 Poster: A snowHead
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So finally managed to get Mrs DP on a mountain this week (Pyeongchang in South Korea if youre interested). Wasn't sure what to expect. Here's what happened. Wondering how this compares to other snowheads who've taken the OH skiing for the first time.
(Mrs DP had a one day lesson at Manchester prior to going)
We planned to ski 9-3 on the last day of our holiday.
We did ski a little on the first day (3 day trip) but just nursery slopes.
7am: im awake, keen for first chair.
10.15am: Mrs DP finally enters the land of the living. I huff and puff.
11:00am: loads of boot faff because they're too big / too small / don't go with her outfit etc
11.45am: having planned for the resorts first chair at 9am, we actually get our first chair at quarter to midday.
11:46am: "my boots were too tight Friday night so today I ordered 2 sizes up. Now they feel like they're going to fall off."
12:00: I do a lap whilst Mrs DP undertakes more boot faff
12:10pm: I demonstrate that boots can be more or less tight by adjusting the closures. Mrs DP is amazed.
12:15pm: boot faff complete, we ski some simple slopes to warm up. Mrs DP is displeased as she wants to skip straight to the Olympic GS course at the top and I suggest this could lead to a premature death. (I skied it the day before and 2 of the 3 open were just rock solid ice).
1. 00pm: we complete warm up things and ski a nice blue. Mrs DP smiles a bit and we also adjust her boots at the cafe at the bottom.
2.00pm: after skiing more simple stuff we get the gondola to the top (apparently longest cable car in Asia). I say no to skiing the Olympics course but we can ski the 6km blue from the summit back into town.
2:15pm: after lots of selfies at the top, Mrs DP skis the entire run back to town without pausing. (her snowplough is very good for a 1 day old skier). She grins from ear to ear all the way down and loves it.
2:45pm: as we finish up (I dropped her off to return kit whilst I did a couple of laps "full send") I surprise myself by being totally over the boot faff and whinging because Mrs DP has discovered skiing and generally loved it once we actually did the fun part.
3pm: all done.
Is this reasonable? Has everyone else been through a "FFS" stage at the 3rd set of boots after already starting 2 hours late? Or am I just impatient? Only to redeem it all when you see the OH have a great time and leave with a newfound enthusiasm for it?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@dp, it's a D:Ream 
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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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yes
(maybe she was born to be a snowboarder with all the boot faff)
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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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IME.
- Boot Faff is absolutely normal
- The wish to ski something steep and icy early on in the skiing career - not so much (in fact, not at all).
- The grin of true satisfaction that happens on one day, when the mood/snow/run/weather are all in alignment, can totally evaporate the next day, if the mood/snow/run/weather are no longer in alignment.
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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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All about right , except beginners don't usually want to head straight for the hardest runs. Or you get them up there and they are frozen with fear.
Sounds like you got the right result by the days end though.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Sounds like it went extremely well. Nearly 3 hours straight skiing when taught by a partner is very good going. She might not be a morning person but I suspect she'll be skiing circles around you before you know it 
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Celebrate the "newfound enthusiasm". Forget everything else.
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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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@dp, Beware the day 3 nightmare when
1. You take her on a run you think she'll cope well with
2. There is a steep/narrow/icy bit you'd forgotten
3. She freaks out and wants to kill you
4. After much coaching, pleading, offers off presents etc she gets through it alive - possibly having to bum slide
5. She doesn't talk to you for rest of day
6. You swear it is lads only from now on
7. Repeat day 1 and all smiles again
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I can definitely relate with the morning when I go with a certain set of friends. One always gets up about 10am, while I've been up and ready since 8am - very frustrating! Even when we leave the chalet and putting our skis on, there's normally a 20 min delay while one goes back as he's forgotten something, then another needs the toilet.. etc etc
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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This story is a bit painfully familiar. It sounds like you were irritated and impatient for a lot of the day - man, have I been there! You did well to focus on the positives by the end.
