Aibu to think skiing is not an essential skill!

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My brother & his wife hate skiing but bring the kids once sometimes twice a year as they think it's an essential skill for their children to learn.. aibu to think this is ridiculous & it will never, ever come in useful in adult life!

It's not essential but is a great skill to have especially if you move ( or want to) in the type of circles where skiing is an annual holiday.
If they're thinking of relocating to Scandinavia it definitely is an essential skill.

I don’t know. Skiing is by far the best holiday. My DP can’t ski so I haven’t been in over a decade. Paying for an adult to learn and you probably need 10 days is so expensive. Plus having two kids I really need him to be competent. It is annoying tbh.

It's more code switching so I can be comfortable with any company, including posh.

@MrsTerryPratchett You sound like a rugby player 😄

And tbh you earn a decent fair wage if you concider skiing an essential skill. Most families can't afford skiing holidays abroad.

They are gentlemen who play a thugs' game!

It's not essential but it is fun, great exercise and can be useful. Working in the ski industry has given my son a great career which he wouldn't have if we hadn't taken him on skiing holidays.

You are well off if your kids can go skiing. Even Hemel is expensive to go to at all regularly

It opens up a great seasonal job opportunity for the kids when they are older chalet guy! Great fun

^

You can do this awful job without actually skiing though

Indeed, but which is your preferred code, Union or League?

TBF @ASeriesOfTubes it's mostly based on the hotness of the players.

DH is a union bloke and he's yummy so...

...so you're prejudiced towards Union?

I'm an equal opportunity ogler.

Six Nations time soon. Love it.

A lot of Scandinavian people don't ski. You can relocate without this skill.
Anyway EU countries are quite hard to relocate post Brexit.

I think it might be essential if you live in the Alps

I think this is aimed at my comment. My son, who is ND and had struggled to find his path in life, loved skiing. After a crisis point in life he found a job in a ski resort where he discovered what he wanted to do and has been happy and successful. It's not ski related but if he didn't ski he would never have got there. So skiing has been useful for him.

I learnt to ski as a teenager and had great fun but an essential skill , no. I have managed find in adult life without skiing again.

If course it's not.

Different strokes for different folks. More essential for some than others.

I think that most UK families can afford a ski holiday if they're willing to book it DIY and drive to the Alps/Austria (and also sacrifice the summer package holiday).

If they're willing to take the kids out of school for a week, then they could afford a ski package holiday.

Personally, I think it is a great family holiday/experience and it would be something that I'd take the kids out of school for. Whereas, there's no way I'd do that for a beach holiday.

Voted YABU because:

A) if we are heading for a post- apocalyptic future any life skill that increases chances of survival could be essential, including being able to move fast in varied terrain and atmospheric conditions. I understand “skiing” as being able to go downhill on anything, do cross-country skiing and telemark. I can skii since very early childhood and grew up used to harsh weather conditions.

B) any activity that challenges our sense of balance is essential for health. Skiing, martial arts, riding large animals, skating, etc, work our sense of balance and help us learn how to fall safely. Falls are the leading cause of death in older age (so according to MN after 46).

Depends where you live. We live 15 min drive from the nearest resort, up a mountain. My Ds skis with the kindergarten, so it’s a standard thing to do at weekend like uk kids weekend football.

If we want to ski it’s pretty cheap
as involves no flights, no hotels, no ski hire.

Would that not be a great trip with another family of mixed ability?

The fact he can't ski is great, as in my case I'm happy to stay in the chalet and get the kids to and from lessons which means free ski time for you!

And with adult lessons I was up and on slopes in a matter of days, the fact I was useless and don't bother now won't be his case.

It’s not essential but could be useful if they work somewhere with work ski trips in the future/ want to fit in with certain groups of people.