Skiing virgin asking for help in planning her first skiing holiday

[KosmoKramer]

I've never skied. I've always imagined myself swooshing down the slopes but it's never transpired. I turn 50 in March 2022 and I'd like to plan a really lovely skiing holiday for a beginner. Where do I start please? How do I know what accommodation to get? And how do I book ski clothes and gear? And apres ski? I would love to be outside all day then come back to warmth, wine and outdoor hot pools. Any tips very welcome!

Umm - first question: where are you going? Is it Switzerland? Because a heck of a lot of the resorts are shut down locally...

Sorry - ignore me! March 22. Ok... for your ski kit try somewhere like Decathlon - there’s no need to pay a fortune and in March it’ll be pretty warm.

• ski jacket
• ski pants
• base layers (long johns and long sleeved thermal top)
• ski socks - these are worth it
• Medium thickness fleece
• goggles
• gloves (get good ones - again try Decathlon)

You’ll hire boots, helmet and skis out there.

Ah ok! So I must take clothes with me? For some reason I thought I would hire them there! I know Aldi does a ski sale a few times a year. I'll have to put that on my 'planning' list

Take a spare pair of gloves. A lost £12 glove can ruin a £2000 holiday.

Book ski school for the mornings and then play on the slopes in the afternoon. Go with people who don't like to show off, and will encourage rather than push you.
I go to a shared catered chalet so breakfast, afternoon cake and supper are provided. Anything extra can be added later but you may just want to sleep.

You can book your skis and boots to collect when you arrive.
A helmet is a must. Either hire or buy before you go..

Book skis, boots and lessons for when you are there. Everything else, pants, socks, helmet, gloves, base layers, get at home. I would go to Courchevel if I was you, it’s good for beginners and has some good medium slopes too and lots of good apres. They also have a really good bus service if you get stuck somewhere and don’t wanna ski back. Staying in a shared chalet is good and they have a variety of standards. Enjoy! I’m jealous 😫

Are you generally quite fit? I don't want to be a wet blanket but I am the same age, live near a skiing area - most of my friends are giving up skiing not starting! You are more at risk of injury than a youngster. I had a horrendous accident and still love the mountains but prefer snowshoeing.

I would go with a firm like Total ski and book a package.

Find a resort you like the look of. Google and see if it says it’s good for beginners, though most resorts will have a decent beginners area. If you’re going in March the resort needs to be fairly high up. I’ve skied in March before and coming back into resort would be skiing over patches of grass in places and very slushy in the afternoon....that was Chamonix so quite low down.

Get your clothes before you go. Thermals from somewhere like Blacks. For March I’d get thermal tops, a thin fleece, mid weight fleece (wear one or the other depending on temp) ski jacket, ski trousers or salopettes. Gloves, hat. Sunglasses or goggles (possibly both, if it’s snowing you want goggles). I’d have my own helmet but think you can hire them. For March I wouldn’t get bottom half thermals. I’d just take some quick drying gym type leggings, but thicker ones. Ski socks!

If you go with a package company they will sort out your ski hire and also your lift passes. You either pay when you book or pay on the transfer bus. Same for lessons.And they will generally walk you up to the ski hire shop on the first afternoon. And bring your lift pass to the chalet.

If you don’t do a package you can just walk into a ski hire shop on the first day and sort your ski hire out. You can go to the lift office on the first morning and buy a lift pass. I would advise booking lessons before you go. Google for ski schools in that resort and email them.

I’m not very clued up on apres ski as tend to go to a catered chalet with free alcohol so just tend to eat and drink in the chalet. If you’re going on your own a catered chalet is good as everyone eats together on a few big tables and you will have people to chat to, possibly ski with. Oh pick a chalet quite close to the main lifts, walking in ski boots aint fun.

This is all really helpful. Thank you. I am a bit worried now about whether it's a risk to health 😬 at my age. I'm quite fit, walk around five miles a day. Asthmatic though, but never normally stops me. I'd hate to think I've left it too late to try though.

Catered chalet sounds ideal, I'm guessing we would just roll in and die with wine each night.

Have you had a go on an indoor ski slope? Definitely worth doing to get the hang of the basics.

Who will you be going with? Skiing is much more fun with companions at the same level.

Yeah I pretty much die with wine every night on a ski holiday.

Honestly you’d be fine. There will be other people your age in ski school. However I wouldn’t underestimate how tiring learning to ski is. You might be wiped out after morning ski school and not feel like wanting to ski in the afternoon. Definitely look up ski exercises and do them before going, wall sits, etc. But you can go for nice walks in the afternoons, or swim if there’s a public pool, or mooch round the shops in a bigger resort (some resorts are very small with hardly any shops). I used to be quite happy reading a book and eating cake in the afternoon!

Look for a resort with high altitude easy slopes to be snowsure (spring snow is very wet and heavy going or can be non existant at lower levels). also with non skiing activities such as a large pool and walking trails for days when you are achy and fancy a break. If you can get fit and have some basic lessons to familiarise yourself with skiing technique and equipment it will be helpful . Ski tour operators may offer Learn to Ski packs which bundle equipment hire, lessons, lift pass at a fixed price which can be cost effective but which operators will still be in existence in 2022 is anyone's guess! Remember Winter Sports insurance too, as injuries can be expensive to treat and many resort clinics are private.

