Help me out - never been skiing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Skiing is awesome and a great family sport but it is quite an effort to get everybody equipped and ready to go for a day on the mountain. You get very good at it with time but if possible, I’d recommend a ski-in, ski-out hotel which makes things so much less stressful. Stowe, Okemo, Killington and most of the bigger mountains in VT have good options. Have fun!

If everybody is an absolute beginner don’t bother with ski in/ski out. You probably won’t be able to ski to the ski school for at least the first day or two!

[Anonymous]

DH and I didn't start skiing until we were in our mid-40's (we're now in our late 40's so not a lot of experience). At any rate, you're not too old. Definitely do some leg days to prepare!

We ended up buying skis and boots at Play It Again Sports. We bought new helmets. I hate the rental part of skiing so now we can just roll up and ski onto the lift.

We did sink a lot of money into lessons for us and the kids (now 13 and 10) initially. It's definitely worth it. We went skiing over Christmas break and grabbed another lesson. We'll do skiing two more times this year, just weekend trips.

Our kids are intermediate and DH and I are....not but we all have fun!

[Anonymous]

Definitely not too old. I just started skiing 2 years ago at 42 and have progressed nicely in 2 seasons to a solid intermediate skier. It helped that we went every weekend last winter thanks to no kid activities due to Covid Also took a trip out west where the instructors are incredible.

I would put everyone in group lessons based on their ages. Sometimes kids do better when parents aren't around.

Locally I prefer Whitetail to liberty for learning. I found the liberty bunny slope to be too flat. Take one lesson, watch some you tube videos and practice. Then take a next level up lesson to improve on your skills.

[Anonymous]

Liberty isn't open yet, because there isn't enough snow/it's been too warm. But if you're planning ahead, it's the closest/easiest, but does get crowded.

My kids and DH are into snowboarding, and they really enjoyed going to Seven Corners, which is not too far and is kind of an old-timer's resort, with activities. Poconos is another good option, but check for conditions, because climate change hasn't been good for ski areas.

This weekend my family are driving up to Mt. Snow in Vermont, which is not a short drive, but they are chasing good slopes.

DH is a big believer in buying your own equipment rather than renting. Rentals tend to be poorly fitted and poor quality (ever rented ice skates at local rinks? you'll know how uncomfortable those are). He first got their gear on Craigslist, but now that they are really into it and have the Epic Pass, he bought new boards for everyone. It just makes the snowboarding so much more enjoyable when you have good equipment.

Keeping track of everyone's clothing is kind of a nightmare (thermal layer, long socks, ski bib, ski jacket, gloves, helmet, goggles), but if your family really get into it, it'll be worth the hassle.

Sadly, I'm not interested myself, which makes me feel left out, but I know they are having fun.

[Anonymous]

From the DC area, Snowshoe is a good place for a first time family ski trip. It's drivable, and there is decent beginner terraine. Also, most of the condos are ski in / out, so you don't have to worry about parking (you park once and leave your car for the rest of the trip) or day lockers. Also, it's easy to ski for a little while then come back to the condo for a nap, some time off, or just to warm up.

If you're looking to save money, you can cook in the condo instead of eating dinner out. Also, because the village is at the top of the ridge, you don't have to take the lift up to the top of a mountain foe nice views.

But skiing anywhere is a comparatively expensive vacation. Just do three nights perhaps rather than a full week if you're beginner's. After two days you'll be too sore to enjoy the rest of a full week rental.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of good advice above!

A couple of new ideas: You could do a long weekend in the Poconos. They usually have pretty good snow and the larger sites are well staffed and not super crowded. Maybe look at Camelback, Blue Mountain, Elk Mountain.

Skiing is EXHAUSTING. So, to me, a fun weekend would be half-day ski with lessons on a Saturday morning; half-day ski with lessons on a Sunday evening (evening sessions are usually 4 to 9); then as much as you want on Monday, then back home.

I also approve of the idea of pulling the kids out of school to take advantage of midweek emptiness and lower prices.

