Anyone not enjoy skiing?

[LuciferRising]

On a ski holiday. 4 days in. Lessons and then afternoons free. Had lessons before we left. Feel like I am just about tolerating it. First holiday.

Everyone you talk to seems to be passionate about it.

Grandvilera in Andorra.

DH goes boarding with friends every year. I go on a city break with girl friends. Win win.
He keeps begging me to go, and I can't understand why. He'd spend the qeek frustrated he can't board properly, as he's babysitting me, whilst I'll be having a miserable time being rubbish and hating the days. Much better to do our own thing for one week a year!

Rental boots are disgusting and a wonderful damp breeding ground for foot fungus!

@XelaM I have never been so cold in my life. And that was with proper base layers and ski gear. I think it's because there's so much standing around involved when you're learning, so you're not actually moving that much in sub-zero temperatures.

That being said, the place we went when I was pregnant was Park City, which according to DH is a "warm" ski resort and I still thought it was absolutely bloody freezing because it was -3! I think I'm just not really cut out for cold weather activities.

@LuciferRising you don’t sound well TBH, hope you feel better soon!

Covid!

Absolutely hate skiing.

i tried so many times because I was married to someone who loved skiing. I just can’t. It is awful.

allfurcoatnoknickers really unlucky then - the last 3 years, I've done Switzerland, France and Austria respectively, it's always been sunny and the issue has been rather that despite minimal layers, we've all been too hot and sweaty.

I don't think skiing is for me anymore despite enjoying a few holidays in my youth. Also I am totally put off by a couple of massive ski bore in-laws who never stop going on about it and trying to "convert" everyone else. They are evangelical. Yawn 🥱

That is really lousy luck! Wish you a speedy recovery!

Oh that is bad luck. Feel better soon!

People complaining about the boots - try snowboarding. I was a reasonable skier until my mid 20s (carving, black runs, moguls etc), but switched to boarding because the boots are as comfortable as hiking boots, and I never looked back. It was just instantly much more intuitive. And easier on my knees, no twisting.

It’s also a lot easier to be a middling snowboarder than it is to be a middling skier - the initial learning curve is much less steep. I was a better snowboarder than skier within 3-4 weeks, though it took me a while to be confident off piste, in funparks etc.

North American resorts can be a lot colder - I’ve been in Sunshine in January and it was -47 C up the mountain with windchill (-30C actual temp). The chairlifts were literally just painful, really windy and exposed. Lake Louise is never quite as bad as there is more tree cover and bowls to hide from the wind in.

Whereas I was in Mayrhofen this Feb and it was +22C up the mountain (obviously this was mid-afternoon, the temp fell overnight). Skied in a tshirt.

Huh? You only go to the shop once, at the start of your holiday. After that you keep your boots and skis in the hotel.

That's only if you have a ski in/out hotel right by the slopes. Otherwise you have to leave them overnight in either a locker by the slopes or in the rental shop (because for example in Aviemore there were no lockers). It's a total nightmare to shlep skis and boots to your hotel every day unless it's right by the slopes.

I think most people put them on at the hotel and get on the ski bus to the lift don’t they? I know you can pay for storage at the bottom of the lift but most hotels and chalets have a ski room to keep all your stuff in.

@XelaM I've stayed in plenty of hotels that were not ski in/ski out. They all had boot/equipment rooms.

@ToffeeNotCoffee you're very funny, but it's a step too far to say that skiing is just a side activity to justify heavy drinking. We have one glass of wine with dinner, then go to bed early, same time as our son. I would hate a hangover to interfere with my enjoyment of skiing. Even pre kids we never went crazy on the apres. I reckon that for every person you see out drinking there are 5 more soberly putting on their pyjamas at 9pm!

@Saschka Vermont and Utah for me. DH is American. He swears Utah is "warm". IT BLOODY WELL IS NOT.

Try Austria (assuming you are in the Uk, bit far to travel if you aren’t). Or Switzerland or France. Completely different, significantly warmer. I never pack a mid layer for Europe, I never really need it. I need 2, or a down jacket, under my ski jacket in Canada.

