Skiing and Snowboarding Tips for Beginners

Winter sports holidays are becoming more and more popular, with greater numbers learning to ski and snowboard every year. A skiing or snowboarding holiday is perfect for anyone who wants to be active, out in the fresh air enjoying the scenery and learning a new skill.

However, learning a new sport can be extremely challenging, and you don’t want to spend your entire holiday fed up and covered in bruises. To successfully learn how to ski or snowboard, you need to give yourself the best possible chance, and below are our top tips for learning;

• Invest in lessons, it might sound obvious but a professional instructor is the best way to learn, they are trained to deal with nervous beginners. Many people attempt to teach themselves, or let their friends/partners teach them, but this predominantly ends in impatience, arguments and bad habits!
• Choose your resort carefully; you need to research resorts with beginner slopes, these are gentler in gradient and are normally less crowded. You will find it much easier to learn surrounded by other beginners rather than speeding pros.
• Invest in the correct equipment; buy decent waterproof and thermal clothing to prevent you from feeling the cold and damp. A set of beginner or shorter skis are a great idea too, as they are designed to slow you down and make you less likely to fall.
• Go with a group, it is always more fun to learn something new with your friends or a partner beside you. If you fall by yourself you would be embarrassed, if you learn with your friends they are probably falling too, and everyone will laugh together as they help you up.
• Cushion your fall by researching areas with soft snow. You will fall over numerous times during the learning process, (everyone does,) and you don’t want to be falling on ice or hard ground, aim for areas with soft snow.
• Approach the lifts with caution, ski lifts are notoriously dangerous for inexperienced skiers, as you need to jump off while they are still in motion. Find lifts that stop to let you off, or alternative ways up the slopes.
• Invest in travel insurance before you depart, statistically as a beginner you are more likely to fall or damage your equipment, so it is vital that you protect yourself by investing in quality winter sports travel insurance before your trip.