it from maybe day 2 or 3 when i could use lifts and not walk back up the hill! One trip that year, 3 the next, 3 this. Addicted and can't wait to explore new areas! Too many to choose from and too few holiday days / funds!
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EdNewton, welcome to snowHeads! 
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School trip, Niederau, February 1977.
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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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Eiger Nordwand beeetchez.
OK not really the adjacent bunny slope at Jungfraujoch for an hour during a summer camping hol. Followed by the slightly more prosaic earn your turns of Bebington Oval.
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1971 school trip to Vinje, Norway. Couldn't afford to go again for 12 years - haven't missed a season since.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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School trip 1998, Zell am See. Had seen snowboarding on the telly and wanted to give it a try, and my secondary school ran a ski trip. No option for boarding so I had to ski for the week. Thoroughly enjoyed it but never got the chance to go on snow again until my first winter season 08/09. Started skiing as I had done it previously, surprised how quickly it came back to me. Learnt to board at the end of that winter and haven't really looked back since (I do ski when the mood/conditions take me). Heading back (almost) to where it started this season to do my dual Anwärter in Kaprun.
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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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Grew up like others watching Ski Sunday but never managed to persuade the parents to go, so first experience was Kolsass Weer above Innsbruck in I think 1988, with virtually no snow, but was still hooked and have not missed a year since.
Second taste was on the mat at Christchurch ski centre - not quite the same, but still great fun.
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For me it was born vets in about 92! My husband and I went with friends learned from an ex Russian soldier who started lessons at 9 and finished when it got dark! Blue ice on long straight skis. Went back the next year same type skiing. After that skiing on snow was a delight. Have skied almost every year since and several short trips. We originally went just to experience snow , and see if a ski holiday was better than a sun holiday
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You know it makes sense.
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Exercise Snow Queen with the Army in 1982ish. Cost DM300 per week to go but then you could claim back DM250 per week for food and accommodation as you were on exercise and not in barracks. We had six days downhill then two days cross-country followed by another six days downhill. We stayed at the Regiments "hut" in Wertach near Oberstdorf in Baveria and we skied at Oberjoch on the Austrian border and on the Zugspitze. I think I went three times, we also skied in the Harz Mountains at the weekends throughout the winters as we were stationed not far away.
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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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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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CaravanSkier, Must have been one of the school trip destinations of the day circa 1975. It is where I went on my first trip
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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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School trip to Axamer Lizum in 1981 when i was 13, went back last year with the wife for a day when we stayed in neustift for the week... brought back a lot of good memories 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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1989 Poiana Brasov, Romania.
2 months after Ceausescu was shot so lots of nervous soldiers, disappeared secret police and black market money. The latter made it incredibly cheap (70p for a litre of beer) which made up for the scary flights on Tarom, rickety lifts and crappy equipment. Visited all the sights in Bucharest. Great fun and went back the next year!
Have been skiing every year since then.
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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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Ben Nevis, 6 years ago. We had hiked up to the snow line as a family day out at Easter and those skiers looked so cool, as we played in the huge snow drifts.
So we enquired and found a days tutillage was £20! Absolutely end of season, in fact we were learning on a Nursery slope which transitioned into a dry slope at the uplift. Tricky on a snowboard!
Next couple of years at Glenshee, couple of years at Aviemore, even leaving the caravan at the bottom of Aviemore for one season (a la Graham Bell as it turned out). That was awesome!
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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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Our school used run games lessons for 6th formers only at Capstone Park dry slope. Honestly have no idea why I never took part in that.
Expect they make all their money on toboggan rides and kids tubing these days.
Least I learned on real snow, rather than snapping fingers off on Dendix.
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Family holiday to Meribel when I was 9, 26 years ago.
One of the directors of our firm had a chalet in Les Allues and had mentioned it to my dad several times, so one year we got on a snow coach and went for two weeks.
Apart from two years, one for GCSE's and the other when we bought our first house and needed a bathroom I've not missed a season.
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You know it makes sense.
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I was a late starter. I reluctantly went along with my boyfriend to Canada (Banff), it must have been about 1996. The skiing was amazing and I ditched the back bottom boyfriend a few years later but retained the love of skiing. Have skiied every year since except for the year I badly planned a child being born in February
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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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Early 90's - I was serving in Germany and a notice came up on the Regimental Notice Board, 'Admin wanted for Regimental Skiing Competition' - that sounds like a couple of weeks off work... So I end up in Bavaria freezing my nuts off standing at the bottom of a hill taking down times as the guys came through the final gate. Didn't even get to have a bash myself.