Every woman I know has massive boot issues when she is starting out. I really don’t know why that happens, but both my wife and a close female friend of hers have lost two big toenails each due to ill-fitting ski boots. Is it the fault of the boot fitters, the manufactures, or some communication mishaps? In both cases, these women spent many hours trying to get the boots right and in the end they have been put off skiing entirely.
On the other hand, the men I know can put on almost any old boot and it works fine. It makes me wonder if women’s ski boots are really designed for women, or if they’re just men’s boots with lower flex and some pink graphics.
My buddy has the best solution here, though. He takes two big ski trips a year, the first one just with his male friends where he gets to do exactly what he likes, and the second one with his wife and kids where he does exactly what they want. That way he’s never impatient or frustrated about the 11AM
first chair, the slow lunch, the selfies, etc.
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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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What Boris said!
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on the + side its now easier for you to go on skiing hols.
on the - side its going to be more expensive.
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You know it makes sense.
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@dp, you are lucky!
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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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@diaphon, my husband was the king of boot faff when we were hiring (I just assumed I had a higher pain threshold!) - but I never had a pair of hire boots that remotely fitted, especially round the calf (have lifts now) and round the heel. They just don't seem to work for a slimmer foot, guessing they get ones in that'll kind of fit the most people!
OP, take her to get some snazzy boots. 
And brill that she loved skiing, long may it continue!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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My other half could ski before we met so I've not had the unfortunate experience of going through that.
Still get the whole boot faff and selfies though! 
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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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If you find a way of getting her to the first lift of the day let me know - I am already practicing my deep breathing and "no, no take your time" dead panning.
Overall though - success!
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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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To be honest, my thoughts were more on the line of "Wow, that's a pucka set of heels to follow (subtext . . . nice bum, wonder where it's going fer lunch  )
@dp, it is a dream for many an adrenaline junkie to find a partner with the same or even higher goals than himself. Just find the 'Perfect Boot' and relish the joy of coming second to someone you love.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Dave of the Marmottes,
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Definitely buy her her own, well fitted, boots. Had to do the same for hubby first time I dragged him skiing - very worthwhile investment.
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Sounds like a win win to me, ultimately happy wife and you will have an enthusiastic ski friend in the future ...... get her to a decent boot fitter and buy here some comfy boots before the next trip.
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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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A while ago, but 3 daughters 9 to 15 years old. First morning, boot room at 22 degrees, all daughters requiring much help as can be expected. Wife just about coping with her new boots, puddles of water on the floor coming directly from my forehead, all skiing gear now off. Wanting to swear profusely, but you cant with 3 daughters and indeed a wife who would hit me.(quite rightly)
I am, before the first lift around 2kg lighter. Better half was no issue,(not first time skiing though, so a little off thread) but 3 children putting boots on for the first time in a resort- a once in a lifetime experience- please
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@twoodwar, +1 (only two daughters but sheesh)
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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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| mooney058 wrote: |
| @dp, you are lucky! |
@dp +1 - you're well ahead of the game. Pick your next ski trip with care, pay heed to the posts from Old Fartbag and Boris and you are sorted.
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You know it makes sense.
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As Boris alludes to I think half the problem is just that the faff is so ill-timed. You walk right past the toilets on the way to the rentals and then as soon as you've got skis and boots she needs the toilet. You finish in the toilet then she wants to try a different size of boots. Then you walk to the chairlift only for her to decide her helmet could do with being a touch bigger. It just feels like one thing after another stands between you and just getting on the skis at all.
I too was surprised she wanted to go straight to scary pistes. I think it was innocent enough, just an interpretation that there is more fun to be had from harder things. I think also the novelty that they were the Olympic courses last year which we saw on telly. I convinced her to spend some time on the nursery slopes getting back into good technique, then Long winding blues with good scenery ended up being the compromise - more interesting than the wide open straight pistes but less dangerous than the steep hard blacks.
