First time help

[lostinthoughts]

I know this has been done to death, and I have poured over all the previous threads on anything ski related.

First ski trip next month with kids and husband (DH and I have both skied before but not for a very long time) he's a bit of an airhead when it comes to sense of direction/reading maps etc so any tips on how to plan our ski days? Is there an app that I can't live without? Scared of accidentally ending up too far up the mountain with only a red/black run back down!

Don't panic. Pistes are well signposted. Most places will have paper piste maps available at the lift or wherever you pick up your passes. Spend some time looking at it. The lifts and the piste names/numbers and colours will be clearly marked.

Plan your route. For example: 'we'll get G lift up and take Blue 4 down to X point'.

This is a photo of where we went over Christmas.
We would get the Hochalmbalm lift (lifts are black lines) up from the bottom to the top of its run. Then we would use Blue 2 to go to Heimalm, which you can see is marked as a restaurant.

I know you said he's an airhead with maps, but really, all he needs to remember is to follow the colour coded arrows!

I use the Bergfex ski app, but there may be better ones.

Whoops! Would help if I posted the photo.

Thank you. I did wonder if it was as simple as your say, but thought it must be more complicated than that! I'm overthinking a lot about this trip as I guess I'm a bit anxious.

When you are on the slopes, are there obvious signs so that you know you're definitely on a blue run etc? And do blues ever turn into reds/blacks without warning?

Are you having any lessons?
Pistes are generally clearly marked but lessons are good as the instructor will get you to do slopes at the right level for you.

Definitely lessons for all of you, not just the kids. DH and I have been skiing for 15/20 years and still have a lesson or two every time. If you don't want group lessons every day, we book a private instructor just for 1 or two mornings. Who can just give you tips on your technique, push you just out of your comfort zone that little bit and boost your confidence hugely. If it's a long time since you last skied and will be hiring equipment, the technology in skis/boots has moved on a lot in the last 20 years so again an instructor will be able to teach you how to ski with a new technique to match your skis

If you're nervous about route finding, they can give you suggestions for good runs within your ability and paths you might like to try later.

A private instructor isn't cheap but if you're already spending a lot on a ski holiday, it's a small amount and really will help you get the most out of your skiing and time in resort.

You may be able to use a ski guide, or take just one lesson to get orientated. Where are you going?

Definitely get lessons. It will help your confidence and also help orientate you.

Pistes will have multiple poles at each side all the way down in the the colour of the run and will be clearly marked with signs whenever runs branch off. It's very difficult to end up on the wrong piste if you are paying attention.

As xyzandabc says, if its been a really long time i.e. more than 20 years since you've been, skis have changed dramatically. For the better obviously. Those hideous long straight planks have changed to much shorter shaped skis. But you need to change your technique to adapt. Lessons would definitely be worth it.

If you’re rusty def book a lesson. A morning with a private instructor will do wonders. And especially if it’s been a very long time, skis have changed a lot!

As for accidentally ending up on a black, where are you going? It’d be nigh on impossible I think in France where you get coloured poles marking the boundary of every piste. If it’s somewhere in the US then it’s much easier to do because the runs don’t typically have marked boundaries between them.

Going to La Plagne so fairly safe bet for beginners/rusty skiers. Kids in ski school. I'm having lessons before we go. It's more the route planning that concerns me rather than my skiing ability (which will no doubt be abysmal!)

Good to hear there are colour coded poles on the runs - this will help keep me on track!

Routes and pistes are generally well signposted. There are lollipop signs all down the pistes which are coloured and have the piste number - e.g. a blue lollipop with "22" on Piste 22. In many resorts the telephone number of the rescue service is on the reverse side of the sign - although hopefully you'll not need this!

Apps are OK - until your iPhone or Samsung decides that at 2,000m and minus 5 deg. it doesn't want to play anymore, sucks all the juice out of the battery and goes to sleep. Carry a piste map at all times just in case (and even an old £10 PAYG brick phone if you have one lying around, as these hold their charge better than the modern mini-computer phones)

It's pretty easy, although having said that my DH managed to ski over a drop at high speed because he wasn't paying attention and didn't notice the many, many arrows pointing round the corner. There's a reason he doesn't drive (he was OK, just ego dented)

All the dangerous bits are netted. The worst that happens if you end up on a steep bit is you shuffle down on your bum at the edge! If you're effectively beginners, you'll probably spend your time on just a few nice runs going round and round and enjoying the scenery. It's safest that way

Echo the advice to get a few lessons, maybe with a private instructor who’s well regarded
blue runs don’t turn into red/black runs, but sometimes the piste grading is a bit….inaccurate, hence better to get some guidance.
and don’t forget you can travel back down in a cable car, if need be

ETA ^ that applies to skiing in Europe :)

Spoke to DH this afternoon and showed him the map of where we're going. I said to him, we'll have to be careful to plan our routes etc and I asked if he's done that much before.......his reply? Ah we'll just get on the closest lift right to the top and ski down

Honestly ffs

Don't worry too much, the fear makes it harder to ski, much better to relax into it :)

My top would be to get an instructor for at least the first morning and ideally the first two mornings or even all week, that way you can warm up the ski legs and the instructor will only take you on what you can cope with. Then you can revisit those slopes on your own with the confidence you have already completed them.

A blue run will never turn into a black or a red, but as others have said the grading is a bit arbitrary anyway, notably between countries but also between resorts within a country. It's also super dependent on snow conditions (chopped up bumps or ice will make it a bit harder) and how busy the piste is, more people obviously reduces your freedom to pick your line. Try and focus on what the slope looks like, sometimes a quiet red with good snow will be a much easier experience than a busy and narrow blue which has got icy in places. Almost universally, very tricky pistes (steep or big moguls) will have warning banners, you will never end up on something like this by accident.

Would be a good idea to get an instructor to refresh the side slip technique with you, this can be used on any piste any time you don't like the look of something and will give you so much confidence that you can get down in places where you don't feel comfortable turning. I have been skiing for 30 years and I still use side slip from time to time, it's the get out of jail card. Also teaches good edge control :)

Lastly enjoy it! Ski what you feel comfortable skiing, take on manageable challenges to build confidence (maybe a piste with a short pitch that is steeper) and don't forget to enjoy all the other lovely things like hot chocolate stops and mountain food :)

Get a lesson. You can ask the instructor to focus on showing you pistes within your abilities with a few tips to improve.
Lessons before you go are absolutely not a substitute.

As well as the poles which are the colour of the run (eg blue, red) there are markers every 100m with the piste name and a number which gets lower the nearer you are to the bottom of it.

Each lift has a sign at the bottom with which runs are available at the top.

I found a lesson helps with being shown a good way down if you're not that confident.

Oh dear! Tbh though there’s usually at least one intermediate route down. The lifts that only go to difficult terrain are few and far between, and in every French resort I’ve ever been to anyway, clearly marked and if the blue is closed then I find that they usually have the sense to tell you at the bottom. I mostly subscribe to your DH’s way of skiing and I’ve only ever been caught by surprise once, and that was in Colorado!

The other thing I just wanted to point out is that if it's poor conditions at the resort due to a scarcity of snow, then the colour may not accurately reflect the piste.

I was away just before Christmas and a couple of Blue slopes that I'd found on before were horrendous because very little snow and what was there was churned up. Sometimes the Reds are better as they have less skiers on them.

That's why at least one lesson is good as the instructor will point out what is doable for you.