UKC

Well we've just booked our first lads skiing holiday for next feb in tignes. There's 2 of us who have never skiied, and 3 who have. We booked at the crystal ski branch in the chill factors, so we got free memberships. Because of this, I was looking at getting a full days lesson, then just go with y mates from then on to try and build up some skill.

But the question is, how quickly did you pick up skiing?

I want to be confident at parallel skiing by the time I go, but obviously I can't expect this to happen over night, just an idea of how long it's took other people.

Cheers

In reply to martinlird: 3rd day on snow skiing black runs ( badly) after several months (2-3) of Friday evenings spent "shadowing" a friend who instructed at a dry slope. Definitely speeds the process up to get instruction. Private is better than group if you can afford it. It uses a few different muscles from climbing / walking so those need some exercise.

In reply to martinlird: took me two LONG days of falling down and almost killing myself before it finally clicked

In reply to martinlird:
I wouldn't recommend a full day lesson. Have a few hours in the morning then practice what you have learnt in your group in the afternoon. video each other doing the exercises as you will think that you are doing it right but the camera doesn't lie. Video is very important tool to learning to ski with imidiate veiwimg on the slope and then correction.It also provides good entertainment in the evening at the chalet on a big screen.
Hope this helps
James

In reply to martinlird:
Agree with the suggestion to get morning lessons, then free ski in the afternoon. I'd say 4 days like that should get you sorted for your holiday.

In reply to martinlird:

Depends what you want to do:

- just pootling down the piste a couple of days to get confident on the easy ones if you're reasonably athletic
- off-piste, powder etc, it's taken me months and i'm still crap but can get by.

In reply to James Edwards: hello sir, hows your skiing coming along these days?

In reply to martinlird: Sking is reasonably easy to get to an ok standard at, but mastering it takes years. You should be able to get to a point where you can make parallel turns before you go but obiously different people pick it up at different speeds, a morning form some or a full week for others. Once you get on real snow its a bit easier too.

You will have a good laugh what ever level you get to.

In reply to Erik B: Probably not as good as you still! Not having the advantage of nordic genes puts me at a disadvantage but the off peiste crud and titty deep powder is a breeze now.
Speaking to Andy the other day and he thinks it will be another good winter due to the gulf stream. Will you be out to get some this year?
James e

In reply to martinlird: It is easy enough to get to a standard ( especially with newer ski technology) where you can travel round the resort but if you want to embed decent technique which will allow you to progress and stand you in good stead for the future, invest in lessons.


Wish I had followed my own advice decades ago!

In reply to martinlird:

Get 1/2 day lessons. The DIY option means that you'll not progress any where near as quickly or as confidently.

In reply to martinlird:
Definitely get lessons. It will be a really good way to fall out with your mates otherwise. You should be OK on reds at the end of the week but watch out for differences between resorts. All resorts like to have a good mix of grades to attract a diverse crowd. Some blacks (e.g. Andorra) would be steep blues in some resorts - others (Val d'Isere) scared the willy's out of me.
Tignes was pretty middle of the road as I remember. Have fun.

In reply to martinlird:

Defo want to get a few days of morning lessons. Worked wonders for me. In the first day I went from the elementary class in the ski school car park in the morning to a blue at the end of the afternoon. Moved up a class on the second day and was doing reds. I was doing blacks on the fourth day. The key was a combination of good teaching from the foxy french lady and good encouragement from my mates.

But, how quickly does on pick up skiing?

One friend made the same progress as me, with NO lessons, but had years of wakeboard experience.

On the other hand my sister and her husband said it took them eleven years to develop their skiing to the same level.

In reply to hang_about: I've skied in the Espace Killy several times and I'm surprised that people think the runs are stiff at the grade in Val. You'll always get one or two sandbags but overall I think Val is pretty benchmark.

TO the OP: there are some great blues at either end of the area (over to Le Fornet in Val and Tignes Les Boisses) which are also a little quieter. It's a good area and will give you plenty of fun so enjoy!

In reply to martinlird:

As a BASI instructor I would have to advocate lessons, however it does depend on what you want to get out of the holiday.

As others have said there's a massive difference between being able to get down a particular run and being able to ski it well. Learning to ski in lessons is a good way to learn. Lessons will improve basic technique, which in turn improves confidence.

If you were going to learn from mates, remember that not all good skiers are good teachers.

Most beginners concentrate on what the skis are doing when in reality it is body posture and position that most affects your skiing.

In reply to martinlird:

It all depends on the person.

Ive taught people to do parallel turns and be confident in them after 2 runs, and on the other side i know people who even after 60 days skiing over a winter can still barely snowplow...

