First Time Skiing

[dubc80]

Wear a helmet, but beware of the embarassing gorbie gap!

Gorbie gap: Having exposed skin between your goggles and your helmet.

"GORB" = Geek On Rental Boards

To minimize embarassment, make sure your equipment fits correctly.

[Dion]

Used to ski quite a bit so i'd recommend you stay on the green runs.

Practice doing some snow plows before you head up on the chair or rope tow. By that i mean doing something like this gal in the picture is doing. the snow plow will help you stop as well as control your speed.

[Barnes]

First thing you need to know is to not lean back in your boots. It's a natural reaction to lean against the hill and have all the pressure on your ankles and calves and the back of the boot.

Start with going straight downhill in a snowplow with both inside edges digging in. Get used to knowing what your ski tips are doing. Don't lean back.

Once you are comfortable with that, start to make turns. The easiest way is to start off facing downhill in the snowplow. Pretend that there is a button under your right foot's big toe. Try pressing it down with your toe while your left foot eases up on the pressure but maintaining the inside edges contact with the snow. Don't lean back.

Once you are almost perpendicular to the hill, do the same with your left inside edge. Don't lean back.

Once you are comfortable linking snowplow turns, start a snowplow turn and at about 45 deg from straight down the hill, pick up tail of the uphill ski and place it perpendicular to the downhill one. That's the pizza/french fries. Everything else is an extension to those actions and will become smoother the more you ski.*

The most important thing is learning to put pressure on the inside edge of the downhill ski. The inside edge slightly forward of the middle of your boots is where you should concentrate. Don't lean back.


*Unless you are on an extremely steep slope, moguls or powder. We'll save those for your second day of skiing.

[Barnes]

Gorbs can usually be identified by their jeans tucked into red Nordica rear entry boots and San Fransisco 49ers Starter pullover jacket as well.

[dubc80]

Originally Posted by Dion

Used to ski quite a bit so i'd recommend you stay on the green runs.

Practice doing some snow plows before you head up on the chair or rope tow. By that i mean doing something like this gal in the picture is doing. the snow plow will help you stop as well as control your speed.

Holy crap. Is that a black person skiing?

Unicorn!

[Torture]

Well...I've been skiing for....who knows how many years...probably 15ish...since I was a little kid.

Like a lot of people have said...Snow Plow (the pizza slice!). Snow Plowing you can ski pretty much anything (I've seen little kids go down mogul runs, or anything in a strong snow plow)

Once you get better you can get parallel, but start with the snow plow.

Lean forward! Don't lean back on your skis, you have better control leaning forward.

Wear a helmet. Seriously, they don't look bad....they're warm, and it's the smart thing to do. I'm a double black skier, I ski all over the place, (but don't do a whole lot in the park) and I always wear a helmet.

Don't wear jeans! It'll be one of the most uncomfortable experiences of your life.

Rent the day before you go from somewhere like Ski Cellar. You can pick it up on the way out of Calgary, and you'll get much better gear, for a more reasonable price.

[Phanuthier]

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.

Um sorry

My only advice to add thats not already here, when you go from a snowplow to keeping your skiies parallel, I left up my leg facing uphill just an inch off the ground.

[troutman]

Wait until the Spring:

[ken0042]

Slava- where are you going skiing? I ask because if it's somewhere that we are familliar with we can suggest some good beginer runs for you.

If its Sunshine then I would start with the "Dell Valley." The top 1/2 of the run has slopes on either side, so you can practice going side to side with gravity working with you. The bottom 1/2 of the run isn't quite as easy, but good enough that by the time you get there you should have figured out the traversing well enough to make it down; or you can slowpolw the rest of the way down.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by ShaolinFlame

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.

Haha are they that bad? That was my first time skiing in over a decade, I wouldn't have a clue. My cuz is a double black diamond skiier, he said he rips around in them sometimes but gave em to me for the day since I was a newbie. So they're kinda like the double-bladed skates of the skiing world then?

[dubc80]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Slava- where are you going skiing? I ask because if it's somewhere that we are familliar with we can suggest some good beginer runs for you.