It's a great activity ... I highly recommend!

Agreed on exhausting, and also need to be prepared for the extreme soreness for days afterwards. Skiiing hits muscle groups you just don't normally get a lot of work on, especially your core (lot of effort to turn and stabilize your body), and your thighs, especially the side to side motions. If you aren't someone who does exercises for those areas a lot, definitely try to do some initial simple workouts for a few weeks beforehand. Situps, crunches, leg lifts, and things like this.

https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/how-to-train-for-skiing.html

+1 on the exhaustion and the soreness. One thing not mentioned is how sore the front of your legs can get from leaning into the boot as you ski. It isn't debilitating but you do want to know about it. When we go skiing for the first runs of the season we do a full day the first day, a half day the second, and so on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not to digress, but your kids might like (or do better with) snowboarding.
You might surprise yourself, too, with a board rather than skiis. YMMV.

NP and longtime skier, I looked into snowboarding and saw that broken wrists were a common injury. Pass for this office worker.

But just as a vote of encouragement to OP, my dad (6’3” btw) learned to ski with us kids in his 40s

[Anonymous]

(1) get lessons. May be cheapest as a group but prepare for kids to quickly exceed your abilities

(2) it takes time. can you do a week vacation with multiple lessons? May be less frustrating than isolated 1 day events

(3) ultimately it is such a time saver to rent equipment for the season - this also enables you to ski opportunistically when and where snow falls in the nearby resorts. But for the first season you might want to rent at the slope. Often there are off slope places that rent equipment too. We did our season rental locally (in the dmv). Keep in mind it takes up a lot of space in the car!

(4) with young kids look for a place with a magic carpet learning area so you don’t have to learn the chairlift straight away

(5) Columbia has the cheapest ski gear but you can also get other brands at good prices in early fall at last season sales

(6) just try it. You will learn and adjust, both in terms of actual skiing skills and logistical planning and locational preferences

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to digress, but your kids might like (or do better with) snowboarding.
You might surprise yourself, too, with a board rather than skiis. YMMV.

NP and longtime skier, I looked into snowboarding and saw that broken wrists were a common injury. Pass for this office worker.

But just as a vote of encouragement to OP, my dad (6’3” btw) learned to ski with us kids in his 40s

What I read somewhere is that snowboarders get more injuries than skiers but they are injuries that are relatively easy to recover from but skiers are more likely to permanently damaged their knees. No idea if that is true but it makes sense to me intuitively as a skier. I also think it takes less time to be an intermediate snowboarder vs skier. And I say that as a hard core skier who goes to Deer Valley and Alta just to avoid snowboarders.

Whatever you decide, hope you have fun OP!!!

[Anonymous]

Snowboarders have very few knee injuries relative to skiers. I’m now 40 and so many of my friends have had knee surgeries in the last few years after 20-30 years of skiing. Very common starting in your 40s.

Once you have a knee surgery, you’re likely to eventually need it for the other knee. Lots of older skiers eventually pick up snowboarding because is a lot less stress on the knees.

[Anonymous]

You are definitely not too old! I learned in my 30s. My DH tried it and didn’t like it, so he would just drive us to the slopes and hang out in the lodges. At the very least, do it for the kids. The 8 year old in particular will be phenomenal if you can go a few times in the season. The teen too will love it. Kids are fearless and they learn super fast. My suggestion is to do 1/2 day private lessons… separate for the kids…and then you two. They will learn MUCH faster compared to group lessons, and, they will progress much faster than you two adults. They’ll be at the top of the mountain on the second day. Also, you don’t need a big fancy ski mountain. Unless you’re going to make a full week of it, a local ski area a couple hours away will make a day or weekend trip more manageable. I also agree with renting equipment for the first year or two… and then if you decide you like it, buy the equipment then. The teen will be able to get a few years out the gear and hand it down. Do you have a friend who skis that can help you gear up with under layers, helmets, goggles, etc? That will help. Be prepared for some sticker shock on the first shopping trip its not an inexpensive sport.