Your First Ski Lesson

No matter who you are, or where you learn, everybody has to begin somewhere. Be it at a Verbier ski school, or ski lessons in Meribel, the basics are the basics and everybody has got to learn them prior to them taking to the slopes. Here is a quick guide to tell you what to expect in your first training lesson (it isn't a replacement for your first lesson) which should always be completed by a certified ski instructor. Taking private ski lessons (or even a group ski lesson) is the best approach to ensure you get the most out of your skiing experience.

First off, you will be taught how to move and stand on your skis. Actually that isn't theoretically true, because firstly you must learn how to put on your skis. It may sound silly, but an amazing amount of beginner skiers have fallen victim to facing down hill whilst stepping into their skis. Always have your skis facing across a ski slope as opposed to down it, in order to avoid sliding off on one ski when you have put it on. Additionally, you will need to understand how exactly to put your hands properly through the wrist strap on the poles. Again, although it might seem obvious, you can be hurt if your not trained the right way (similar to learning to hold the reigns correctly when being trained to ride a horse) as one of the most typical complaints amongst new skiers is the horrible "skier's thumb".

Moving off on your skis is a perfectly logical process; you turn your feet in either direction and the skis will turn together with them. This doesn't alter once you start to accumulate speed. You turn your feet to the left and your skis point to the left, then (inevitably) you go left (that is unless you fall over). The probability of you falling over are significantly increased if your not taught how to stand appropriately whilst skiing. Luckily, you will usually be taught how to stand up ahead of being shown how to to start moving on the slope.Standing is fairly straightforward, although staying standing is where it starts to get tricky, that's why you have to be taught the proper posture.

Normally, novices are first told to plant their feet shoulder-width apart to give the strongest foundation of support, with your toes pointing inwards to create a / shape using your skis. This position is often referred to as the "snowplough", "wedge" or even "pizza". Though its efficiency is the topic of some controversy in skiing circles, it's still one of the most frequently trained practice to get new skiers moving on the ski slopes. The most important thing which you will be taught is how to fight your impulse to lean back, which is a pre-programmed response to steer clear of risks that will really place you in more danger while moving on skis. Weight distribution is a huge element of standing up, moving and eventually turning on skis, so a reliable instructor will be able to help you get this perfect.

Once you have perfected the fundamental skills, you might discover that you'll advance in ability fairly quickly. This does not necessarily indicate that you will be in a position to say good bye to ski lessons once and for all. It is a beneficial approach to have regular ski coaching periods during your skiing career and make them in to a common feature for all of your skiing excursions. Refresher training can help you ease back into skiing at the beginning of a skiing sesson, in which you are more likely to have taken a considerable break from the sport during the summer season. Before moving on to more complex activities, for instance off-piste skiing, it is essential to seek expert professional assistance and training so that you can stay safe on the ski slopes. Even the experienced professionals take frequent training lessons to keep their technique and progression on track.

If you feel that after your first lesson you would like some more in depth training, VIP ski lessons provide a great one-to-one or group training sessions and is also beneficial to anyone who would like a refresher when they haven't been skiing for a long period of time.

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