Fast forward 8 months and there was a new Captain in charge of the unit's ski team. Some how my name was linked with last year's team and I was asked if I'd like to take part this coming season. 'Ummmmmm, OK!'. I go into Osnabruck and buy the flashest set of boots and longest set of skis I could afford and 6 weeks later in December I'm standing on the Stubai Glacier with 4 weeks of race training ahead of me. ' What on earth have I signed up for!'
Well, I've seen Ski Sunday a few times and looking around, I'll copy what they do. So I basically started skiing parallel from day one and was recommended for an Instructors course at the end of the training.
I was extremely lucky - I had intense world class instruction for a month solid - I had zero fear, I was very fit and strong and blessed with the basics to 'ski'.
We then went off and raced at various places around Europe for another 4 weeks before returning to our regimental lodge where I immediately did the Joint Services Instructor courses for both Alpine & Nordic. I also qualified BASI Nordic and passed Joint Services Alpine Gold test (which was pretty cool - plenty fail it as it's purely technical), I then instructed for rest of the season until The Easter hols - the exact same courses OwenM mentions above.
Did three full seasons following the same format, the last was as the acting Chief Instructor. I was also adding 3 weeks of Nordic and Arctic Survival stuff in Norway in November before heading for Austria.
Since then I've only ever skied on holidays here and there but I can safely say, that period was one of the most brilliant parts of my life.
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Thu 18-09-14 12:12; edited 1 time in total
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Poster: A snowHead
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Annie, Admin mentioned the area for school trip too, so I`d guess someone in the specialist schools holiday company had contacts in the area. Our hotel was dire with dirty glasses, coke bottles and inches of dust under our beds when we went into the room, and not enough food. I lost over half a stone in a week and was really hungry all week!
OwenM, I think my cousin may well have been one of your instructors!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| bagginsmum wrote: |
| I ditched the back bottom boyfriend a few years later |
The signs were there...
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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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First skied in late 1987 at Halifax dry slope in preparation for a holiday with a load of mates to Embach in Austria in Jan 1988, don't can't recall why we went to Halifax once as the rest of the lessons we had were at Harrogate. Embach was a tiny 2 drag resort near Rauris where we went on the last day, lots of falling over and lots of beer but was convinced. I have skied every year since, and generally twice a season since 1994. Started my daughter when she was 5 in 2006 and she's been every year since.
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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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About 30 years ago in Sauze Doulx. Went with some mates, half of who were good skiers. I had 2 big falls, both out of lessons. In the first I damaged my medial ligaments and on the 2nd I bust my nose, glasses and suffered concussion. I missed one day with the knee and 2 hrs with the concussion. The knee took about 6 months to mend... but we wuz tough back in them days.
I did go for one lesson at Silksworth dry slope but my body was battered into submission by the end. Never been so sore and it filled me with dread for the holiday; complete waste of time, money and body.
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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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| AsterixTG wrote: |
| bagginsmum wrote: |
| I ditched the back bottom boyfriend a few years later |
The signs were there... |
LOL! Didn't realise it would autocorrect ar5e!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
| LOL! Didn't realise it would autocorrect ar5e!! |
Similary when, IIRC, I once tried to write that I had made a great t1t of myself.....It comes out as great booby  !
Wonder if a similar correction happens on sister site Birdheads.com??
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2007 - La Plagne - very late starter - a first ski trip was on my retirement bucket list.
Went with my son and 3 of his mates - the next 2 trips were in catered chalets in Meribel and St Anton - each with 15 x 30somethings, which was a whole new experience in itself !
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Late 1970s. They took us poor kids by school bus to the Council run dry slope at Rossendale.
Within a decade I could afford to ride on snow instead of plastic, although it is a bit wussie.
Five years later I'd made enough money to ride almost exclusively from helicopters. Social engineering at its best, perhaps.
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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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Always wanted to go on a ski holiday but only person in my family who did, then didn't know anyone who skied so it wasn't until my early 30's when a couple of friends asked me if I'd like to join them in Ischgl that I started.
Think I was hooked for life after the first snowplow down a green on the Sunday (though it may have been after the first taste of apres ski the previous evening:))
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| Mjit wrote: |
Always wanted to go on a ski holiday but only person in my family who did, then didn't know anyone who skied so it wasn't until my early 30's when a couple of friends asked me if I'd like to join them in Ischgl that I started.
Think I was hooked for life after the first snowplow down a green on the Sunday (though it may have been after the first taste of apres ski the previous evening ^_^) |
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FAQ
), but in '79 started going out with a girl who was booked on her big brother's uni trip to Aviemore. A combination of jealousy and sense of adventure made me tag along 
!! Now 21 season-passes into the addiction....