Ski Holiday for a beginner, worth it or not?

[red_slr]

Go to an indoor slope for 2-3 training sessions before you go. Its normally about 20 quid a go.

Get some good insurance.

[Northbloke]

Skiing is an expensive holiday compared to other stuff plus as others say don't forget to add in the pricey but necessary extras (ski gear, passes, lessons). Be realistic.

Having said that, learning to ski in a small group with a good teacher is one of the most enjoyable things I've done. Exhilarating, camaraderie (you're all rubbish to start with but help each other), sense of achievement and lots of laughter. Great fun.

So if you can afford it...just do it.

[Sa Calobra]

Be positive and go and be happy with her.

It's hardwork but put the effort in you'll love it.


It's also stunningly beautiful. Waaaaaaay better than a beach and off the board the drinks, bars etc are more fun.

There's more to life than beach holidays.

Where are you going?

[Douglas Quaid]

I went on my first skiing holiday earlier this year. Wasn’t sure how good or bad I’d be but it was great. I did learn to ski at the snowdome first though so I wasn’t a total noob when I hit the slopes. Plus had a teacher for the first half a day. After that I was up and running. Wasn’t as good as some out there’s obviously but still had a lot of fun and managed to get some decent runs in.

[ClaphamGT3]

That is still pretty good value for a weeks skiing at New Year, provided you are in a high enough resprt that is likely to have good snow that early in the season - where are you going?

Also, 21 is still reasonably going to start learning and pick it up quite quickly.

[gregs656]

Which resort? The price sounds about right to me. You can do it cheaper but you have to plan carefully or get a good package deal.

My advice is do it. Once you’ve cracked it it is immensely rewarding.

I bet there are tons of people out there with partners who don’t ski or board who wish they did...

[sideways sid]

Hard-Drive said:

Which resort? They are all expensive, but some more so than others.

Be ready to be paying £20 for sausages and chips on the mountain and similarly inflated beer prices. Be prepared to love it to...some of my most incredible life/feeling alive memories have been in the mountains.

If you want to get the most from your money I'd recommend:

-Go and get lessons at a snowdome in the UK so you're up and running slowly on day in resort
-Buy your ski kit NOW from Sport Pursuit. Salopettes, jacket, gloves, goggles, thermals, and helmet helmet helmet
-If you aren't already fit, get fit, especially in the legs
-Don't get stfaced every night in resort. Pace yourself and make the most of your time

Skiing-you can get reasonable very quickly and then it gets harder and harder to get really good. Boarding, much harder initially, be prepared to spend a lot of time on your ass, but once you've cracked it you can get very good much more quickly.

Enjoy...it's amazing.

^^^^ Everything he said, along with all the other positive comments.

Also, in my limited experience food can be much better and much cheaper in the Austrian resorts than in the French/Swiss resorts.

Snowdome lessons help, even with simple stuff like getting used to putting everything on and in the right order rather than finding your boots undone and your gloves indoors once on the mountain!

[gman88667733]

The place is Sainte Foy Tarentaise

A lot of the kit I can borrow from family members, so hopefully won't need to spend a fortune on gear. My partner is a qualified ski instructor, so she is going to take me for a few lessons beforehand.

I just don't want to be frustrated the whole time that I can't do it!

[bigandclever]

I'm a st skier. I used to go with a group who were very good. We ended up going out on the slopes in the morning, have lunch together, then they'd bugger off doing some off-piste stuff and I'd wander round whatever resort we were staying doing my own apres-ski all afternoon in the quiet bars. Then we'd meet up when the lifts closed, have dinner and then all go out and do their apres-ski. Loved it.

[Tallow]

I was essentially forced into skiing this way by an ex. It's the only thing I'm glad she did. Do it. As others have pointed out, it's great fun once you get past the relatively steep learning curve.

I did a learn to ski in a day thing at the Snowdome in Tamworth, which is relatively cheap if you do it in the off season, like now - and it meant a lot less time pissing about trying to work out how to remain upright when I got there. If you've got a nearby indoor snow place, it might be worth looking into.

