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AIBU?

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Original poster

Anyone learned to ski later in life?

37 replies

malificent7 · 13/04/2025 08:22

Dd just came back from her school ski trip totally in love with the sport. It was her first time and she got good quite fast.
Her pictures look amazing and I'd like to go but I would need lessons.
I am 47, perimenopausal, reasonably fit but always tired. I tried the dry ski slope but I was shit. I hear it's different on snow.
Would it be madness for me to have a go and do these resorts offer lessons?

OP posts:
EssexCat · 13/04/2025 08:24

Me! I learned at 42. Had lessons in resort and was predictably terrible at first but by the end of the week I could ski (ish!).

I’m reasonably, but not overly, fit and active and not particularly co-ordinated!

TheNightingalesStarling · 13/04/2025 08:29

I've done beginners lessons 4 times. There are loads if adults of your age (and older) trying to learn.
Your DD can go to teen lessons while you are at yours.

ETA... I did the beginners lessons 4 times as I'm a rubbish skier. But I can also trip over thin air and have a knack of injuring myself in bizarre ways. Everyone else learnt fine!)

HellsBalls · 13/04/2025 08:33

Are you the outdoorsy, althetic or exercise keen type? Do you cycle? I learnt in my forties. It was hard work. Injuries are plentiful. I stopped 10 years ago after knackering my knee.
You can go on holiday to a ski resort and give it a go. If you need to abort skiing then just walk and lounge in the sun outside the mountain restaurants.
Austria and Switzerland have plenty of low ish level resorts where you can walk in beautiful scenery if the skiing doesn’t work out. Go in late Feb/early March for warmer, sunnier weather.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 13/04/2025 08:36

I was 40. No problem to arrange beginners’ ski school at the Austrian resort. The whole family (including dds of 9 and 12 plus a friend of dd 12) were new to it - we had an instructor all to ourselves
I’m not a very sporty type and never became very confident, but could enjoy pottering up and down the easy slopes.

TelephoneWires · 13/04/2025 08:38

Just back from a great week skiing in Austria aged 47. (Ok I learned when I was young so not 100% relevant). But my in laws learned in their 50s and enjoyed it. My DD (aged 13) was brand new to it and did really well. Austrian ski school is 2 hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. In France it is mornings only. Plenty of adults at all levels. Go for it. It makes a brilliant family holiday.

Newgirls · 13/04/2025 08:40

Treat yourself to some 1-2-1 lessons at Hemel or wherever there is a real snow slope near you. Makes a world of difference

LIZS · 13/04/2025 08:40

Get fit beforehand. Nothing worse than trying to walk upstairs day three with heavy legs. The more flexible you are the more forgiving your body. Beginners lessons are available in groups or privately. If you book via a uk tour operator they will normally offer a ski hire and lesson package.

bumblingbovine49 · 13/04/2025 08:51

I learnt when I was in my early 30s, does that count as later in life? I was not fit though so possibly nearer 40 in real age😁. This was also a long time ago ( I'm 60 now) so some things will probably be very different now

Anyway my experience

1 it was definitely easier to lean on snow than on a dry slope

2 Book private or small group lessons with adults only if you can. My first ski holiday I booked standard lessons with French speaking man child in a large grouo. I almost gave up and was in tears quite a lot and hadn't learnt by the end of the week. I went again the following year ( must have been a masochist) and had a much better experience with lessons and was skiing, albeit not on difficult runs, by the end of the week

  1. I quite enjoyed the next ski holiday but was never good enough to keep up with my then husband and his friends all of whom learnt as children so that probably coloured my view

  2. Then broke my collar bone on the next holiday when someone skied into me on day 2

I just decided it wasn't worth it after my divorce since I'd only really learnt to be able to go with ex, and my DH is like me,from a very working class background and never learnt to ski .

I never really learnt to love it and didn't go again after my fourth trip but that is just my experience and tied in with my feelings of inadequacy learning as an unsporty adult around a group of adults who had all learnt as children. Most of them were kind enough about my struggles to learn and beginner status but I was obviously holding them back if i joined them on runs. Most of them didn't really want to ski the easier runs I was comfortable with and I wasn't really confident enough to ski alone much. My ex wa very much of the same mind on ski holidays.

I am sure there will be many more positive experiences. I can say that despite being very unsporty, with the right teacher and patience I did learn and I do still remember the rush of skiing my first easy run without panicking too much

TelephoneWires · 13/04/2025 09:02

I think you need a buddy at the same level as you. I am very lucky my DH and my DS are similar to me and we have a lovely time skiing together (we are not amazing skiers). If you don’t have this then I have just discovered the joys of all day ski school where they get you in the right level group and it is great socially. Lots of people there on their own who’s partners were either non skiers or more advanced skiers than them.

Newgirls · 13/04/2025 09:04

Omg yes dont go on a ski holiday with very experienced people as you’ll end up on tricky slopes that they think are easy. Def learn in the uk first to see if you even like it

User57713 · 13/04/2025 09:05

I learned in my 20s. Never really become a natural at it but I do okay.

