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up vote 9 down vote favorite
4

I've never skied before, but I'd like to try it out.

  • What sort of gear should I buy (as opposed to renting) before hand?
  • What would be a good strategy to learn to ski?
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Cross country or downhill skiing? They're drastically different in terms of style, location, gear, and a lot of other factors. – nhinkle Feb 6 '12 at 7:38
I wouldn't try changing this now, but this would have worked much better as two questions. Both parts are really quite different – Casebash Jul 11 '12 at 8:54

4 Answers

up vote 6 down vote

Every ski resort gives lessons, and that's how you should begin.

You can rent skis, and they will help you get them on, etc.

Dress in clothes you would wear to go sledding. Remember that you work hard, get wet, then sit still. Layers, of wool and acrylic will keep you warm when wet and let you adjust as needed. Cotton makes you cold when wet, so avoid that, especially on you innermost layer. If you have a waterproof outer layer, that helps.

Cover as much skin as possible: hat, gloves. Ski goggles are good but you can buy one after the first class if you like skiing.

Having strong legs helps.

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up vote 9 down vote

Skiing is a sport where taking lessons pays off very quickly. Skiing is not an inexpensive sport: a lift ticket, lessons and rentals will cost you several hundred, but if you set aside about 3-5 days, with half day lessons for at least 3 days you should be pretty satisfied that you've cover all of the basics and evolved beyond the basic snow-plow.

If you can afford the luxury of having a private instructor I'd recommend it, but you're just as well off with small groups of 2-3, and it gives you a chance to rest a bit more and compare your progress to others.

Buy a pair of goggles. If you wear glasses then get a pair that work with glasses. Wear proper snow pants/ski pants, anything else and you'll suffer for no good reason. You want pants with a bib (e.g. goes above your waist and uses shoulder straps) or else you'll get snow up your shirt and down your pants. Bring something to cover your face, preferable not a scarf. A turtleneck or mock turtleneck works in a pinch, but a neoprene face mask is considered the gold standard. If you wear a scarf be sure to tuck in the ends so they don't get caught in the chair lift. If it's going to be sunny put on some sunscreen, especially on your nose, cheeks and lips.

Avoid skiing if it's below -20c, snow starts to feel like styrofoam and loses it's glide, and you're more likely to catch frostbite or just be darn uncomfortable.

Understand that that the first time you go skiing they will take you on the "bunny slope" a run mostly for 2-6 year olds. Don't be embarrassed, and don't be afraid. You won't get hurt and the instructor will teach you basic techniques like edging up ( a way to move uphill to retrieve your lost poles) and snow-plowing (a way to turn by applying friction to the edge of one ski, causing the other ski to advance and forcing the body to turn), how to stop, how to fall, how to get up, and how to get in and out of your skis.

Then you'll practice the same on longer and eventually steeper runs, and become familiar with the chair-lift/gondola, and eventually learn how to keep your skis parallel and learn how to turn by shifting your weight from the inside ski to the outside ski.

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3  
And don't buy skis and boots until you've rented and tried it a few times. – furtive Feb 4 '12 at 3:50
up vote 7 down vote

Learn to inline skate/rollerblade. Seriously, learn to rollerblade first.

Many techniques that you apply to roller blading also apply to skiing, the two activities are very similar, all that varies really is the surface. I roller bladed for a number of years before I first learned to ski, and my ski instructor said that roller blading can help pick up skiing more quickly and easier.

This has a lot of advantages:

  • you can learn in warm weather
  • you can learn anywhere, not just where snow is
  • you can master the techniques needed for both inline skating and skiing in a more controlled environment, such as a parking lot or sidewalk
  • you can also see if it might be a sport that you would be interested in.

If you like inline skating, give skiing a try. It's a lot of fun! :)

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Why the downvote? – studiohack♦ Feb 4 '12 at 3:58
This is sort of the way I improved my snowboarding - on ice/hard snow it feels very like skateboarding, and on powder it feels very like surfing, so during the summer months I could very cheaply improve my flow and feel for the movements before the expensive and short winter season – Rory Alsop Feb 4 '12 at 10:26
Inline skating is very similar to ice skating - traveling in a straight line is easy; sliding sideways is hard. Sills from one transfer well to the other. However, it's easy for skis to slide sideways, and it's an important part of the sport. Inline skating doesn't teach you to ski. (But the leg strength and balance are skill helpful.) – Jay Bazuzi Feb 4 '12 at 22:11
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I'd say ice skating is more similar than rollerblading, since it teaches you how to use edges. I had a few years of hockey under my belt when I started learning how to ski and I picked it up very quickly. But both are great since they're less expensive ways to cross train and pick up the fundamentals. – Hartley Brody Feb 5 '12 at 5:49
up vote 2 down vote

Have a look to see if there's a dry slope skiing centre near you - that might be your best option (especially if, like here, the amount of snow you get on a regular basis varies from none to none!)

They'll be able to give you advise on lessons and you should be able to rent all your equipment to start with until you decide you definitely want to continue - from then on you can make informed choices based on what you've been using thus far.

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What's a "dry slope skiing centre" ? – nibot Feb 4 '12 at 0:42
It's a centre that has a man-made synthetic ski slope - not the same as real snow but it's there all year round! – berry120 Feb 4 '12 at 1:23
"synthetic ski slope" - but still made out of frozen water, I assume? Or not? – nibot Feb 4 '12 at 9:25
@nibot Nope, it's a synthetic nylon type material - no water / real snow involved. From what I've heard it's actually harder than real snow, so if you learn on there the real thing should seem like a breeze ;) – berry120 Feb 4 '12 at 12:33
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Or you could just use a real ski hill. – furtive Feb 5 '12 at 19:07
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