How we took a beginner skier from Greens to Blacks
Last week I had the pleasure of being on my lad’s ski trip out in Mayrhofen. For the first time ever, we had a complete beginner skier amongst our ranks. We managed to get him skiing almost every piste in the resort, so I thought I would share our strategy to get him to this point.
Strategy before the holiday
Our beginner skier friend was already in good physical shape, being an avid runner we knew he could handle the beating his body was about to take. However, if you think you could benefit from some extra fitness on the slopes you can find a great training plan here.
Lessons in the UK
The UK has a host of indoor ski slopes where you can find your feet. We convinced our friend to take 2 2-hour lessons at Chill Factore. Their curriculum allowed him to graduate from the baby slope to halfway up the big slope in no time at all.
Day 1
After taking him to a rental shop to get kitted out it was time to hit the slopes. This next bit probably saved his holiday and I can’t stress enough how important it is to get this right. We took him to the beginner skier area and after about 5 minutes his feet were aching. Whilst he wanted to battle through, we managed to convince him to go change his boots. This honestly was a lifesaver!
With his new boots on his feet, he now had to face the most daunting part… SKIING. As we were in Mayrhofen, we had the luxury of having one of our best friends doubling as a full-time instructor there. We tasked him with taking a beginner skier to the level of being comfortable on one blue run that we could ski with him all morning if he needed.
And he didn’t disappoint. If you’re a beginner skier in Mayrhofen, look for Blue 28. It will be your best friend.
Yes, I know having an instructor friend is cheating a little bit but honestly a 2 hour private lesson will do the same thing. I’ll even direct you to the school my friend works for (not sponsored just impressed btw)
Day 2-3
Technique Technique Technique. I gave him so basic drills to graduate from snowplow to his first parallel turns but at this point we’d had 30cm of fresh snow and it was time for me to leave our beginner skier and find some fresh tracks.
His confidence and technique was growing so we knew it was only a matter of time until he’d be able to tackle the bulk of the Mayrhofen resort.
Day 4
The big daddy of Ski days. With a fresh dusting of snow and bluebird skies, it was time for a big test for our novice.
A trip to Rastkogel and Eggalm was on the cards. Through careful planning, we picked our route. Down Blue 29 over to the 150er cable car and up over the other side of the mountain. This route had mandatory reds but we’d prepped him with shorter reds on day 3. With someone skiing in front of him showing an easy line to follow he got down. This was by far the best day of skiing. We got him back down Route 66 which gets icy and chopped up as it’s the only connecting run back down to the Penken.
Day 5-6
He skied like a champ. Parallel turns are no problem. Got him down every slope but the famous Harakiri. All with a big smile underneath his frozen snood.
Takeaways
When teaching a beginner, I actually think confidence over technique is the way to go. It massively helped that he picked things up so quickly due to his physical fitness and can do attitude. Also, have an escape plan if things are tricky whilst making sure you don’t push someone too far and break them.
I’ll update after his next lesson at the Chill Factore where he is hoping to achieve upper and lower body separation in his turns.
