I got to experience skiing for the first time. I’m going to tell you all the good, the bad and the ugly of my experience skiing in North Carolina. Hopefully, you all can learn from my rookie mistakes.
First of all, let me cover where we stayed. We stayed at Country Inn and Suites in Boone, NC. If you like the hotel experience and being close to a small downtown this would be a great place for you to stay. But just a heads up about the downtown experience, Boone is a VERY small town. When my husband and I went to explore downtown Boone on a Friday night, everything was shut down by 10 pm with the exception of a small handful of bars.
If you are looking for a more authentic mountain experience, I suggest looking into some local cabin rentals. Or even look into Airbnb. Some of our friends stayed one night at the hotel and quickly realized it wasn’t for them. They were able to find a really awesome Airbnb space for the rest of the weekend.
Tip #1
Now for the skiing. The first tip I have for planning your first skiing trip is to try to plan your trip around the weather. The more spontaneous you can be with your ski trip the better. Watch for a fresh snow and cooler weather (below 40 degrees). We planned our trip around a 3 day weekend when we were all available. This 3 day weekend came with 50-degree weather on the slopes. Let me tell you, I was NOT expecting to be drenched (and I mean DRENCHED) in sweat while skiing. Being hot while skiing was super, super frustrating.
Tip #2
Tip #2 for skiing for beginners is to know what gear to bring. For clothing, bring layers and be ready to shed some layers, especially if you go on a warmer day. Believe it or not, you will get hot, you are going to be carrying around heavy gear and walking up and down the hills, and falling up and down the hills. I personally wore sweat resistant leggings, snow pants, a sports bra, long sleeve tech shirt, sweater, water-proof winter coat, gloves and a hat. By the end of the day, I was down to just my leggings, snow pants, sports bra and tech shirt. I was so hot I would have taken off my tech shirt had it not been inappropriate, that’s why sometimes I prefer to do sports inside like boxing, since I found this Nice Information on this Website about Boxing so I got interested on it.
Tip #3
Know what gear you want to buy and what gear you want to rent. The basic rule I heard from experienced skiers over the weekend was that you want to wait to buy skis until you’ve been doing it a while. If you are going to buy something a helmet is a good thing to start with. Helmet rentals are generally around $10 (at least at the places I’ve been). You can find a pretty good deal on some helmets on Amazon. You can normally get away with just renting your ski boots, poles, and skis. And remember, the fewer items you have to rent, the less you’ll have to stand in line waiting for gear.
Tip #4
Skiing is no time to be a lady. When my husband first told me how to stop, he told me to do “pizza” by throwing my legs apart and crossing the front of my skis. The biggest mistake I kept making over and over again was putting my knees together when I tried to stop by doing “pizza”. Skiing is no time to be a lady. Throw your legs apart if you want to stop. Otherwise, you will fall over and over again like I did.
Tip #5
Just keep trying and take frequent breaks. Skiing for the first time (unless you are a natural) is going to be frustrating and hard. Just keep practicing and take a break when you get tired. It is pretty exhausting lugging heavy boots and skis around so don’t get discouraged if you get tired pretty quick. It’s just part of the process.
Most importantly have fun!! Enjoy the slopes and laugh at yourself when you fall. Believe me, you won’t be the only one out there falling and awkwardly trying to figure out how to get up. Just have fun with it.
That would be me, a complete rookie, so these tips are great. I have 2 kids (7 and 8) and we have never ski’d. Maybe one day, but i tend to book sun holidays because we don’t get a lot of sun in the UK.
These tips are great. My brother has run a ski lodge in Bavaria for over 30 years and yet I have never taken the plunge and given it a go myself yet. I will definitely take on board your advice, thank you
As a long time skiier these are great!
That is extremely helpfull for me as I never went skiing before. Thank you so much for sharing your experience ❤
I love this post and your honesty.
Once I’m walking again (I’m in a wheelchair currently), I definitely want to try skiing. It’s one of the things on my bucket list and I will definitely be returning to this list for a couple of your tips.
Thanks for sharing this very useful information online. I really gained a lot from this article. I have to say I tip #4 was very good.
Excellent tips and explanation. I need to share your post with my friend!
My husband and I just said we wanted to ski with our kids- but we are rookies!! Love this!
Not really a fan of these sports but thanks for sharing these cool tips.
Great post! I have been skiing since I was 9. I switched to snowboarding but I love both!
I would definitely ski over snowboarding so this made me feel even more comfortable about it! I’m going to Liberty Heights, PA in February! Can’t wait!
Skiing is so hard! It’s been so many years since I’ve tried and the first/only time I went I broke my wrist because the pizza skis is hard for me. I’d love to try again with my kids they would probably love it.
Ohhh skiing looks so fun. I went to Lake Tahoe recently and was hoping that it would snow just so I could try it out. But next time and I’ll definitely keep these tips in mind.
Amazing! We did Skiing in Colorado and it was a memorable experience.
Would love to try skiing… I wonder if I’ll ever get the chance. I think I would be worse before I can even begin to ski. haha. Thank you for this post.
Thank you so much for these tips. I would love to try skiing sometime.
It’s nice to read your post since I’ve necer been skiing before. I keep thinking about it though…I’m sure I’ll fall on my face more times than I could count. :p
Good tips here, I love skii and when I can, I escape in a weekend outdoor.
Great tips….. I never thought it would be warm…. Rookie that i am i guess….. Looking forward to try it too…. I can tell you’re having a good time….
Thanks for the ski tips for rookies. Takes me back to my first ski trip in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.
These are great tips for me, as I’m a beginner. Will try them out on the mountains in the Dolomiti, thank you!
I can only enjoy watching skiing on tv coz i haven’t tried it. Maybe soon when i visited Japan! Thanks for your tips!
I have only been skiing a couple of times so definitely still a rookie, these were really helpful!
Great tips. I have no experience of skiing but the way yoy have shared your experience, I think I should give it a try
What great start-up tips for beginner skiers! I am still a beginner, so I might need these tips!