Teaching Wife to ski

[MadMadWorld]

This. If you want your wife to like skiing, ski with her. Don't expect her to ski with you, on your terrain, or even your compromise terrain. It needs to be fun for her. So if you can't stand easy blues, you need to find a way that she can, such as lessons and friends that ski at her level. Nothing wrong with pushing a little. It just needs to be a little.

I think many skiers need lessons on how to make it fun to ski with less skilled spouses, just as much as the spouse needs lessons to improve.

This is very true. My wife knows that if she has a question I am happy to help. Otherwise I keep quiet and enjoy our time on the lift and terrain she is comfortable with. She knows the look I get when I see something I want to do and just tells me she'll meet me at the bottom. Every now and then she'll surprise me and push herself on terrain above her ability but it's always on her terms.

 

[deadheadskier]

This. If you want your wife to like skiing, ski with her. Don't expect her to ski with you, on your terrain, or even your compromise terrain. It needs to be fun for her. So if you can't stand easy blues, you need to find a way that she can, such as lessons and friends that ski at her level. Nothing wrong with pushing a little. It just needs to be a little.

I think many skiers need lessons on how to make it fun to ski with less skilled spouses, just as much as the spouse needs lessons to improve.

This will be true for me should my wife ever decide to pick up the sport. She doesn't have the "go fast / adrenaline" gene.

My long time off and on high school and college relationship ended on the slopes of Vail during a powder day. I had been in Colorado for a week and it hadn't snowed until we got a foot on the last night. I couldn't drag her out of the hotel until 10AM. It was near 11 when we got on the hill. It was my first time there, so I wanted to beeline it to the back bowls. We took 1 run and she wanted to go in for cocoa. I was patient and went in with her. We attempted two more runs together with both requiring a ten minute wait at the lift. She wanted to go in again. I said I'd see her at the end of the day. We were on the outs anyway, but that was the end of it. :lol:

I love my wife too much. I'm cool with her not skiing. :lol:

 

[bigbog]

$.01,
Enjoy all the stories read previous..and have read too many stories = have her go the PSIA route...

 

[dlague]

This. If you want your wife to like skiing, ski with her. Don't expect her to ski with you, on your terrain, or even your compromise terrain. It needs to be fun for her. So if you can't stand easy blues, you need to find a way that she can, such as lessons and friends that ski at her level. Nothing wrong with pushing a little. It just needs to be a little.

I think many skiers need lessons on how to make it fun to ski with less skilled spouses, just as much as the spouse needs lessons to improve.

I started that way with my wife - skiing with her! However, I had on distinct advantage - kids that were progressing fast. That fact alone lead her to push herself more. My wife was actually interested in improving though. The key has been to find something new that will challenge her but not get her frustrated. I do not require that she follow me everywhere, but I do recommend she try things that are out of her comfort zone. She has become a better skier for it.

On another note: I have a sister-in-law and a sister that will always be Beginner-Intermediates and another sister that will always be an Intermediate. They are just as happy as ever floating along on a green or blue trail. As a result, my wife always skis with the guys!

This is very true. My wife knows that if she has a question I am happy to help. Otherwise I keep quiet and enjoy our time on the lift and terrain she is comfortable with. She knows the look I get when I see something I want to do and just tells me she'll meet me at the bottom. Every now and then she'll surprise me and push herself on terrain above her ability but it's always on her terms.

Well stated and such is the case for me. My wife at this point will ski most any trail I take her on, but if is a bump trail she generally will opt out. She is open to pointers when she is asking as well but I cannot tell her out of the blue! Also if there are any AZ'ers around she generally says "Go take a few runs with them!"

 

[Cheese]

Find your wife a ski friend, kiss her goodbye and go ski with your ski friends for the day.

 

[MadMadWorld]

Find your wife a ski friend, kiss her goodbye and go ski with your ski friends for the day.

Hmm sounds like I might have found a few ski buddies for my wife!

 

[manhattanskier]

Thanks all for sharing your stories, great thread

 

[Puck it]

My wife just suggested that she take a private lessons to get her over her aniexty. She has skied since young but has not long many days in the last many years. I am for it if it gets her out there with me. I don't expect her to being doing the shit that I do.

 

[MadMadWorld]

My wife just suggested that she take a private lessons to get her over her aniexty. She has skied since young but has not long many days in the last many years. I am for it if it gets her out there with me. I don't expect her to being doing the shit that I do.

Let our wives do the second leg of the ski off. It can be a relay

 

[AmmergauerTele]

Where I just lived a bunch of the wives all skied. Most were intermediate skiers. They were all searching for the "one" magic thing that would make them better skiers. They were pretty much looking for a magic wand that they could wave and could fix one thing and everything would get better. My good buddy and I just kept saying - to get better at skiing --> go skiing. Good conditions, groomers, on-piste, off-piste, firm pack, powder, ice, all conditions, etc. They didn't really want to hear it - but they did all get better by going skiing.

I feel the OP's pain on this one. When my wife and I first got married we skied together. She was a upper beginner to lower intermediate. Doing lessons didn't really seem like something we were going to do (I grew up skiing my whole life). We skied together all the time. Sometimes taking different trails, but ending up at the bottom of the same lift, riding the lift up together, and most of the time skiing the same trails together. Now after skiing quite a bit and two boys 11 & 10 who can tear it up, she is quite good. She had a blast at Cannon before xmas. Took her via Taft to Mittersill and she did great. Nothing like 2,000 ft of ungroomed moguls to get the blood flowing. And that was her first day of the year and first time skiing since last January. Toward the end of the day as we were coming down she abruptly said, "I'm done" - and that was it for her - into the lodge. A great day but I wasn't going to push her for more runs, she was done. Boys and I did some more. Thing is, so psyched as skiing is something we all do as a family together and we love that aspect of it!

 

[mriceyman]

My wife is very timid and this weekend will be her first days out in 2 years(pregs last year) i would really love to get her a leason to build her confidence up. She has very good form but gets nervous going anything over 5 mph. I think our situation will get better once we have kids skiing and getting better than both of us. Well see how it goes this weekend and hopefully conditions arent to tough


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