this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2024

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Went Skiing For the first time (lemmy.world)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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A friend of mine invited me to go skiing, and I decided to go. It was very fun and I may have a new obsession. I'm probably going to go atleast 2 more times this year and just rent.

Hopefully, Ill be able to save enough to get my own gear and a season pass at a independent place nearish to me.

I was doing the shorter blue runs by the end of the day, because my friend was pretty good teacher, but what are some good resources to learning skiing techniques, and what's the best way to get discount gear?

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Heck yeah buddy! Welcome to the sport! I'm a big proponent of getting lessons if you can. No matter what your ability is, from beginner to seasoned racer, there's always something you can do to progress. Barring that, it's hard to give tips without seeing your form. But if you post a video, I can help. I'm sure that there are resources online that I'm unaware of.

Many ski shops have summer sales on gear, so if you get on their mailing lists then you can get deep discounts on equipment in the off-season. I haven't bought anything full price in years.

Source: Former competitive racer and slopestyle skier

Let me know if you have any more questions. :)

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Second the summer sales. Having your own equipment will help your progression and comfort level. You might be surprised by how much it helps to consistently be using the same gear allowing you to learn the intricacies.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

No video from this trip. It was just a guy's hangout trip, and the other new skier needed alot more attention from our one experienced skier.

I'm sure my form is terrible, all I really learned past French fry/Pizza Slice was really wide turns. There is a 0% chance I was really carving because I was turning with my chest and not isolating my upper and lower body.

I mostly just abused that my athletic background involves a ton of balance based combat sports (American Football, Wrestling, Judo). I fell down 5 times and 2 of them were on purpose so I could learn how to get up before trying a ski lift hill. Getting up is stupid and I don't like it, I may just opt to never fall again 🙃

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

Carving - real carving - is relatively advanced. Nobody gets that their first day, maybe not their first 20 days if they're just up for fun. Just focus on traversing, controlling speed through turns, and gaining confidence. If you get the hang of those you can ski anything. Carving just let's you ski anything with style.

As a former ski instructor, I've observed that having an athletic background helps speed the learning process more then anything by far, because a ton of the skills you need in skiing (like stance, eye discipline, etc.) transfer from other sports really well. When I taught I always made a point to ask my students what other sports they did and try incorporate that into the lesson.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago

King shit 👑

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Perfect North! LFG. But in all honesty those people all over the hill with blue coats are the instructors and will normally answer quick questions you might have.

Also take a lesson if you can afford it. The next step is the way to go it's cheaper than a private but the group will be small and you will get sent out with an instructor who's good at helping people at your level.

To learn though PSIA is a professional ski instructor resource but the videos and documents they have will help you learn too.

Last ski swap before the season starts is a good place to find deals.on.last years stuff and used equipment.

Have fun, stay safe.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Great stuff dude! I’m so happy for you to find a fun new hobby to be passionate about. And I’m also super happy to see you wearing a helmet!

I am a large man who also played contact sports up into my thirties so I would suggest you find a nice pair of shorts that have some added padding for your backside/tailbone. Bonus points for some padding on your knees too. Your body will thank you.

For gear, I always looked at estate sales near me (may have to drive a bit but it can be worth it). Wealthy people love the slopes, and their “used” gear can be got for pretty cheap sometimes.

eta: Stretching is super important too! Keep yourself limber.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

Fucking slaps, man! Hard go give advice, but practice makes best and if you have someone who can sort of look over you and give you small steps on what to improve that really helps a lot.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

Have fun!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

How much did it cost you for a day?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

$110 for Lift ticket, equipment, and snow bib. I didn't fit in my friends spare snow pants lol

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

As other have mentioned, some lightly used gear is probably the best bang for your buck, however don't sleep on after season clearance sales from retailers/manufacturers.

The only trouble is that you should figure out now what you need/want and then pay attention to their sales sometime between March and June, which is ...well pretty annoying, because it feels like a lottery - you never know whether it's a good deal just yet and once you know it's a good deal, your sizes may be gone.

That said I've gotten some great deals on jackets/vests/merino hoodies in May/June as an example.

Also if you're in Canada then Redflagdeals is your friend -setup some alarms on topics, and there is a US alternative that I don't recall. So check those or whatever your local alternative may be.

Edit...added some bits

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

GG dude!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Remember the pizza and fries. At least in my country during skiing lessons for kids it's called pizza (the snowplow you form with your ski while breaking) and fries (accelerating while standing parallel like fries in a box).