Should I give up skiing or persevere? And ski body protection

[Skiadvice]

Looking for advice. I learned ski early 40s and have done it 4 times. Second time fell over and torn my calf muscle; I don’t even know how I fell over but was nervous of some drops on the side of the Mountain; probably tired too.

4th time fell over in ski school, twisted my leg in a funny way and torn a muscle above my calf; started recovering quickly but only managed to ski one day. It was 6 years since we skied and the first accident was 8 years ago.

The rest of the family love it but we didn’t do it very often. I would like to get better and do it more often but I am a bit nervous of people speeding up behind you. Maybe I need to get fitter too; it is quite strenuous but I would be happy with a few hours skiing?

Should I keep persevering or give up? My 13 old DD also had an accident on third day and fractured her collarbone on this trip; snow wasn’t great.

And do people wear ski armour/ protection ? does it help?

I am 50 and was sporting growing up but not so much now; grew up in the tropics so no opportunity skiing

I have just had a ski trip for the first time ahed 48. Fell many times but no injuries thankfully. I would get some practice on dry slopes in UK and then go to ski school again to regain your confidence when you are there

Thank you. Thinking I should have warmed up and prepared my body better before starting and also got fitter before the trip. Thing is that I seem to twist my legs in a ackward way with the restrictions of the boots and skis.I am not even sure my right ski came off when I fell and that’s the leg I hurt.

@Skiadvice I would probably give up but go to resorts with good mountain restaurants! Find a book to read and have some quiet time. My dc and dh liked sking. It wasn’t for me.

Go to ski school and have a private lesson or two - and make sure that you get an instructor who understands the physiology of people aged 50+. The exercises and drills that an 18 year old can do are not suitable for a 50 year old, so get an experienced instructor who knows how to pace the lesson and knows the right drills and limitations for you and chooses the right pistes to practice on.

Getting fit beforehand obviously helps - and if you can get a few sessions (with an instructor) on a dry slope or snowdome then that's even better.

Ski armour doesn't help to protect your legs - being balanced, confident and doing the right things at the right time using the correct technique is the key to skiing, and is far less tiring than fighting with the skis.

DH and DDs love skiing
I don't. I tried, I don't like it.

I love my ski holidays now. I get to put my feet up.akl day while they ate out, then enjoy nice food and wine in the evenings, plus family time. During the day I read, I go for walks, watch films... and generally rest.

You don't have to ski if you dont want to!

I've just been skiing and was doing wall sits/lunges 4-6 weeks before. I'm also in my 50's.

The rule is only worry about people in front of you, not behind. I'm a bad, stiff skier but it's the whole holiday I love, lunches in the mountains, amazing food, lovely massages. That's why I won't give up.. the skiing's just part of it, but it makes me feel young and alive.

Having said that, I think skiing in Europe will sadly be a thing of the past in a few years.. snow has been getting poorer every year.

Also I've never heard of ski armour? I use knee supports but with the snow as slushy as it was on the lower slopes, my knees really took a hit.

We always have a private instructor who knows the best slopes for our abilities, checks our technique and knows how to get to the restaurant we've booked!

Make sure your skis are adjusted correctly. You need to know your weight and ski level and tell them accurately to the ski hire shop. Also explain you have had problems before with ski not coming off in a fall.

Sounds like some pre ski exercise and stretches would be in order. Skiing is tough on the quads and calves especially, and the outer glutes if you are doing it right.

Lots of accidents happen when it’s icy. This is most likely in the early ish morning. Also at the end of the ski day where snow has been scraped off pistes. So to help avoid accidents you might want to ski only between say 9.30-2pm.

The only time I have heard of skiing with armour was someone with a pre existing back injury (shouldn’t really have been skiing at all I suspect)

In my 20s I would spend 6 months exercising getting ready to ski.

I have an office job and I think I would need to train for even longer now. I also carry significant weight.

It is physically hard on the body.

Getting fit and stretching and resting are all really important parts of skiing

Thank you all; good advice. I don’t think I want to give up completely; I enjoy a couple of runs, relaxation and being by the mountains; enjoying time with the family, I need to make sure skis are fit properly, get fit before and book a one to one class

Yes and do the amount of skiing that is right for you.
I was recently on a Ladies only trip and found I needed more breaks and finishing earlier than the others. I'm reasonably fit but my technique is not the greatest so my legs get sore quickly.

I'm same age as you and have skied a lot more of the last 15 yrs. I find each year I do less skiing and I'm physically fit but it is hard work. I also would recommend a private lesson to help with technique.

For me it's a holiday I enjoy although I have more of a mental issue with skiing now that I don't think lessons will help. I only like to ski for a couple of hours on nice snow and any icy slopes I pass on. I don't want to stop completely but I am more nervous of falls etc these days.

I also enjoy my breaks and in the restaurant there are lots of midlife women doing these same or not skiing at all!

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of skiing, at your own pace and your own level. It’s meant to be fun, so just do what you are comfortable with and if that’s none, it’s no big deal.

We ski most years in France. Just heading over now ( enjoyed delicious Cotes de Rhone with my entrecôte this evening). I’m a poor, nervous skier and every year I say I will give skiing a miss this year. Every year I do give it a go and quite enjoy myself. I’m not very fit. I ski like a toddler and have an instructor who taught his 72 year old mother to ski. Most years I don’t leave the green runs, unless my daughters heavily escort me.

But like others on this thread, I adore being in the mountains. DS and I walk for miles, DD is just learning to snowboard, we eat lovely food, enjoy the village events. Skiing is quite a small part of what this holiday is about for me. If I was dreading skiing in any way, I wouldn’t put skis on. My February half term holiday is always our first trip overseas in six months, and it starts to blow the SAD cobwebs away, ready for Spring.

I think as you get older skiing is harder to learn and the fear of injury and its impacts is much realer.
I think this maybe my last season where I plan to ski. I'm nervous now, Im not fit enough, I'm finding it harder each time. I can't find the time round everything else to get fit enough. And I'm very hard to insure due to injuries.
I miss bombing down black runs like when I was a teenager, but a nice walk in the snow, lunch up the mountain and a good book are far more enticing these days.

I agree that fear of injury and reluctance to ski in anything less than ideal conditions increase as we get older.

This has happened to me even though I learned as a child and have skied more weeks than I can remember.

These days I’m happy on blues and nice reds and will swiftly retire to a cafe in poor weather or icy/slushy conditions. No shame in that. I am doing as much as I enjoy.

Different perspective but I skied twice in my early 50s, loved the mountains, found the skiing hard but intermittently enjoyable tho sometimes stressy and scary. Then after the pandemic my dh and sometimes our adult dc started going again but I haven't.

I am sporty, love my exercise and walking, and don't want to risk a skiing injury. I know I'd get bored and frustrated hanging around for them to come back, or doing the sort of walks you can do in snowy mountains on your own, and would end up being the chalet girl. So I stay here and do my thing. If they ever went for eg Christmas I'd go for a long weekend or whatever, but otherwise I prefer being busy and pleasing myself for a week.