First Time Skiing

[Sainters7]

Rent/buy snowblades instead of regular skiis, they're smaller and easier to control. They're meant for beginners. I went skiing for the first time in over a decade a couple years ago and was surprised how decent I was(I still sucked, but I could do all greens and roughly half the blues). That was with snowblades. I went out a couple weeks later with regular skiis and was surprised at how much more difficult it seemed.

[flip]

Originally Posted by The Ditch

All my friends wear helmets, and they are great skiers, I suggest wearing a helmet to everyone.

Like I said what do your friends do when they go skiing? If you go to the parks you will need one. Rails, half pipes and jumps can be dangerous. But seriously going down a blue at Sunshine? Even on Goat's Eye at Sunshine I never felt unsafe without a helmet.

I would never and will never wear a helmet.

[The Ditch]

You never know what's going to happen, I had someone going out of control on a green run smash into me from behind and I went down pretty hard, it might not be you messing up. I would never go out even if I am doing groomed trails without my helmet.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by flip

Like I said what do your friends do when they go skiing? If you go to the parks you will need one. Rails, half pipes and jumps can be dangerous. But seriously going down a blue at Sunshine? Even on Goat's Eye at Sunshine I never felt unsafe without a helmet.

I would never and will never wear a helmet.

Funny. That's where I was skiing a couple weeks ago that I noticed all the people wearing helmets. The place was busy and I can't believe how a-holish some people are. Swerving by like they own the joint. Snowboarders in particular are becoming aggressive a-holes. Next time I go, I'll probably buy a helmet. Because besides the nutcases that don't slow down when two trails intersect, I, personally, am pretty psychotic on skis. I like the blues and the single blacks and I pretty much go straight down. I really should be wearing a helmet the way I ski.

[Kerplunk]

Originally Posted by flip

Is this a new phenomenon? I used to ski A LOT when I lived in Golden and only the ski team kids would wear helmets, and they were kids.

I've never seen adults wear helmets. Unless you are going into the park to do 720s I don't think it is necessary for any greens, blues and most blacks.

I'd say a good 50% of the people wore lids when I was at Nakiska this season, including many adults. I think the idea of personal safety picked up over the last 7-10 years or so, because I never used to see that many people wear helmets years ago either.

[flip]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Funny. That's where I was skiing a couple weeks ago that I noticed all the people wearing helmets. The place was busy and I can't believe how a-holish some people are. Swerving by like they own the joint. Snowboarders in particular are becoming aggressive a-holes. Next time I go, I'll probably buy a helmet. Because besides the nutcases that don't slow down when two trails intersect, I, personally, am pretty psychotic on skis. I like the blues and the single blacks and I pretty much go straight down. I really should be wearing a helmet the way I ski.

I prefer moguls runs which tend to have less people and less people going 90km/h down the hill. I find the technical aspect more rewarding that just flying down a hill.

[ken0042]

Well, I am a medium skier... I have no problems with blue runs and have even tried the odd black. But for me all it took was one error in judgement, followed by the previously mentioned not going down on my ass that caused a concussion from hitting the ground face first.

When you ski odds are you are going to wear some sort of head covering anyway. My helmet has removable insulation so I can use it anywhere from -25 to +5 degree skiing weather. It also has a clip for my goggle strap so I can flip them up quickly while on a run without worrying about losing them.

My helmet cost me about $30; and should have been bought before my accident and not after.

[Slava]

Thanks for all of the tips so far! Lots of good stuff here for me to consider. I can skate and like to think that I'm not a completely un-coordinated guy. I am worried about crossing my skis though.

I will be wearing a helmet. I don't care if I look like a loser or whatever....I'd rather that then suffer a brain injury.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Slava

Thanks for all of the tips so far! Lots of good stuff here for me to consider. I can skate and like to think that I'm not a completely un-coordinated guy. I am worried about crossing my skis though.

I will be wearing a helmet. I don't care if I look like a loser or whatever....I'd rather that then suffer a brain injury.

You won't look like a loser unless you're wearing a really dumb looking helmet. I'm seriously going to buy one before I go out again.

[JohnnyFlame]

I would suggest taking some friends along who are in the same boat. It will be very boring indeed if everyone else is off on other runs. And just plain dumb if you tag along with them before you are ready. First time I ever went up to Lake Louise I found that I needed two runs to get rolling. I did have a week of lessons under me at COP beforehand. One on like the easiest run there and then one on a higher run but again with very little difficulty.

I was with friends who were at the same level. Once we all felt comfortable we went to an intermediate run which is where we spent the rest of the day( on various intermediate runs). Even on those we just used common sense working our way down cautiously practicing our turns. Then looking for spots where we could pick up some speed and take a few chances. Always just staying out of the way of more experienced skiers.

Basically we found our comfort zone and had fun. But to me the friend/s who is at your level is key to enjoying the day.

[burn_this_city]

Helmets are for squares.. A feeding tube for the rest of your life is much better..