My parents both learned in their early 60s when they came on a holiday with us. They were planning to just watch the kids ski and spend time with them. But they both really fancied learning and booked themselves into lessons. My mum did a few green runs each morning then went to the cafe, my dad is still skiing 10 years later and loving it.

Stickortwigs · 13/04/2025 09:08

I was 30. I’m still rubbish 10 years on but I’m like that with all sport and always have been. I enjoy it though.

The thing that makes a HUGE difference is how strong your thighs are. The years that I do a load of prep I enjoy it so much more because it’s less demanding both physically and mentally (when my legs are strong, I’m more relaxed because I trust them to do as my brain asks).

Someone I know said ‘first ski holidays, no one has a nice time, it’s an investment in future enjoyment’ and I think there’s a lot of truth in that. It’s hard and an emotional rollercoaster, but so worth it. It’s my favourite holiday of the year by a long way and I’m not a sporty person.

TheCountofMountingCrispBags · 13/04/2025 09:10

As long as you don't have osteoporosis, are co-ordinated of mind and limb, and don't have a weak bladder (those salupettes/adult babygrows are a bastard to get off), you'll be grand.

Original poster
malificent7 · 13/04/2025 09:13

This sounds fun. I am a keen hiker and plan to get fitter too.
The trouble I have is that I do like a relaxing break but i guess some exhilaration would do me good.
Luckily dh is a beginner too.
I had to laugh as dd told me her balance was a bit off before she went but had a great time in the end and didn't break anything!

OP posts:
TelephoneWires · 13/04/2025 09:16

Back to my 13 year old - obviously young and fit but her legs got really tired and achey - the first week first involves a lot of walking up the hill and snow plow which is hard going.

I think my knees did better than previously (haven’t been for 8 years so I am older than I was) maybe due to my weight lifting routines that I have now (daily 5 mins and weekly body pump)

BadSkiingMum · 13/04/2025 09:16

Well, this is clearly the thread for me…😁

I began in my thirties and am not actually too bad these days. I have had umpteen, endless lessons, both group and private, know all the techniques and can handle most red runs. But I have reached a plateau of moderate speed, technique and confidence that I am now, in my late forties, very unlikely to go beyond!

It is quite a long term investment if you want to get beyond beginner level. Plus the risk of an accident is always there…

Book yourself in for some lessons at a snow-dome and see if you actually like it or not?

greengreyblue · 13/04/2025 09:19

It’s VERY expensive to have lessons in uk or on the holiday. Think my DD paid £150 for an hour. She is young and fit and was exhausted after a few days and underestimated how heavy the skis are. She absolutely loved it though. Maybe improve your fitness and strength beforehand too.

greengreyblue · 13/04/2025 09:22

Oh and the apres ski I the relaxing bit. Just don’t do what my DD did, went to a bar on the slope not realising you had to ski the rest of the way down. Not good for a beginner after several schnapps !

Wessexheavytreader · 13/04/2025 09:31

I had a few lessons age 30 on a dry ski slope but then nothing until this year when I went on a skiing holiday. I had group lessons every morning and many of the group were 40 years +. It was challenging, but I absolutely loved it and was pottering down the easiest run by the end of the week. I am 52 and fairly fit.

AnOldCynic · 13/04/2025 09:35

My mum first went when she was 49. Go for it.

Calliopespa · 13/04/2025 09:46

Never say never oP! If you’re keen to give it a try, why not?

What I would say is that by your age most of my friends are winding down from youthful exuberance on skis, and that’s with a background of learning young, so I think you need to be realistic about what is achievable. If you envisage gunning down the blacks and steeper reds in five years tine, that probably isn’t likely to come to fruition. But if you just want to have fun on the gentler slopes, and a bit of apres ski then absolutely! Why not? Ps I don’t recommend dry slopes for progressing. Maybe as a very loose “taster” but the mountain is a totally different thing,

DrinkFeckArseBrick · 13/04/2025 09:53

I'd really try and travel to somewhere that has a snow dome to do some lessons there. Yes it's different on snow but fundamental technique is the same. Having strong leg and core muscles will help as well as some degree of fitness

MissJeanBrodiesmother · 13/04/2025 09:56

I am sure you would be fine. However I would be aware that there is always a risk of injury some can be life changing.

Thatwouldbeme · 13/04/2025 10:03

Age 50, my first ever time on skies. I was unfit, slightly overweight and to top it off I had a chest infection but it was fantastic. Been skiing every year since. I'm never going to be the best one on the slopes but I can get down a red now without any problems with a smile on my face so I'd say give it a go.

TelephoneWires · 13/04/2025 10:04

Re injuries - everyone in my ski school group had had some sort or skiing injury over the years. Some of the non skiing partners were non skiers due to skiing injuries. While we were there someone in the hotel broke their coller bone, someone on the bus had a dislocated knee, someone in DD’s snowboarding class broke their wrist (DD sprained her wrist but not too badly - I don’t recommend snowboarding). Someone in the resort broke both legs - we saw two helicopter rescues. There is definitely a risk that any of these things could happen even if you don’t make a misjudgment yourself someone else could ski into you. It is always a relief to get the the end of the week injury free.