If its Sunshine then I would start with the "Dell Valley." The top 1/2 of the run has slopes on either side, so you can practice going side to side with gravity working with you. The bottom 1/2 of the run isn't quite as easy, but good enough that by the time you get there you should have figured out the traversing well enough to make it down; or you can slowpolw the rest of the way down.

Good call.

If you're going to Sunshine:

1) Runs off the Wolverine chair
There's hardly any people there, the runs are long enough for you to get a few turns in, and just steep enough (not super steep) for you to build a bit of confidence in turning and picking up a bit of speed.

1a) Runs off the Strawberry chair
The chair itself is older and slow, but there are a few good, wide beginner runs off there too. They often hold lessons in this area so perhaps you'll meet some new friends who are in the same boat as you! Downside, is that this area is usually a bit more busy.


I see tons of beginners trying to learn in the fenced off beginner area at Sunshine. There is hardly any slope there. I would think it would be pretty tough to learn when you're basically on flat ground....

[Torture]

Originally Posted by dubc80

Good call.

If you're going to Sunshine:

1) Runs off the Wolverine chair
There's hardly any people there, the runs are long enough for you to get a few turns in, and just steep enough (not super steep) for you to build a bit of confidence in turning and picking up a bit of speed.

1a) Runs off the Strawberry chair
The chair itself is older and slow, but there are a few good, wide beginner runs off there too. They often hold lessons in this area so perhaps you'll meet some new friends who are in the same boat as you! Downside, is that this area is usually a bit more busy.


I see tons of beginners trying to learn in the fenced off beginner area at Sunshine. There is hardly any slope there. I would think it would be pretty tough to learn when you're basically on flat ground....

Couldn't agree more with Wolverine. Hardly any traffic, and the runs are just as easy if not easier than off the Strawberry. I would suggest that you DO go to the fenced off beginner area with no pitch, but probably only for a run or two at the beginning of the day...just enough to get a feel for your skis so you're not figuring it out on Wolverine or Strawberry.

[Engine09]

Heading out for the first time this weekend, been in Calgary for 10 years so I figure it's about time. Thankfully my girl has not been on skiis before either so we're in the same boat.

Read through this entire thread, great info. Just had a few other questions:

Where should we go for the easiest beginner runs? I'm thinking either Sunshine or Lake Louise beause I've been told by a few people that Nakiska's snow is not as good.

Are there areas on these beginner runs where you can get a start and fool around a bit without people zipping by you? Or if you're out of the fenced off area are you in with the rest? I've never been on a ski hill, have no idea how they are laid out.


Thanks

[troutman]

Charles De Mar: [giving skiing instructions] Go that way, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn.

[MoneyGuy]

Slava, my advice is to stay off the skis. You might hurt yourself and don't forget that motorcycle season is coming and bikes are way more fun.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Kryzsky

Where should we go for the easiest beginner runs? I'm thinking either Sunshine or Lake Louise beause I've been told by a few people that Nakiska's snow is not as good.

That is almost always the case, but I think with the amount of snow in Calgary that Nakiska should be OK. The issue at Nakiska is they usually have to make snow; and there's a reason that Sunshine advertizes the fact that their snow is all natural.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Slava, my advice is to stay off the skis. You might hurt yourself and don't forget that motorcycle season is coming and bikes are way more fun.

Actually this was last year, and I had a good time skiing. I'll probably go again this year. I just shut it down a little early so that I didn't get hurt while I was too tired to use the minimal skill I had figured out that day!

[BuzzardsWife]

first time i went skiing i was 10 or 11 and i broke my leg! my bindings didn't release..very embarrasing because i came from a family of awesome skiers..brother competed and dad was an instructor and ski patrol..but i got right back on the horse and enjoyed many years of skiing..created lots of good memories and alot of laughs too

[BuzzardsWife]

advice: ALWAYS take a ski lesson your first time skiing..it only takes an hour but its pretty important if you ask me

[Suzles]

All I remember from ski lessons in Austria about thirty years ago is ' Benz ze knees'.