Back when i learnt i spent 12 hours on a dry slope over 4 weekends before going and was doing paralleled turn on the first run having never skied on snow before.

It depends on the individual, and the ambition level. What does "learn to ski" mean to you? I've found that Brits on occasion think they've learnt to ski if they can edge scrape themselves down a steep slope - slowly. Most people can go from nothing to linking parallel turns on groomed snow in a week. Confidently linking turns at speed on steep, mogully, or icy ground is a longer process. Sometimes much, much longer.

Having skied a life time, my advice to you would be to ignore the temptation of trying to 'tick' black runs as soon as you can - this isn't what skiing is about. Focus on your stance, and your technique. Get this right, and skiing steeps comes naturally. Learn to ski in moguls, and in powder - on easy angles. Carving alone - although easy to pick up - doesn't translate to more challenging snow conditions. Learn to ski *well* before trying to ski steep. If you learn to ski with your stance wrong, you'll have a life time of misery trying to correct it.

In reply to martinlird:

39 years and counting.....

In reply to martinlird: mates have had a learn in a day course at a snowdome then got to resort , had 2:1 instuction for 1/2 a day and been crusing reds and trying blacks.

personally i would book a week of lessons as ski school is great fun.

and remember skiing a mountain is very different from skiing indoors.

but who cares it's all about snowboarding for me !!!!!!!

Tignes is ace if the weather is good , i have a week booked in Val Thorens.

In reply to martinlird:

You can get down stuff, even off-piste, with naff technique and there's plenty of Brits ski touring in the Alps to prove this (myself incldued). However you'll have a lot more fun with better technique and bad habits learnt early can take weeks of skiing to get fully rid off.

Unless you're spending a small fortune in a snow-dome in the UK, your miles skiing in resort will soon outstrip those in the UK, so may be worth skiing some of these with an instructor.

The other question not really touched on by others is the group dynamic. How experienced are your mates and how willing are they to ski with you the whole time? If you think you'll be happy skiing on your own then less of a problem for some of the time, but you would probably learn more in a lesson.

If you plan to do parallel turns before you go, perhaps book 3 half days and see how it goes.

In reply to michael lawrence:


Agreed - except for the "blue" run down into the village. When I was there the snow was poor, so the black run next to it was mostly grass, so everyone and their dog was going down the blue, which made things more "interesting" in the narrow bit.

In reply to martinlird:

Morning lessons, afternoon social practice with your mates; probably 4 days of this. It is harder than it looks, and best built from a solid foundation of basic balance and skills that an instructor can instill over a few sessions. Also, they tend to be able to implant a single core idea/image that somehow makes it gel; you can't get this from your mates or just watching, and definitely not from just trying things out on your own.

After 5 days of this as a teenager I felt like James f****g Bond!

In reply to Nutkey: I think you're right but then again I think there are loads of runs like that in loads of resorts and it's always the same combination: the most popular route home at the end of the day therefore it's busy, tired beginners picking their way down, "good" skiers bombing it down scaring the living daylights out of the beginners causing the beginners to get scared and pick their way down. Continue this cycle for an hour to create an altogether unsatisfying end to the day!

In reply to michael lawrence: I seem to remember that particular run is exceptionally icy as well. Plus you have to go at top speed to avoid the massive pole out at the end! Good fun, though.

To the OP: another benefit of getting lessons (in resort) if you're not too sure about things is that it's a good way of getting to know your way around. Instructors know what runs are in good nick and will sometimes take you down exciting things you wouldn't have thought of otherwise.

Speaking of exciting things, if you're up for a challenge try and find (then ski through) the tunnel over towards Val. I say tunnel, but it's more of a pipe and definitely the most character building "piste" I'e skied down.

In reply to sam@work: Val T blows Tignes away, good choice! remember and check out the 4th valley after fresh snow

In reply to martinlird:

There are no guarantees with this. In part, it's a case of you either get it or you don't. However, the folk who suggested private lessons and a lesson in the morning and then practice in the afternoon have got it right. If you can afford private lessons then do it. They are very effective, particularly if you time things to get practice after the lesson. The video is a bonus but the technology has got to be spot-on or you'll end up spending half the day trying to get the camera to work instead of skiing. If doing private lessons for 2 with your mate then you have to be disciplined or you will waste over half the time laughing at each other and goofing around.

In reply to Nutkey:


I think you are talking about "Santons". It's horrible, narrow, crowded and scary. The black "Face" is actually easier IMO and at least you can ski your own line without constant fear of collision. I don't think Espace Killy is generally toughly graded but the runs into Val d'Isere are and plenty of experienced but cautious skiers take the lift down.