[Cowboy89]

I'll lend my support to the helmet crowd. I'm a double black skier and I always ski with a helmet. A few years back a friend of mine (Who is a double black skier as well) and I went down some doubles at Pano and he fell into a tree head first. Thankfully he got his arm up in time to shield his head from the blow. It was at that point at which we went and bought helmets.

The new helemts are extremely comfortable now. No need for a touque, they have wind vents that you can open and close for optimal comfort and some even have built in head phones to plug into your ipod. They dont' even cost that much (A very servicable model can be had for $50 at sport chek). Bottom line is that the freedom of not wearing a helmet is not worth the risk of ending up riding the short bus for the rest of your life.

[ok, ok,....I get it]

helmets are like anything else, you get what you pay for. My was around $100 bucks, but is is comfortable, I can put on at the start of the day and forget about it.

[Ruttiger]

Originally Posted by flip

Is this a new phenomenon? I used to ski A LOT when I lived in Golden and only the ski team kids would wear helmets, and they were kids.

I've never seen adults wear helmets. Unless you are going into the park to do 720s I don't think it is necessary for any greens, blues and most blacks.

I was up in Jasper at Marmot Basin earlier this month and looking around, there were definitely more people (adults included) wearing helmets than not. And spare me the handicapped Oiler fan jokes with Marmot being closer to Edmonton If you really pay attention to how fast you're going sometime, how easy it really can be to catch a tip or an edge, how hard the snow can be and how close the trees can be, a helmet really does make a lot of sense.

[Kipper is King]

Skiing is comparatively easier to start out with than snowboarding. I remember having an incredible amount of difficulty trying snowboarding for the first time, but I was elated when I tried skiing for the first time.

Super crappy rental equipment with old skis and rear entry boots with poor support can really hurt your impressions of the sport. Rent from a place that has decent stuff.

Also, don't use poles your first few times. You're only going to be skiing on a gentle slope anyways, you don't need them. For too many beginner skiers, poles are a huge distraction. They worry more about what their hands are doing with the poles, and not their feet.

Once you feel comfortable stopping and fluidly turning, then get poles.

[ken0042]

I thought the poles were there to knock people out of your way, and then to help you up when you wipe out.

[Kipper is King]

Originally Posted by Slava

I am worried about crossing my skis though.

At first when you start out with snowplow turns, crossing skis happens on occasion. Because they are lightweight, and because you can balace on one foot somewhat as a skater, it should be no problem to uncross your skis quickly.

Once you learn a nice carving parallel turn, crossing skis almost never happens.

Happily, it's all downhill from there!

[Kipper is King]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I thought the poles were there ... to help you up when you wipe out.

Yes, they are good for that, but on a gentle slope you can easily get up without them, and I'm assuming he wouldn't be skiing alone. For a beginner, poles are much more of a hinderence than a help.

[ShaolinFlame]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

Rent/buy snowblades instead of regular skiis, they're smaller and easier to control. They're meant for beginners. I went skiing for the first time in over a decade a couple years ago and was surprised how decent I was(I still sucked, but I could do all greens and roughly half the blues). That was with snowblades. I went out a couple weeks later with regular skiis and was surprised at how much more difficult it seemed.

If you do this this Slava you will look like the biggest dork on the ski hill. I will put it in my sig so every time I post someone laughs at you. Do not rock mini skis unless you want to diminish your manhood.

Those things are dumber than wearing a helmet, or riding with the bar down...

But seriously, I only wear my helmet in the park or early season back country (rocks), I would ride with the bar down if it didn't have those stupid ski holders, and you should be fine skiing, I bet you will be turning without a pizza and stopping normally by the end of the day.

I skied pretty much at least once a week for 8 years and have snowboarded for 10, and the best advice I can give you is to take a lesson, or go with a friend who is certified. Learning the proper technique at the beginning will save you hours of falling and bottles of Tylenol. If not, your gonna have a bad time...

[kevman]

Originally Posted by flip

Like I said what do your friends do when they go skiing? If you go to the parks you will need one. Rails, half pipes and jumps can be dangerous. But seriously going down a blue at Sunshine? Even on Goat's Eye at Sunshine I never felt unsafe without a helmet.

I would never and will never wear a helmet.

In my opinion, as someone who rides 30 days a year and just started wearing a helmet last season, the most important reasons, in order of importance, for a helmet are as follows:

0: Your girlfriend telling you to...
1: Other people hitting you on a green or blue run.
2: Loosing control and rag dolling down a rocky chute or through a glade run.
3: Bouncing off the deck in the pipe and hitting your head on the flat bottom.
4: Slamming hard off a jump.
5: Rails.

I don't care if you wear a helmet but thinking you only need a helmet to ride park is silly. I hate to agree with RCR here but rails are pretty safe and you'd be hard pressed to hit your head. Icy runs with out of control skiers/boarders on the other hand...