The OP sounds like they have plateaued at a common place - comfy on greens but unable to mange speed on blues. There are some key technique issues that must be mastered and the OP will have a big break through. Really adding on to bdfreetuna's comment that getting a good instructor to help with this and one good day can lead to a big break through.
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General Ski Question from a Newbie
- Thread starter uncleezno
- Start date
I took a handful of large group lessons, at Wachusett Mt in MA, that ranged from so-so to not so helpful. I found a good package deal for lesson, rental and ticket to take my brother to Gunstock for his second lesson ever and we really lucked out. They only had a beginner/first time group and then everyone else, which sounded bad, but it was just the two of us! We had a great instructor, Steve, that taught us at our separate levels and he was really nice. Instead of the usual 30-40 minute lesson he ended up teaching us for an hour and a half because he didn't have any more classes that day. I learned more in this lesson than I would have taking 3-4 more group lessons. The one on one attention makes a big difference. Good luck!
jaywbigred
Active member
This is good advice:
With a resident's schedule, it is going to take longer. That is the way it is. Everyone has good points about reps, weekly trips, smaller hills and such, but you won't be able to swing that if my 3 skiing-doctor friends (1 lifelong skier, 2 newbies just like you) were any indicator. 2 seasons would be a minimum, but I would still do it, and I think lesson upon lesson is the only way to maximize your return. If you give it up now, assuming your wife still continues to ski, you may end of regretting it, and you will probably wind up trying to learn later if/when you have kids, aka when you are in your 40s and earning a good salary, and at that point it will only be that much harder/harder on your body to learn. Better in your late 20s, early 30s.
And correctly fitted boots are a key.
I would echo others that have suggested Mount Snow (or other mountains) that have an Expert trail pod for her but plenty of beginner/int terrain for you.
I also echo those who say that your knees should not be an issue, with an important caveat: learn how to fall! Sounds weird, I know, but have an instructor show you. Usually they receive training in this, and the biggest factor in knee injuries in skiing is people trying to use their knees to stay up-right too long/too late rather than just going down.
Plus, you may find that a little extra steepness makes turning/stopping easier, especially for an adult. I think this has to do with the coefficient of friction and the assist you get from gravity on a slightly steeper trail.
With a resident's schedule, it is going to take longer. That is the way it is. Everyone has good points about reps, weekly trips, smaller hills and such, but you won't be able to swing that if my 3 skiing-doctor friends (1 lifelong skier, 2 newbies just like you) were any indicator. 2 seasons would be a minimum, but I would still do it, and I think lesson upon lesson is the only way to maximize your return. If you give it up now, assuming your wife still continues to ski, you may end of regretting it, and you will probably wind up trying to learn later if/when you have kids, aka when you are in your 40s and earning a good salary, and at that point it will only be that much harder/harder on your body to learn. Better in your late 20s, early 30s.
And correctly fitted boots are a key.
As other have stated, you should avoid concentrating on the colors/shapes of the trails you are skiing and focus more on your progress. Being able to steer and stop are key to this.
Haha, an important question.
I would echo others that have suggested Mount Snow (or other mountains) that have an Expert trail pod for her but plenty of beginner/int terrain for you.
I also echo those who say that your knees should not be an issue, with an important caveat: learn how to fall! Sounds weird, I know, but have an instructor show you. Usually they receive training in this, and the biggest factor in knee injuries in skiing is people trying to use their knees to stay up-right too long/too late rather than just going down.
Krikaya
Member
I found these youtube ski school videos to be very helpful after some poor experiences with live instructors.
http://www.youtube.com/user/elatemedia/videos
Darren Turner, a Brit who teaches in France has simplified each step of the learning process. You just practice each step until you feel comfortable, then move on to the next. I've improved a lot in just the past year. And don't forget skiing is not work. It's all about enjoyment. If you have the right attitude, you'll improve naturally.
http://www.youtube.com/user/elatemedia/videos
Darren Turner, a Brit who teaches in France has simplified each step of the learning process. You just practice each step until you feel comfortable, then move on to the next. I've improved a lot in just the past year. And don't forget skiing is not work. It's all about enjoyment. If you have the right attitude, you'll improve naturally.
RISkier
Active member
As others have said, no specific time table. I first put skis on just prior to my 49th birthday. My goal was just to be able to ski groomed blues and enjoy being out on the mountain. I struggled but lessons and mileage are the difference makers. You mostly need to improve skills on terrain on which you are comfortable, and then spend a little time on terrain you find a bit challenging. Not way over your head cause you'll learn nothing there. It won't take too long before runs you found challenging become you're new comfort zone. I still suck in lots conditions, icy bump give me the shakes. But blue groomers are no longer even a thought. Skied some knee deep today, not well but really had fun. BTW, we kind of lucked into very good instruction and have taken advantage of it. Don't give up, and most importantly enjoy the trip.
I know it's been a while since I started this thread, but I wanted to post with an update. We were planning on two days at Stowe, but the second day was ridiculously windy and it was subzero at the base, so we ditched. They were nice about it though, and gave us a credit to use later this season. Wife and I ended up doing the next afternoon at Bolton Valley. I took a lesson on each of the two days, a group one at Stowe and a private one at Bolton.
Both were helpful, but the private lesson was really, really good. The guy was happy enough with my first green run that he brought me to a blue. Jesus, did that thing look steep! But I did it slowly, and managed to get down just fine. Later on I tried to impress my wife by taking her down the blue, and naturally I faceplanted halfway down, but it was still fun. I think the two plus feet of fresh snow also made it more enjoyable.
