By: Dallin Rahlf

Welcome back, my friends, to another blog that gives you all the tips you’ll need to become an expert skier, or, at least, have a good time on the mountain during your beginner moments. Skiing is an awesome sport that can be enjoyed by everyone. 

What’s that, you say? “You were raised in the desert and haven’t yet seen snow?” Yup, skiing is for you. 

What’s that? “You hate the snow and wish it would melt away forever and ever?” What better way to defeat your enemy, the snow, by putting on some broad weapons on your feet and pushing it down into the earth? 

What’s that? “I had a terrible first experience and I’ll never go back to ski! Never!” I understand that first impressions are important, but if you’ve got the desire to enjoy skiing despite a bad experience, know that following my tips on this blog and my former blog will truly help you not only enjoy skiing but become a better skier. 

Things take time. If skiing is something you could enjoy yourself, your friends, or your family, then you should totally do it. It’s a great way to explore the world and get out of the house. It’s also great for learning to love the winter season. I have friends who HATE the snow in their neighborhood and hate the snow on the way to work, but they love skiing. It is possible, and it’s totally worth experiencing. 

1. The chair lift is not as scary as it looks. Nothing can look more intimidating in this world than slowly making your way towards the lift that’ll take you to your end destination. For a second, it looks like those chairs are moving at 50 mph! Alas, they are not. Be not afraid of our lift friends that secure us and bring us safely to the top; they are our friends. More than likely, you’ll be able standing in line, and you’ll get to watch how others do it. Once it’s your turn, you’ll step up to a red line as the group in front of you goes. Once they get on the chair, get ready to start scooching up to where the lift operator is standing. If you’re super duper nervous, give them a heads up that you’re new, and they can slow the lift down for you. Stand at that point and let the chair do the work. Have your knees slightly bent, and once they chair hits your legs, simply sit down. That’s it! Once you’re in the chair, sit back and relax. It may seem daunting to be in a chair high up in the air, but no need to beware, your friends are there… for you. Getting off the chair is simple as well: the chair will slow down once you get to the drop off. Lean forward to land on your skis and the downhill will naturally glide you down. Be warned: it will be clunky the first couple times you do it. It’s all part of the process, and you can laugh it off pretty easily! 

2. Learning to slow down and to stop completely. French fries, pizza! French fries, pizza! This line from a skiing episode of South Park illustrates what the instructor teaches the kids to do during their first day of skiing. In theory, he is totally correct! Much of your skiing momentum can be controlled in the way you position your skis down the mountain. If you have them side by side (like French fries), you’ll go fast. If you have them like pizza (tips pointing towards each other), you’ll slow down. This will essentially be your life for the first couple times you go skiing. As you learn the basics of turning, speeding up, slowing down, this will be your bread and butter and will keep you safe on the mountain. Stretch those hip flexors, thighs and booty muscles before your ski trip, cause they will be sore! 

3. Keep your head up. Skiing with your head down is an awesome way to plow into someone or run into a tree, if that’s your goal for the day. If you want to avoid those things, you’ve got to keep your head up. You don’t need to be staring at the scary, or looking so far up that you can’t see the ground at all, but you’ve got to have an angle where you can see ahead of you. The snow is not going to change much, so you don’t need to worry about tripping over anything. If you keep your head up, you’ll be able to see the skiers in front of you, and in skiing and snowboarding, the person in front of you has the right of way. 

4. Pack snacks (and maybe a lunch). Skiing is a long day that burns calories like crazy. You’re essentially doing a 1/4 squat for hours and hours on end. You’d be surprised how tired you can get, and with that, how hungry you can get. Ski jacket pockets and snow pants pockets are massive and deep, so feel free to throw in some of your favorite granola bars, trail mix, beef jerky, and all other healthy snacks to keep you fueled and happy. It may not be a bad idea to pack a lunch and leave it in the car. Ski resorts are a hit or miss with their cafes. Some are awesome and expensive. Some are crappy and expensive. 

5. Have fun and let loose. The entire point of skiing is to have fun. If you are doing anything less than that, then what exactly is the point of going? It’s hard to have fun when you’re constantly stressed about what you’re doing. Allow yourself to make mistakes. Let me help you out: you’re going to fall down. You’re going to get more speed than you’d like sometimes. You’re going to feel awkward and clunky until you don’t. All of this is part of the fun! They say you haven’t had a good ski day if you haven’t wiped out and embarrassed yourself. 

Have a great time with your skiing this year!