Moosejaw Summer Clearance Sale. Free Shipping on Orders Over $49!
My friends all used to say to me ‘Learn to ski and you won’t be able to stop’. They were right on both counts of not being able to stop. I’ve learnt how to ski and sometimes brake in the last forty odd years, but I won’t get rid of the ski addiction until the snow stops falling.
Maybe I shouldn’t associate skiing with a drug but that’s what it did for me. Learning how to ski on that first ski vacation to Norway was like the first occasion I drank alcohol – happiness then headache then more happiness and more headaches. The two emotions were well balanced where balance on skis was missing!. For all that, the sheer cameraderie, the atmosphere, and the laughter generated by the lack of oxygen at altitude, was addictive and it’s been a part of my life ever since.
This is the first time you’ve skied right? Well let me introduce you gently to the greatest pastime since charriot racing. Let’s go to Austria. If you have been on a skiing holiday before and know vaguely how to ski but are keen to get better, you can join us too in the Austrian Alps and then have a look at my free ebook about ‘Secrets of Better Skiing’, which will turn an intermediate skier into an expert.
We’ve come to Austria because it is simply the best place to have an enjoyable time – pretty girls with frothing mugs of beer, roaring log fires, and easy runs in the sunshine.
So we have had a good breakfast and made it to the beginners’ slope. The kitting out in the shop was an adventure on its own and we are carrying and wearing some interesting stuff but we’ve made it. There is a faint smell of woodsmoke and the hairs up our nose are tingling. It’s freezing but we are cosy aren’t we because we are kitted out for the South Pole? Take it from me – we won’t have it on for long ….
For how to dress functionally when skiing read this really useful article about Ski Wear.
The slope is really a field but now has a thick layer of packed snow on it. It’s flat where we are and then rises a bit when we look towards the valley, but looking upwards to the treeline a hundred metres away we can see that it rises a bit; the top of the slope is only ten feet higher than us. Let’s go a bit higher and put our skis on. Let’s leave out how to put your boots and skis on here and get on with the business of skiing – you can really only do this with help from your instructor on the day.
Take small steps up the hill for about ten yards using your ski poles to push you and slowly turn till you are looking down the hill – the slope is so gentle you will have to push yourself off with your poles to begin with – and just let the skis run on their own. When you stop at the bottom, take the skis off and walk back up a little higher than previously. Just let them run straight and go a litttle higher each time. Soon, as your equilibrium improves, you can stop before reaching the bottom of the hill by stepping round to either the right or left – if you keep stepping round the same way you will soon be at right angles the slope and will therefore come to a stop.
Let’s just concentrate on falling over because you should be doing quite a lot of it. Just before you are going to fall, sit down and hopefully you will be topsides of your skis and although you may have a few bruises, you’ll have a few laughs too. Doing it this way will reduce the fear of falling!
That’s all for now. To learn more and to get the low down on ski equipment as well as ski clothes, or maybe even to look for a ski holiday go to Ski Jungle – Ski Holidays, and happy skiing!