Both days were a lot of fun, and I am glad I stuck with it. We haven't found time to ski since then, but we've got plans to go back to Stowe in March, I'm going with my boarder brother to Mt. Snow in a few weeks, and I will be skiing for a day at the Canyons in Utah next week while I'm there for a work conference. Just wanted to give a hearty 'thank you!' to all of you on here who were encouraging, friendly, and helpful!
Both were helpful, but the private lesson was really, really good. The guy was happy enough with my first green run that he brought me to a blue. Jesus, did that thing look steep! But I did it slowly, and managed to get down just fine. Later on I tried to impress my wife by taking her down the blue, and naturally I faceplanted halfway down, but it was still fun. I think the two plus feet of fresh snow also made it more enjoyable.
Both days were a lot of fun, and I am glad I stuck with it. We haven't found time to ski since then, but we've got plans to go back to Stowe in March, I'm going with my boarder brother to Mt. Snow in a few weeks, and I will be skiing for a day at the Canyons in Utah next week while I'm there for a work conference. Just wanted to give a hearty 'thank you!' to all of you on here who were encouraging, friendly, and helpful!
St. Bear
New member
Excellent, glad you had a good time. Welcome to the world of snow sliding.
CAUTION: May become addictive!
snowmonster
New member
It is addictive.
Have fun at Canyons. Have a drink at the umbrella bar to reward yourself!
My first day on skis ever was on Feb. 5, 2005. I was in my mid-thirties then. Thanks to this forum, I was encouraged to progress through the sport. I took a grand total of four group lessons but bought some how-to-ski books. I had no car then and took the ski bus every Saturday to whatever mountain they were going to. I worked on the drills in the books over and over again. Reading and doing allowed me to analyze my movements and then execute -- which is something I'm wired to do because of my work. Repetition, challenging myself to do better and sheer determination made me a better skier. I'm glad to say that I have progressed way beyond that tentative snowplow eight years ago.
May you enjoy the same experience I had and may all your turns be powder-filled.
Have fun at Canyons. Have a drink at the umbrella bar to reward yourself!
My first day on skis ever was on Feb. 5, 2005. I was in my mid-thirties then. Thanks to this forum, I was encouraged to progress through the sport. I took a grand total of four group lessons but bought some how-to-ski books. I had no car then and took the ski bus every Saturday to whatever mountain they were going to. I worked on the drills in the books over and over again. Reading and doing allowed me to analyze my movements and then execute -- which is something I'm wired to do because of my work. Repetition, challenging myself to do better and sheer determination made me a better skier. I'm glad to say that I have progressed way beyond that tentative snowplow eight years ago.
May you enjoy the same experience I had and may all your turns be powder-filled.
Glad to hear you had a great time! Stick around here, we have a lot of friendly folks to give you tips and advice as you progress. I can't promise it will always be the correct advice :lol: but you will have some friends for the ride.
legalskier
New member
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You asked this weeks ago but I just noticed it, so just in case you still need advice for controlling your speed I can offer some simple advice: finish each turn completely. In other words, at the end of each turn keep turning so you're actually pointing a bit back up the hill. Gravity will slow you down to set up your next turn. Works like a charm.
Good luck & have fun!
OK, another month has gone by, and I did my day at Canyons and two more consecutive days at Stowe (that I didn't have to pay for 
). Canyons was fun, did another group lesson and then puttered around with some friends from the conference that brought me to Salt Lake in the first place.
At Stowe, it was a family affair, and my brother-in-law brought his girlfriend who had never skied before. She's really short (5'1) and does yoga every day, so she has a really good sense of balance. After one group lesson, she was more or less at the same skill level as myself, which, after 7 days and more than 7 lessons, was a bit of a downer. We did the same trails together on the second day along with my father-in-law, who used to race but now takes it easy on his knees.
I was quite comfortable going faster than them, but as I spent run after run with the two of them, I noticed that both of them were able to very quickly turn their skis to control their speed and make tight turns. I tried slowing down and skiing behind them to give myself the chance to try some tighter turns. As I paid attention to trying to control my turns more, I noticed that my knee that I had surgery on just doesn't want to work like the other one. I don't have any knee pain, but I can't seem to figure out how force my right ski to turn as quickly as I can turn the left one in the other direction. I don't know if I have any ski days left this season (maybe Mt. Snow this Sunday), but do you guys have any thoughts?
EDIT: It's not equipment - I bought myself a pair of boots at an end-of-season sale and had custom insoles put in. Things feel amazing, and the new girl was in 100% rentals. I like her, but it was rough to see her take to the sport so quickly!
). Canyons was fun, did another group lesson and then puttered around with some friends from the conference that brought me to Salt Lake in the first place. At Stowe, it was a family affair, and my brother-in-law brought his girlfriend who had never skied before. She's really short (5'1) and does yoga every day, so she has a really good sense of balance. After one group lesson, she was more or less at the same skill level as myself, which, after 7 days and more than 7 lessons, was a bit of a downer. We did the same trails together on the second day along with my father-in-law, who used to race but now takes it easy on his knees.
I was quite comfortable going faster than them, but as I spent run after run with the two of them, I noticed that both of them were able to very quickly turn their skis to control their speed and make tight turns. I tried slowing down and skiing behind them to give myself the chance to try some tighter turns. As I paid attention to trying to control my turns more, I noticed that my knee that I had surgery on just doesn't want to work like the other one. I don't have any knee pain, but I can't seem to figure out how force my right ski to turn as quickly as I can turn the left one in the other direction. I don't know if I have any ski days left this season (maybe Mt. Snow this Sunday), but do you guys have any thoughts?
EDIT: It's not equipment - I bought myself a pair of boots at an end-of-season sale and had custom insoles put in. Things feel amazing, and the new girl was in 100% rentals. I like her, but it was rough to see her take to the sport so quickly!
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