Taking That First Taste
With January Learn to Ski and Snowboard month in full swing, weve gathered more expert advice from our Instructor of the Year, Richard Thorpe of Telluride. Many thanks to Richard for providing us with another awesome set of Learn-to-Ski tips!
Below he addresses the most common fears, challenges, and concerns of his first-time-skiers by giving this advice:
The most common fear I see in beginning skiers is how to slow down and stop. The best time to address this fear is before the skis are even on, to talk about what the ski is designed to do and how that happens.
Next, we go through a step-by-step process on non-threatening terrain to learn how to manipulate the ski, one ski at a time, eventually working up to turning and stopping with control.
Skiing is not rocket science. With todays modern equipment and instruction from a PSIA-certified instructor, the process of learning can be thoroughly enjoyable, painless, and uplifting.
Richards biggest piece of advice for newbies?
Make sure you establish reasonable goals and expectations based on your fitness levels and the time you have available to practice. But be warned, sliding on snow can be habit forming!