Or ski in early April! Lake Louise and Kicking Horse are both absolutely beautiful then, I expect Tahoe is too. Closeout is mid-May, so still loads of snow. We last took DS to Banff when he was a toddler and too young to really appreciate it, we plan to take him back next year and will go for the Easter holidays so we can go for 10 days, and he doesn’t get frostbite.

@Saschka We're in the east coast US, but by the time you've hauled yourself to Whistler, you might as well go to Europe. DH has been to some Swiss resorts and is keen to back and give it another try, also he wants to do the Cresta Run 🙄.

I might be amenable if it's not freezing...

@Littleredbrickmammy I'm in Whistler atm and really not enjoying skiing. There seems very little else to do tbh - do you have any suggestions please?

I wrote this in the middle of the night last night, whilst currently on a skiing holiday.
Reasons I hate skiing
It’s terrifying, the the extent that it genuinely leaves me with a fight/flight mentality which is neither healthy or enjoyable.
It’s humiliating.
There is a constant fear of significant injury.
The sweat trickling down your back/face/everywhere.
All the crap you have to carry about.
Bloody ski boots - surely in this day and age someone could design something less .uncomfortable or even slightly more practical
Constantly feeling defective and wondering why you don’t enjoy something that seemingly everyone else in the world does.
Shitty, really unhealthy food usually in some kind of cafeteria style that you would never dream of paying actually money for when at home. And then paying an extortionate amount for it because there is nothing else to eat.
Ditto apres ski bars in the village - you’d never go to them for a night out at home.
Apparently the apres ski makes it all worthwhile. It doesn’t. My family have been too tired and sweaty when we get off the slopes - they just want to come home, shower then basically go to bed. So basically we go to bed, I wake up in the early hours of the morning then count down the hours until I have to restart the ordeal.
The accommodation is tiiiiny, even despite booking a relatively expensive option. No room for all the kit, no room to put your things away. Tiny tiny balcony that we couldn’t even all fit on.
My instructor is so so lovely and patient. He tells me I’m a competent skier and very much in control. However, I do not feel in control. Even the easiest runs have steep parts that I’m terrified of. I freeze, fall over and then cry and feel extremely angry that I can’t do it. I feel like I’m letting him down. He’s bound to lose his patience soon and everyone else has moved onto the big slope.
Because I am so scared there isn’t a single slope I can go down with my family, which is what we had been told makes it all worthwhile.
You have to go up on terrifyingly high lifts which frankly look so unsafe I’m surprised are still legal. They look like the kind of things you look back on from around the 1950’s and wonder how they were ever allowed as they are so clearly dangerous.
Apparently there is loads to do other than skiing. Like……. look around really expensive shops filled with things that would be great if you enjoyed skiing? Going for a hike, but be aware you may encounter bears? Apparently ‘snuggling up with a nice hot chocolate’ whilst enjoying the view is a treat to be looked forward to. So far, despite extensive searching, I’ve not found anywhere that could be described as a potential location for ‘snuggling’, nowhere that serves anything other than extremely mediocre hot chocolate and nowhere that isn’t over run with skiers apparently having the time of their lives whilst I, by contrast, am utterly miserable.
Essentially it makes me feel like a failure as a human being because everyone else loves it and I do not. In short, I think it is best described as an ordeal which leaves me feeling much much worse about myself. So, all in all, well worth the thousands of pounds we paid to come. Oh no, hold on, it definitely isn’t.

Went once . Never again. What is the point of lugging all that gear around for a few minutes’ fun? I hated the whole business of skiing. What’s more, it’s really bad for the environment.

This is such an accurate summary of it all 😂

I did absolutely love it as a kid/teen though and my own teen loves it, but I'm totally with you 🤣

@XelaM on the plus side, I've woken up with a migraine today which is highly unusual for me. At least it means I can't see properly and therefore have a valid reason for not skiing.

I froze the first time skiing. Seriously didn't get it. Didn't have warm enough gear. Was with friends who could all ski. Hard work & scary.
Once if actually mastered it and went with big groups of mates.. great fun. My Dc are going with school but have learnt to ski at snow dome first