Sunday, March 05, 2006
Skiing first time?
There are many articles on this topic. But here is one that gives you things which really matter. Straight from the heart -
1) Dress waterproofly, not necessarily warmly. Why? It's simple. Skiing is on SNOW, which is COLD. So if it happens to touch your body while you are skiing (or falling), you will be very uncomfortable and wont be able to continue for long. And because skiing is a relatively strenous exercise, your body WILL get warm soon. So it's more important to dress waterproof and less important to dress a whole lot to keep yourself warm. The following would be necessary and sufficient:
-A pair of underwear, regular. Use thermals if you have 'em. It's ok if you dont.
-A full-sleeve shirt/T-shirt
-something called a "bib", which you wear in place of pants. It has straps that go over the shoulder and get buckled up. Search for it on google to see the pictures. Then go and buy from Target/Walmart. About $20.
-A jacket that is waterproof.
-Regular socks and shoes.
-A cap/hat that covers your head and ears.
-Gloves
Optional
-----------
-) Sunglasses
-) Sun-screen
-) Thermals
-) Warm socks
2) Take lessons. Take lessons. Take lessons. Yes, it's expensive ($70-$80 per person per day inclusive of everything), but completely worth. It will certainly shorten your learning curve. You must know the ABCD before starting to read English. The instructors will teach you ABCD of skiing. Yes, the investment is worth.
3) Accept the fact that skiing is strenous. If you are with average stamina like me, you can start at 10 am and expect to continue until about 4 pm (6 hours). Beyond that, you are spoiling your next day. You WILL get tired, but it will be very satisfying at the end of the day.
4) Realize that you WILL fall, and also realize that you WILL NOT to hurt yourself badly when you fall. Snow cushions you reasonably well. Doesn't matter how often you fall - but it's important to fall. Falling brings you psychologically closer to the snow beneath you. You will slowly lose the phobia of falling if you fall more. That is the key to faster learning.
5) Don't get disappointed if you can't get a hang of it the first time. It takes atleast 3 full days of skiing (maybe separate days) before you can try to make sense and patterns out of it, before you can realize your limits and strengths, before you get comfortable with the equipment and your body movements.
The rest matters less and is sometimes not in your control - the time, place, type of equipment, what to learn first, who to go with, the type of instructor, etc. So dont worry about those and take them in your stride.
It's one thing to listen to pros with awe-inspiring skills, but most pros are not good teachers (anymore). Ask beginners like me who like to ski themselves and would like to see you start skiing too :-)
Let's go hit the slopes!
1) Dress waterproofly, not necessarily warmly. Why? It's simple. Skiing is on SNOW, which is COLD. So if it happens to touch your body while you are skiing (or falling), you will be very uncomfortable and wont be able to continue for long. And because skiing is a relatively strenous exercise, your body WILL get warm soon. So it's more important to dress waterproof and less important to dress a whole lot to keep yourself warm. The following would be necessary and sufficient:
-A pair of underwear, regular. Use thermals if you have 'em. It's ok if you dont.
-A full-sleeve shirt/T-shirt
-something called a "bib", which you wear in place of pants. It has straps that go over the shoulder and get buckled up. Search for it on google to see the pictures. Then go and buy from Target/Walmart. About $20.
-A jacket that is waterproof.
-Regular socks and shoes.
-A cap/hat that covers your head and ears.
-Gloves
Optional
-----------
-) Sunglasses
-) Sun-screen
-) Thermals
-) Warm socks
2) Take lessons. Take lessons. Take lessons. Yes, it's expensive ($70-$80 per person per day inclusive of everything), but completely worth. It will certainly shorten your learning curve. You must know the ABCD before starting to read English. The instructors will teach you ABCD of skiing. Yes, the investment is worth.
3) Accept the fact that skiing is strenous. If you are with average stamina like me, you can start at 10 am and expect to continue until about 4 pm (6 hours). Beyond that, you are spoiling your next day. You WILL get tired, but it will be very satisfying at the end of the day.
4) Realize that you WILL fall, and also realize that you WILL NOT to hurt yourself badly when you fall. Snow cushions you reasonably well. Doesn't matter how often you fall - but it's important to fall. Falling brings you psychologically closer to the snow beneath you. You will slowly lose the phobia of falling if you fall more. That is the key to faster learning.
5) Don't get disappointed if you can't get a hang of it the first time. It takes atleast 3 full days of skiing (maybe separate days) before you can try to make sense and patterns out of it, before you can realize your limits and strengths, before you get comfortable with the equipment and your body movements.
The rest matters less and is sometimes not in your control - the time, place, type of equipment, what to learn first, who to go with, the type of instructor, etc. So dont worry about those and take them in your stride.
It's one thing to listen to pros with awe-inspiring skills, but most pros are not good teachers (anymore). Ask beginners like me who like to ski themselves and would like to see you start skiing too :-)
Let's go hit the slopes!