[banjowilly]

gman88667733 said:

The place is Sainte Foy Tarentaise

A lot of the kit I can borrow from family members, so hopefully won't need to spend a fortune on gear. My partner is a qualified ski instructor, so she is going to take me for a few lessons beforehand.

I just don't want to be frustrated the whole time that I can't do it!

It'll be a bit like driving in that you can't do it, you can't do it, you still can't do it, then you can do it, then you wonder how it was that you couldn't do it before. Bit of a life skill in the sense that once you learn, you'll stay learnt & lessons before going is ideal. Then when you arrive, a few more if needed & a few easy greens & blues to get your eye in & confidence rocking & you'll be off & away.

[ClaphamGT3]

gman88667733 said:

The place is Sainte Foy Tarentaise

A lot of the kit I can borrow from family members, so hopefully won't need to spend a fortune on gear. My partner is a qualified ski instructor, so she is going to take me for a few lessons beforehand.

I just don't want to be frustrated the whole time that I can't do it!

Sainte Foy is a lovely resort although not to much of it, from memory, is ski-in/ski-out so be prepared for carrying your skis and clumping around in ski boots a fair bit.

One piece of advice; DONT let your girlfriend teach you - get an instructor you don’t have an emotional relationship with!

[Dixy]

Go, you will learn that taking ski boots off at the end of the day is the second best feeling in life
If your girlfriend is 21 and British I think it unlikely she is a Ski instructor, she either spends her week bored teaching you properly or she takes you to Face in Val D'isere and says follow me.
Having spent a few Christmas in Tignes the chances of you having snow at the chalet are slim.

[gman88667733]

She is in fact a qualified ski instructor and semi-regularly teaches as the local dry slope.

I just hope that I can get to a standard that would mean I can at least do the easier routes, somewhat quickly.

[designforlife]

80% of the ski and snowboard instructors I know are under 25... in the UK it pays absolutely fack all, so you can't really do it as a career, it's more of a second job to score free indoor snow riding and some pocket money.

I have no patience with people whatsoever so I'm a park shaper... if my missus ever wants to learn to snowboard, all the money in the world wouldn't convince me to be the one to teach her, we would be divorced before she got to the falling leaf.

[gman88667733]

Yes, it is a very much an on the side thing! No where near enough work to make it a full job for her.

I have been told learning on dry slopes is tricky as skiing on the snow is a lot easier, is this true?

[designforlife]

If you can crack learning on dryslope then snow will be a doddle by comparison, you just have to get used to how much more slippery snow is.

I learnt to snowboard many moons ago at Pontypool dryslope, riding on snow was far easier and a bit more forgiving... dryslope (dendex) can be pretty punishing on poor technique, so its no bad thing to learn on that before progressing to snow.... not to mention a lot cheaper.

[Christmassss]

I went to La Thuile for my very first ski holiday. I had never been skiing before so had booked some lessons whilst out there.

From memory it was a 8.30 start for 2 hours every day. By the end of the first day i was confident and proficient on the ski's and it was very enjoyable.

I rented everything out there apart from a ski jacket.

[bp1]

Just echo what everyone else has said. Do it.
Being out in the mountains is awesome.

Started at 14 with day trips to Aviemore & Glenshee with school. Didnt realise the weather while skiing wasnt meant to be horizontal rain/sleet till first holiday abroad

Best holidays I've been on over the years, no question.

[Condi]

Do it. Its pretty much the best fun you can have with your clothes on, and while you don't get it now, by the end of your first week, you will...

If you can spend some time on an indoor slope before you go, then do. It'll be rubbish, you'll hate it, you'll wonder why you're spending a grand on going abroad to do it, but a few lessons now will make your time on the slopes much better, and an indoor slope is nothing at all like being 3000m+ up on the mountain.

Then, once you've done it once or twice, you find yourself going abroad for 3 or 4 weeks a year and wondering why you have no money, but that moment on a blue sky powder day drawing your own tracks on fresh snow makes it all worthwhile.