 Poster: A snowHead
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I am new here...
and basically i am going to chamrousse on the 23rd Jan for a skiing holiday with the girlfriend and her family, all in all theres around 14 of us and they have all ski'd before...apart from ME
i have not booked into ski school as the family said they will spend time with me and try and teach me
can anybody try and tell me any basics so i dont look like a total wally on the slopes ?
i would be more that appreciative...im getting worried now and feel like ive thrown myself into it too much lol
thanks in advance
Adam
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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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D3YMO, Welcome to Snowheads.
You could have got some lessons at the Chill Factore, but probably a bit late for that now.
I would strongly advise you to book into lessons, maybe half day in the morning, if available, and that gives you the ability to ski with the family in the afternoons.
This way your first foray onto the slopes will be with people in the same boat as you and you won't look like a wally.
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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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Book in to ski school. Odds are those that are promising to teach you will be, at best, average skiers with no real talent for teaching you.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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D3YMO, oh, yeah, and book lessons. Being taught by lovers, friends or family is like being taught to drive by the same. The relationship rarely survives the experience intact.
hyweljenkins, makes a good point.
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D3YMO, ignore that second post in its entirety. And get some proper lessons.
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D3YMO, Yep, I'd say get as many lessons as you can before you go and then get into ski school at resort.
The family will quickly get bored with pretending to be ski instructors, and then say to you "come to the top with is, you'll be fine". And then it will end in tears, and probably a skidoo off the hill.
"You'll be fine" are probably the most dangerous words in skiing..... treat anyone who uses the phrase with suspicion - unless they really are a ski instructor 
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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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Lizzard, that's cruel, you just want the poor chap to look like a wally, skis all over the place, jacket flapping like a demented chicken, liftpass slashing across his face, etc.
And with boots on wrong feet and skis back to front.
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have tp re-iterate the other posters - get some lessons, before you go if possible and definitely whilst in the resort. Oh and don't forget the big Adam Ant smear of zinc oxide cream on your nose and lips
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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D3YMO, I would take the 'teaching by lovers=relationship put on shakey ground" advice. The removed family might be a good idea, eg the other 10 guests, but i was taught by a lover once, on how to windsurf...lets just say she left me in the middle of a lake with no means of getting back  . It ruined a perfect 1 week holiday  . Anyways, you and your partner might get on really well and this might not be the case, but from experience, under a new name speaks alot of truth.
Other than that...I am not so sure on lessons. My brother came with me and my uncle on a ski trip. I had done 2 weeks skiing, he had done none. He followed me and my uncle about really well. We started easy, then moved on reds by the end of the week for him. I had an amazing time skiing, my uncle enjoyed (he has been going for about 20 years now). We were with a guide for 3/4 of the time however but he didn't teach us, just showed us about.
My experience with teaching from a ski school impression was "Allez allez down ze hill and follow me!". That was all there was. Started on blues and greens, moved on to easy reds by the end of the week. I think you would be fine being taught by the other members of the trip (minus maybe her parents and her, if you think a clash of the titans might occur). If you are lacking money and funds, do this option.
Ultimately its up to you and what you think is best for you, if you don't have the money for lessons, then your fellow skiiers will be ok. If you have the money and want to be able to keep up with the rest of the people on the trip, then get lessons. It comes down to two things....time versus money. If you get lessons, you will probably get better faster and be able to ski with the other people quicker. If you just enjoy spending the time with the people then take them up on their lessons, but please remember this; if you see a hill that you think is too steep, then dont feel obligated to go down it, even if everyone else does, just side slip it, or take it in your own time. Within time you will know what you are capable of. Unlike me....I relish the challenge 
tl;dr....lots of money? lessons. Like spending time with these people? ski with them.
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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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Please book into lessons - you'll have fun learning with others who are at the same level and then can have a bit of time on the slopes with 'the family'. The cost is worth it. You'll make rapid progress and more importantly you'll all still be speaking to each other to share your stories at the end of the day!
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Get lessons! On my 1st trip I had booked nothing thinking friends would teach me - I booked lessons on the 1st day. I didn't want my friends to feel they had to look after me instead of being off having fun around the slopes. When you're not in lessons then they hopefully will encourage you to practise - but my advice is to be really strong especially for the first few days and insist on ONLY practising on slopes you've met in lessons. What someone experienced thinks is easy and what you think is easy are is not always the same thing!
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You know it makes sense.
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Book at least a couple of hours of private tuition if you can afford it...just to cover the basic techniques...
And never forget that the skis can come off so if you are at the top of a very steep slope with your friends saying you'll be fine but you don't want to do it...you don't have to ski! Walk/slide down, who cares. You risk losing your nerve if you fall then it's difficult to start again! Believe me, I know....
Hope you love it like the rest of us on here do!!
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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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shmaggle, but bear in mind that taking your skis off on a slope is often the worst thing you can do...
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Poster: A snowHead
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on average how much are lessons/ski school if i book them while im there? i may go out on the first day with them, if they cant get me going book in...if i have enough money
(thanks for all the comments guys)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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D3YMO, You may get better vale (and have more fun when on your holiday) if you do a few sessions at the indoor snow slop in Manchester - Chill Factore.
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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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If you don't get lessons with an instructor, you won't learn to ski properly. Unless your family/friends have been trained to instruct, all you will do is learn their bad habits, which you will have to break when you decide later on that you would actually like to learn to ski instead of just sliding around on some planks. Get an instructor, at least for the mornings.
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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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Skimp on something else - BOOK LESSONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you are going with a tour operator then ring them tomorrow and get booked in before you go - if not then do some research on-line before you go. I got caught my first full week's ski holiday by not booking and then not being able to get group lessons. I paid for private lessons for myself, my two boys and a friends daughter - they took off and I didn't in my ill-fitting hire boots. Soon found myself 'Billy No-Mates' going up and down a drag lift. You're much younger than me and I'm sure will take to it quickly but it so much more fun to learn properly with an instructor. I think you may have the idea that lessons are boring but instructors make it fun and you will get so much more out of your holiday. If you book for mornings only then you can ski out with the family in the afternoon. They will be far more tolerant of you for half a day.
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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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Have to agree with all the posts above - book lessons. The family will not want to spend their very precious ski time doing what you need to do. And even if they are generous enough to do so, it is unlikely they will have the right skills and understanding to teach you properly.
Or, to take another tack, persuade the girlfriend that you should both book in to beginners snowboard lessons - that way you'll be starting off on an equal footing. that might be a whole heap more fun - and would remind her what it's like to ride up a chairlift in an agony of apprehension about whether you'll be able to get off at the top without injuring yourself and/or those around you.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hope you have lots of fun Adam - let us know how you get on.
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One word LESSONS
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I get the impression the consensus here is GET SOME LESSONS (and I would have agreed strongly if I'd posted before you went) - so D3YMO what happened, did you have lessons and how did it go?
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FAQ
