Goinggg Skiing

My boyfriend bought me brand new skis/snowboats/poles...everything.. for my birthday in August. I have snowboarded before a few times (DIDN'T go well for a few reasons!) but I have never been skiing! He and his family have been skiing their whole lives, so I am determined to be good at this! I want to be good at it.

We are going to Lake Tahoe, California next week to visit his brother who lives there(and who is a professional skiier BTW!).. and I will be taking on skiing for my first time (on bunny hills!)

Any suggestions for first timers???

Wear snow pants.

Good thing you suggested that.. I would have been in some trouble!

wear sunblock...trust me u can get sunburn in winter..especially when the sun reflects back from the snow

Thank you! I will be sure to pack some!

take lessons.  if your boyfriend tries to teach you, chances are you'll both be miserable.

Watch your behind getting into the chair lift!  Also, glove warmers are helpful if you end up spending alot of time on the ground.  You might want to consider actually taking a few lessons, and not from your boyfriend or his brother.  It works better to have a non-judging outside party give a lesson, you won't be as nervous.  Good Luck and have fun, skiing is Awesome.

Yeah and wear clean underwear just in case something like this happens.

I'm taking a 2 hour lesson both days! I told my (very understanding) boyfriend that I wouldn't learn properly if they were there-- I might try to fall cute & get injured with people I know watching, and I want to learn to fall properly when it happens! haha =)

The first time I when skiing about all I learned to do was stand back up and get my skis back on, the falling came naturally to me.  And I was wearing blue jeans which I had to wear for the 4 hour ride home after, big mistake.  But I didn't take any lessons.

Original Post by trhawley:

The first time I when skiing about all I learned to do was stand back up and get my skis back on, the falling came naturally to me.  And I was wearing blue jeans which I had to wear for the 4 hour ride home after, big mistake.  But I didn't take any lessons.

 I wanted to add that I still had a great time that day and I have become a competent skier and have skied many beautiful mountains since.

you'll be fine! i LOVE to ski! been skiing since i was a kid! i'm actually headed up to NH tomorrow for the day, but i am super jealous that you are going to Lake Tahoe! supposed to be gorgeous!

anyway, don't let your bad experiences snowboarding worry you too much. it's a very different feeling being on skis, you have poles to help you balance, your feet and legs are not attached to the same board, and if you fall hard enough, the skis pop off :p

i've skied most of my life, and i tried snow boarding once and ended up breaking my arm on the bunny hill! i HATED every second of it, i think it's a lot harder than skiing to start out.

taking lessons is great, that should help you a lot. you might end up on your own for much of the day because you'll want to stick to the easy stuff, but i bet you'll still have a blast! let us know how it goes!   

Original Post by jules817:

you'll be fine! i LOVE to ski! been skiing since i was a kid! i'm actually headed up to NH tomorrow for the day, but i am super jealous that you are going to Lake Tahoe! supposed to be gorgeous!

anyway, don't let your bad experiences snowboarding worry you too much. it's a very different feeling being on skis, you have poles to help you balance, your feet and legs are not attached to the same board, and if you fall hard enough, the skis pop off :p

i've skied most of my life, and i tried snow boarding once and ended up breaking my arm on the bunny hill! i HATED every second of it, i think it's a lot harder than skiing to start out.

taking lessons is great, that should help you a lot. you might end up on your own for much of the day because you'll want to stick to the easy stuff, but i bet you'll still have a blast! let us know how it goes!   

Thanks, jules! I appreciate the positive feedback! I am really anxious-- I can't wait! I just want to be good at it!

jules, i've successfully avoided snowboarding so far, and have no intention of trying.  i've been skiing since before i could talk, and the idea of being on a mountain, on a perfect bluebird day, and falling all over myself just doesn't have much appeal - you know?

Original Post by pgeorgian:

jules, i've successfully avoided snowboarding so far, and have no intention of trying.  i've been skiing since before i could talk, and the idea of being on a mountain, on a perfect bluebird day, and falling all over myself just doesn't have much appeal - you know?

 100% with you.. I suffered enough for us both last year! No lessons... 2nd time snowboarding (first time was about 4 years before)... and I went down the blue hills.

 Had a great time with the people I was with, but snowboarding was just soo hard and frustrating.. I walked out (well, walked into the bar after and off of the snow terrain!) with a bruise the size of my head on my left a** cheek, bloody knees, and a bruised ego... I was able to laugh it off though! At least I can say I tried?? haha

In theory skiing is easier to learn at the beginner stages.  However it is much more challenging to get "good".

Snowboarding has a steep learning curve, but once you get over those first few days, you can pretty much "get down" anything (it may not be pretty, but you'll survive).

We go to Tahoe quite regularly.  It isn't supposed to snow next week, but it is supposed to warm up.  Given the spring like conditions, make sure you have good (waterproof) snow pants and mittens.  You will be falling, and it WILL be wet.

I looked at the Tahoe weather forecast for the next 10 days and it's going to be all sunny and in the 50's! Looks gorgeous, however, i don't know how great of conditions that is for skiing? I will have on a couple layers, and will have waterproof pants as well!

Thnank you, kaffwynn

spring conditions are my favourite.  i love corn snow, love blasting through that heavy, wet stuff.  be careful, though, scjf.  it can be very hard to make your skis do what you want them to do in wet snow, and that's when a lot of people get hurt.  it's kind-of a catch-22, because you have to ski quite aggressively to get through that stuff.  if you ski too slow, you won't have the momentum to make a turn...

maybe do most of your skiing early in the day, and spend the afternoons hanging out in the sun.  and when you get tired - quit!

My family has just begun to visit ski resorts in the past few years. Everything said above is good information. In addition to sunblock get something for wind burn and put on your face before going out or use a full face mask. Mittens are warmer than gloves. Here are some good videos to help you get the idea of skiing. I think there are between 5 and 7 of these. You should also get lessons but these videos are great references.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aofTCdhlyyY

Definitely quit when you get tired. My son tore his mcl because he skied two days in a row and got very tired.

Original Post by pgeorgian:

jules, i've successfully avoided snowboarding so far, and have no intention of trying.  i've been skiing since before i could talk, and the idea of being on a mountain, on a perfect bluebird day, and falling all over myself just doesn't have much appeal - you know?

 you've made a good choice! most years i don't get to get out skiing as often as i'd like anyway, so the idea of spending one of those precious days falling on my butt down the green circles, and possibly breaking my arm again just does not appeal to me at all. one ride in the emergency sled is enough for a lifetime, thanks.

i'll admit though, that i much prefer snowboarder fashion to ski fashion. :p 

snowplow! snowplow! snowplow!  In time you will learn to shift weight properly and bring skis together in a parallel!

You are going to have a blast!

I love to ski, have been since age 7 and am now 31.  I live so close to the rockies too, so there is world class skiing just over an hour away!  Never been to Lake Tahoe, but have skiied utah, all over colorado, and the east coast (vermont/ny)