With regards to buying boots, I quite agree. I would never rent boots by choice. Mine are basically racing slippers courtesy of a few sessions with CEM and I'm a total advocate of having your own boots. However, we came to Macau for a year (job) and did not expect to ski at all. We popped over to Pyeongchang for 3 days on hand luggage and grabbed everything in resort, so it was a "get what you're given" kind of scenario. When we get back to the UK, and now she knows she likes skiing, they're definitely on the list.
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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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Up until 12:10, absolutely.
After that, well done Mrs DP!
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Poster: A snowHead
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I’ve told my husband if he spends the first 2 days of the holiday faffing with his boots this year I’m going to have to chop his feet off. As far as he is concerned, a ski trip is not a real ski trip if he doesn’t spend the first 2 days groaning loudly about how painful his inappropriately tight boots are and tinkering with them incessantly before declaring on the evening of day 2 that he must buy more boots. Which are of course inappropriately tight. He maintains that ski racers must wear very tight boots for precise control over their skis, and is very aggrieved when I point out he’s not a ski racer but a 45 year old dad trying to keep up with his tweenage daughter.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Ps we’ve skied together for more than 35 weeks over the last couple of decades. So he’s not new to skiing, but the boot faff is one of the most predictable bits of the holiday!
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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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| twoodwar wrote: |
A while ago, but 3 daughters 9 to 15 years old. First morning, boot room at 22 degrees, all daughters requiring much help as can be expected. Wife just about coping with her new boots, puddles of water on the floor coming directly from my forehead, all skiing gear now off. Wanting to swear profusely, but you cant with 3 daughters and indeed a wife who would hit me.(quite rightly)
I am, before the first lift around 2kg lighter. Better half was no issue,(not first time skiing though, so a little off thread) but 3 children putting boots on for the first time in a resort- a once in a lifetime experience- please |
My oldeest daughter would put her gloves on befor her boots and then need help with her boots “ because she had her gloves on”
She would also, once on the piste, wait until I’d got my gloves on and ski pole loops on hands before requesting I took my gloves off to help her tuck her gloves into cuffs or vice verse.
You can’t make it up!
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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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@twoodwar, Same situation but single parent here! Then they got the snow bug (well 2 did, the eldest retired from snowsports after 2 trips) and now it is first lift to last and yes they are both better than me (1 on skis one board)
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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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Faff and tears on the slope are just part of the holiday.
Mrs c and I had a long weekend in Jan it was cold. In a small resort so had to come all the way from the top to buy some extra clothes and a pair of gloves that were about twice the price of everything I was wearing.
I could either smile or get pissed off and have a row. I chose the former after all who wants to ski on a blue bird day with fresh snow when you can be in an over heated shop buying premium priced kit with the love of your life.
What glorious first world problems
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Have to say that my daughters abilities, perhaps unsurprisingly are in relation to their age when first starting. My 9 year old, on piste at least looks like a local who skis a lot. My only comeback is I can still beat here for speed, because I am still stupid! Its a man thing 
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@ twoodwar, my 10 year old can (literally) ski circles around me, but at the moment I am so much heavier than him that I can still beat him down the piste. In moguls, or trees, or off piste though - no chance.
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| Quote: |
because I am still stupid!
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and weigh x times as much as a 9 year old and have big long skis
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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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@pam w, Yes, but I thought a self depreciating stupid would cover it! She is now 25 though! (should have said 16 years have past)
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| HugoC wrote: |
| I could either smile or get pissed off and have a row. |
In one of his many books, Spike Milligan wrote of a big bill in a nice restaurant "I could pay up, or have an argument and ruin the evening. I paid up. It ruined the evening."
My wife's first lesson was in Lake Louise in a group, far from me. She loved skiing instantly and afterwards, though first lift is pushing it - usually I nudge that by booking lessons early so there is no choice. Her skill is to ask to stop early for a leisurely mid-morning coffee and pastry, then half an hour after we've got going again "oh look it's lunchtime".
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FAQ
I call it payback (except now he's better than I am 
)