So how did you start?

[John84]

I'm curious to know how everyone on here learned to to ski or ride. Personally, I taught myself about 5 years ago and that was all the instruction I ever received. So, who taught you?

 

[awf170]

I got a privite lesson at the balsams for my 6th birthday

 

[rjc1976]

I learned to ski (taking group lessons) at a small feeder resort in NJ (Campgaw). I used to go there after school during the winters starting back in 4th grade or so...long time ago! 2 seasons ago, I learned to snowboard (group lesson) at Blue Mountain in PA. My girlfriend at the time did not know how to ski or snowboard, and as part of a deal to get her on the slopes, I told her that I'd take snowboarding lessons with her.

Here I am now, still skiing and snowboarding and loving it. Every year, I try and get new people into it...seems that the beginner skiers seems to stick with it better than the people that I get on the snowboard for some reason.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

I started at 6 when my Dad and uncle became ski instructors at Hunter Mt. (part-time). We kids had to take a lesson every Sat. and Sun. morning before they’d give us our passes. I have great memories for those years.

 

[thetrailboss]

My school's learn to ski program at Burke. I was 9 years old and stubborn as hell. Took me an hour to put the boots and skis on...spent the rest of the first day climbing up the hill and skiing down. Took me a whole afternoon to learn to ride the J-bar! :lol:

So three years of lessons or so...then I went into auto-didactic mode for the rest of it...I read mags, watched videos, and skied and watched some great skiers at Burke and other places.

First lessons since then were at Sunday River last season during our vaca...lots of fun and very helpful.

 

[Terry]

My wife tricked me into going one night and tried to teach me the snow plow on the bunnyslope, but I couldn't do it. So I just started playing around going parallel and figured it out for myself. I have never had a lesson, but spent a lot of time watching great skiers, and trying to imitate them.
:beer:

 

[Treeliner]

Several years back a couple buddies of mine taught me; they gave me some technique and basically had me try and keep up with them. Somewhere between then and now I became hopelessly addicted :roll:

My parents didn't ski, so I was introduced only to snowboarding, and have never skied. I may get on a pair of 'em this winter if the oppurtunity arises, just for fun.

 

[teachski]

On my 5th birthday, my neighbor who was a ski instructor at the local rope tow area kidnapped me and took me down to learn. I had my sisters old stuff. All the other kids in the family already skied. That was the only lesson I had until I was in College and signed up for PE credits (but I skied from that time right through now, so I have skied close to 40 years.)

 

[RISkier]

My wife had skied a tiny bit when she was in college. After we move to RI she kept suggesting we go learn to ski -- to which I simply said I was too dang old. She quit suggesting and help a gun to my head as I drove to Gunstock. They had this screaming 3-day package of lessons, rentals, and lift tickets for $109. We loved it. Fractured my knee slightly during the early in my 2nd year (goofy injury, really) and I really struggled to regain confidence, but we're really looking forward to another year.

 

[bigbog]

.....

Early-Mid 80's...
Reading Skiing magazine's tech tips, visualizing the movements...what physical signals to look for...etc...and watching the Alpine Ski School that was showing on PBS(while living in Brighton, MA). It was great because both WGBH and NH's PBS station were both showing the series roughly at the same time(Fall 83'/84'?)...so you'd get to watch it a second time...then I'd take off for Wachusett 6pm-10 for $8.00! Hardly anyone there....

 

[riverc0il]

my dad got me onto skis at ski bradford when i was like 3 or 4. one of my earliest memories is riding the chairlift. we took several family trips to gunstock where i received lessons and learned how to turn a pair of skis, or at least attempt to. middle school 5-8 grades had me enrolled in the school's ski club doing trips to ski bradford once a week including a lesson. so i guess that got me started, wasn't until later when i got into racing that i really had much of a clue despite all those lessons.

 

[Greg]

Started at age 20 in college. My roommate (who's still a skiing buddy) was always trying to get me to try it. One snowy morning, I woke up and said, "let's go skiing today". He jumped at the chance and we headed off to Mount Southington.

He sent me down one of the black diamonds there. I recall falling immediately at the top, but then made it down the rest of the way. At the bottom I looked back up and could hardly believe I skied that. One more visit to Southington that spring, and bought brand new skis that summer. I started AZ at the start of my fifth ski season and the rest is history.

 

[salida]

age 2 at arapahoe basin

moved to new hampshire and continued to the learning at pats peak....

 

[awf170]

hey salida when are those Katahdin pics from?

 

[salida]

june 3rd i believe...

 

[Zand]

Started in 2000 with a trip to Pine Ridge and a private lesson. In 2001, I took a trip to Ski Ward in early February which was almost disasterous, but I got the hang of it (didn't take a lesson that day). On first run, I couldn't stop and a snowbank and fence were the only things to keep me out of the parking lot.

In February, 2001, I went to Wachusett. I was stuck there in 2002, but I got north a couple times in 2003. Now, I ski Wachsett 20+ times a year and go north 5+ times.

 

[hammer]

I went on a few trips while in college but didn't take any lessons.

I started up again in 2003 ( at the ripe old age of 38 ) to get out during the wintertime, first doing a few XC trips and then went for a downhill beginners lesson at Pats Peak. The rentals were still straight skis at the time.

I really caught the bug when my son started doing afterschool lessons at Nashoba the following year.

 

[bvibert]

My first time was at a local sledding hill on my Mom's old skis. I promptly fell the first time and apparently scared my parents since they wouldn't let me go again and made me wait to take lessons. My first trip to a ski area was in the after school program at Ski Sundown in the fourth grade. I did the after school thing until sometime high school with a few trips to other mountains in the mix. For numerous reasons I didn't ski for a few years until I started up again in my mid-twenties.

 

[dmc]

1976 - Boston Mills Ski area - Ohio...

Loved it... Parents couldn't afford to send me much... Only skied a few times there..
But I did have Xcountry skis and would dissapear for hours at a time into the woods..

 

[kickstand]

late January 1996. Had just graduated college about 6 months prior. My uncles had been busting my balls about going with them. Now that I had the money and time, I figured I'd give it a try. One lesson at Wachusett and I was hooked. I went with them for a week-long trip to Sunday River about 6 weeks later.