10 Tips to Get You Going: Top Ski Instructors Advice
Not sure about taking ski lessons? Do it! See 10 questions below, answered by top skiing instructors at Canada Olympic Park (COP) in Calgary and Snow Valley in Edmonton.
Skiing is no different than most sports regarding instruction, especially when you are just starting out or getting back into it.
Lessons will make you a better skier, regardless of your skill level. It’s that simple. Instruction is essential to starting good habits. It’s excellent for maintaining what you’ve learned. And it’s a great way to start your season, even if you’re a veteran skier, because you are reminded what you’re doing right and shown what you might be doing wrong.
So to get started this winter, please take the great advice offered below by Murray Sugden, Winter Sports Training Centre Manager for Snow Valley, and Heather Robertson, Director of Recreation at COP. Both operations run excellent ski and snowboard schools and offer night skiing for convenience.
We show mostly Heather’s answers on this web page. To see Murray’s answers, providing comprehensive, additional information, just click MORE.
1. Why is a local, smaller hill a good choice to learn how to ski (or get back into it)?
It’s less intimidating and close by, so you can go for only a couple of hours to ease yourself in. Smaller hills are better suited for beginners because they offer beginner terrain. The ‘Discover Skiing’ program, including Lift Lesson and Rental, is only $49 (a 1.5 hour lesson, offered every day, four times daily).
2. How do I choose a ski instructor and lesson program that is compatible with my level, especially if I’m beginning? What do I look for?
Ask for someone who is good with beginners and who would match your personality or work well with your age. There are group lessons and private lessons.
There are three certifying bodies that train instructors at ski resorts. The Canadian Ski Instructors’ Alliance, CSIA, certifies skiers, The Canadian Association of Snowboard Instructors, CASI, certifies snowboarders, and The Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructors, CANSI, certifies cross-country and telemark skiers. Each of the organizations uses a prescribed progression of teaching their sport and ensures, through training, that the certified individual understands and as is capable of delivering a lesson as laid out by the organization.
A small hill is less intimidating than the mountains. For example, you can usually see the bottom so you always have it as a point of reference. Due to the proximity, you are able to practice and maintain some sort of continuity from trip to trip. The more you ski the better you will become and the more you will enjoy it.
3. What should I know about skiing before I get started or if I get back into it? What do I need for gear – do I rent or buy?
It’s a sport where you can experience the joy of the wind in your face, and no matter what ability you are, you still have the opportunity to be exhilarated. You don’t have to be immediately proficient, because in skiing the learning curve is pretty quick. In terms of equipment, beginners should rent to start, and most resorts now have good rental gear. Buying from a knowledgeable shop may initially cost a bit more but you will leave with the right gear for your ability and size.
If you are a beginner and want to see if skiing is even something you might be interested in, most hills offer a try it once type lesson. A good number of areas participate in a national program called ‘Discover Skiing’. The only caution is that it usually takes more than once to appreciate what fun skiing can be. Most resorts also have multiple lesson programs that can be taken. These programs are usually offered at a variety of levels and beginners will be placed in a group with other beginners.
Usually with group programs, you are not able to choose your instructor. The instructors are assigned to the group. Anyone wishing to take a lesson would also have the option of taking private lessons, a one-on-one method of learning. With this style of lesson you are usually allowed to choose your instructor. This may require some experimentation to find an instructor whose style suits yours. You should make sure that any instructor that teaches you is certified.
4. Should I be worried about falling?
The good thing about skiing is you slide a bit. In most cases, people fall back or to the side. There is movement when you fall, so you don’t go down hard, like say on ice skates. There are different ways to get back up. Sometimes it’s easiest to take your equipment (skis) off. There’s no need to worry. Nowadays, helmets are cool looking and accessible; they often help people who are nervous feel safer.
One will most certainly fall; even after many years of skiing you will fall occasionally. Most falls are not serious and you may go home with a bruise or two. With today’s equipment serious injuries are minimal and as long as the skier skis within their ability one should not have to worry about serious injury. Once one does fall there are many methods of righting one’s self. Most instructors know two or three and can show you a variety. You can choose the one that suits you best.
5. How fit do I need to be, if beginning or getting back? What are the benefits of skiing?
You don’t have to be athletic; like anything, it helps, but people enjoy skiing right away. The social aspect is cool, especially for beginners. It is very family-oriented; you are not sitting in an arena watching your child play hockey, everyone is involved. It’s a great way to meet people and there is not better way to enjoy winter. It’s rewarding and gratifying. You can get some exercise and it’s fun.
Almost anyone can ski. Alpine skiing precludes most of the work by providing lifts to do the uphill part of the work, but it is not entirely exercise free. As with any sport the fitter you are the farther and quicker you are going to progress. You must also be able to right yourself if you should fall. Or as you become more advanced you must be able to extricate yourself from deep snow or other unusual circumstances. If you wish to get into specific shape for skiing you could join a ski club most of which engage in summer time sport specific exercise referred to as dry land training. Again, the fitter you are in a general sense the easier it will be to progress.
Although the answers above mostly refer to skiing, for the most part snowboarding can be substituted. The only area that might differ substantially is the level of fitness required to start snowboarding. Although at a higher level of competence skiing and snowboarding require about the same amount of fitness, skiing requiring more energy than when you start and snowboarding less, snowboarding requires that one be quite fit to learn. The falls are much more severe and take their toll on the body and the simple act of standing up over and over saps energy for the first few times out snowboarding.
6. How do I get on, ride and get off a chairlift? How about a gondola, if I go to a larger resort?
For getting off of a chairlift, place one hand behind and push yourself up when your feet can touch the snow. Be careful not to sit down, but stand up and slide straight ahead – wait a bit before going into a snowplow. Rope tows are all gone. For a t-bar /poma, just keep standing and balance yourself. For the gondola, just step on and enjoy the ride. (And there are ‘carpets’ that work especially well for beginners. You can just step on and they move you up the hill; it’s like being at the airport on a moving sidewalk).
7. If the traditional learning stance for beginners is the snow plow, how do I do it?
The snow plow or the wedge is a traditional learning position. For the snow plow, brush both feet equally out to the side with the tips about a pole basket apart and tails spread into a V – like spreading peanut butter. Part of our teaching method is getting people to parallel ski as soon as possible, because with parallel, you can go faster and yet at the same time have more control. It can be exciting and dynamic, and it can be very graceful and elegant.
8. How do I start, how do I stop?
To start, push with poles to start. Stop with the snowplow or hockey stop.
9. How do I turn, if I’ve mastered the snow plow?
You can turn with a snowplow or wedge. You can turn with linked "hockey" stops too.
10. How do I ski in a crowded area to avoid colliding with another skier? Do I need to know this if I’m taking lessons?
Yes, the down hill skier or rider has the right of way. Read the alpine responsibility code first before hitting the slopes. Always take a lesson first, it’s a good investment.