I have to say when I think ski ing, I think back to my twenties and going in a big crowd. I would recommend going with friends who are similar standard, it's much more fun to ski and enjoy the apre ski with people.

You haven’t left it too late at all. I started at 49 and completed by instructor curse this year at 51... but I am luckily able to ski a lot( in normal circumstances) - use the indoor domes to get some lessons and practice in first. If you can get to one weekly or fortnightly - when they reopen you will be quite competent when you get to the mountains- although I would still get a guide out there.. the mountains are obviously more challenging than the indoor slopes. You will have a blast - enjoy :)

basic lessons * on a uk indoor snow slope* to familiarise yourself with skiing technique and equipment it will be helpful .

Instructor course.... fat fingers

Book full day ski school for the whole week- you'll have a laugh with a ready made group of friends and you'll make good progress. Disagree with the advice above re mornings only - you won't be good enough to have a safe play on your own until the end of the week but you'll be surprised how much ground you can cover with a ski school group.

Decathlon for ski gear, no need to pay more than that.

Enjoy!

I was doing this planning a year ago. Here's what we did.
Bought gear from Decathlon and Go Outdoors (note that some of the goggles are anti fog and some are anti glare, I still don't understand which is which but our instructor said two of us had the anti fog type).
You need to buy trousers (beginners need really waterproof warm ones, but I didn't go for the really padded ones and we were fine). Skiing coat (they have a tight 'skirt' at the bottom to stop snow getting in. Some of them have a handy zip pocket on the sleeve that means you don't have to take your ski pass out at all to get through the barriers.). Helmets. Gloves. Goggles. Base layers.
We booked with Iglu Ski and went to Chalet Cascades in Courchevel. This is a 'ski in, ski out' location because it is right opposite the main entrance to the slopes and ski schools so you don't have to catch a bus from chalet to slopes. It's also worth checking for which resorts are 'ski sure' or most likely to have snow at the time you are going.
There's offers on the hire of skis/boots/poles when you book and the ski hire place was adjacent to our accommodation so we went straight there to get fitted the evening we arrived. There were also offers on lift passes. We booked lessons ahead - to get morning lessons you usually need to book 5 mornings. You can book into classes with the adults and kids learning separately, but we booked one instructor for the four of us. It's hard to book morning lessons once in resort I think but afternoon ones were available. One off or less than 5 lessons were hard to book ahead.
Our hotel provided bfast, post ski hit drink and cake at 4 and then three course evening meal and wine on six nights with one staff night off when they helped you book restaurant or takeaway.
We spent about 5k for 4 all in but we were pushing the boat out a bit. It was fab.

Great thread. I want to slip before I turn 30. Hopefully the pandemic is over in the next year.

Hot drink not hit

Ski not slip

Would recommend Mark Warner as a tour operator and specifically La Plagne...the chalet is on the slopes and lots of lovely green slopes. The chalet is tired but food decent and rooms larger than average. Would go outside school holidays though so slopes aren't as busy and cheaper. You could do ski school or private depending on budget...ski school is fun as you are with people which can push you a bit. I don't find skiing overly tiring, I'm about average fitness but strong legs. If you're asthmatic I would recommend you don't go too a super high altitude. I have only skied in France and Austria but heard fab things about some Italian resorts too although need to check for ski coverage depending when in March you plan on going. Good luck...best holiday ever!!!

Forgot to say no matter where you go make sure that you check distance to the slopes...walking 10/15 mins is nothing usually but with all the ski stuff and boots it's tiring and can make the difference of just popping out for an hour in the afternoon or not bothering.

If you really really want to an active ski holiday, get a gym membership now! I took my mum skiing when she was 55 for the first time and she ached for three weeks afterwards. You need to be fit enough to walk in heavy ski boots (probably means you should be able to walk at least 5 miles in boots without it killing you) and be able to do half an hour on a rowing machine because skiing is all in the thighs.

Otherwise, plan to go for a long weekend. Do one or two days skiing and two days chilling in a bar and the sauna. That will give you all the fun of being in the snow.

The hardest thing is to overcome the fear of falling which gets worse with age. Some of the slopes can be quite scary too, especially if you've a fear of heights. The kids pick it up in moments because they have no fear! There are instructors who specialise in older clients and will be gentle with you. It's definitely doable at 50, you just need to approach it differently.

I don’t think it’s too late to start at all, OP. Good for you. I’d agree with the pps who say buy your layers before you go, then you could rent salopettes and jacket, but I prefer to have my own. Definitely need a helmet which you can rent. Thick ski socks are a must, and good gloves.

We always go in March and we go to Levi, Finland most years. It’s not as easy to travel these days due to operators cutting routes (will likely need to travel via Helsinki next time we go), but it is snowsure (normally well over 1m of snow), and so beautiful, also it’s only half an hour airport transfer. You can ski downhill (def book some lessons), cross country, snowshoeing, reindeer safaris, also it’s a lovely place for snowy walks. We’ve also been to Livigno and Passo Tonale in Italy, also both nice places. Have fun doing your research!