rach 1 Posted May 26, 2006 Share Posted May 26, 2006 Hi Clair, welcome! You boarding or skiing? Link to post Share on other sites
Clair 0 Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 Hi rach Only tried skiing up until now I'd like to try snowboarding as well though. Link to post Share on other sites
metalgonzo 0 Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 I enjoyed every minute of my learning experience. My friend is a ski instructor and was very patient. At the end of a 2 week holiday I was a pretty decent beginner. The next season I progressed a lot with another week of lessons. All fun! Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 Must be great if you really enjoy learning. I wish I had more at school..... Link to post Share on other sites
SpaceAgeMonkey 0 Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 Tried some skiing again this season and while I had a few days I was glad to be back on the snowboard and think I'll stick with it. Seems more natural to me and I just enjoy it more. Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 Just want to say - I like your name and avatar, Space Age Monkey. Is that you? Link to post Share on other sites
snowdude 44 Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 Hi there WantToski, Well I too am a beginner, and except for one ski lesson have learned by myself, still crap at skiing, but never the less I can ski down the mountain, turn and stop with out crashing or falling now. One thing I find from a beginners point of view, is the ability to relax. I think this is one of the most important things, the experts out there correct me if I am wrong, but that is what I found. If you are tense, which most newbies are it's not easy to balance or turn, etc. I found that once I simply relaxed, it was so much easier, another problem for me was balance. I found by bending my legs slightly and moving my weight forward just a tad, made all the difference in the world, I was soon able to ski all the way down with out crashing. For me another part is fresh snow, as a beginner, hard ice packed snow is a definate no-no. If it has just dumped then maybe any part is ok, otherwise if like early this season the mountains where looking a little worse for where, I would tend to ski of line a little, where there is still a little deeper snow. I found this had a few advantages, 1. Tends to be a little slower, as more friction, ideal for newbies. 2. Easier to stop, due to the softness of the deeper snow, icy snow is still difficult for me to stop in. When you try to turn, just simply move your weight to one side, nice and smoothly and you will turn, imagine your on a motorbike, you lean your weight to go round a corner, you never try to steer or you will go straight. Ok this is just my advice as a beginner. There are many much better skiiers here than me, so if I got something wrong please correct me, but this is how I found was the best way to learn? At the end of the day, the main thing is to have fun, it's not how fast or how many jumps or turns you can do, it's if your enjoying yourself on the white stuff! Quote: Originally posted by WantToSki: good day to all... just an inquiry from a newbie... i had my first and second ski tour about two/three years ago... just a one-night stay, wherein we were there just for fun - nothing serious. then mid-january, i hit the slopes again; and i guess i fell in love with it! just this season, i have been to already 4 tours already. my question would be is how long does it usually take for one to become a good intermediate skier? i mean, doing long turns/short turns in intermediate slopes? how much practice is required (how many times per season)? what is required? private lessons? japanese badge tests? etc. what about off-season? thanks for any advice! Link to post Share on other sites
dale#1 1 Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 Totally. The best way to learn is to just be positive and have fun. Trying to nail technique and going to badge test route might just put you off forever. Link to post Share on other sites
YellowSnow 0 Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 How to improve Skiing/Snowboarding quickly. Well you have to be able to risk/fall and pick your self up and get on with it. All those children and beginners you see becoming intermediate in a day or two have all fallen and got right back up and sped away. I have brought quite a few beginners out of the slopes. All the cautious people who never fell, learned really slowly, but all those that pushed themselves and fell a few times could and would try any run on the hill. Its not impossible to learn slowly/carefully/with 100 lessons and never falling. But you will be doing it alone because others have overtaken you. Link to post Share on other sites
UncleNob'ed 0 Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Well, it has taken me about 10 seasons to still be a pretty rubbish skier. I don't take it too seriously and do enjoy it - just don't seem to make much progress and accept that. Link to post Share on other sites
WantToSki 0 Posted March 23, 2007 Author Share Posted March 23, 2007 Quote: Originally posted by dale#1: Totally. The best way to learn is to just be positive and have fun. Trying to nail technique and going to badge test route might just put you off forever. I hope not... Anyway, just to report, Ive gotten my "Grade 2 Badge/SAJ 2-Kyu" last January from the Furano Prince Hotel Ski School (former World Cup racer Kimura Kiminobu)... And now when I take group lessons in SAJ-affiliated schools, am placed in the "advanced" class (SAJ divides classes among 1. beginner, 2. novice, 3. intermediate, 4. advanced, and 5. expert) note: of course, SAJ standards may rank one lower compared to international standards (???) Quote: Originally posted by YellowSnow: How to improve Skiing/Snowboarding quickly. Well you have to be able to risk/fall and pick your self up and get on with it. All those children and beginners you see becoming intermediate in a day or two have all fallen and got right back up and sped away. I have brought quite a few beginners out of the slopes. All the cautious people who never fell, learned really slowly, but all those that pushed themselves and fell a few times could and would try any run on the hill. Its not impossible to learn slowly/carefully/with 100 lessons and never falling. But you will be doing it alone because others have overtaken you. Actually, that was how I really learned - I never minded when I fall, wipe out, tumble head first, have skis as well as myself stucked in the mud (yes, thats me when I skied Naeba during Golden Week of 2006!!!), etc. etc.... Hehehe... And yes, you are right - those who are afraid to fall are usually the slow learners. As a case study, Ive got a friend who has been skiing since 1996 and he always brags that he rarely falls AND THAT he even forgotten to stand up!!! Guess what? He still cant do smooth parallel turns, and is even TOO TOO WAY slow to get down the "Panorama Course" in Happo-One (I brought him and some other friends last February)...!?! And before that he does brag a lot that we shouldnt be skiing in "beginner/novice" areas, etc. etc. - so, I brought him to an "intermediate" area (above), and look what happens... Quote: Originally posted by scouser: Must be great if you really enjoy learning. I wish I had more at school..... Yes - I really enjoy learning...!!! And what Im trying to learn right now is to at least ski really good (form, balance, speed, control, etc.) over ice and slush (a LOT this year)... Quote: Originally posted by snowdude: For me another part is fresh snow, as a beginner, hard ice packed snow is a definate no-no. If it has just dumped then maybe any part is ok, otherwise if like early this season the mountains where looking a little worse for where, I would tend to ski of line a little, where there is still a little deeper snow. I guess I was lucky when I started - there were lots of snow last season... But, of course, there are still LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS about skiing to learn about - and I see this as endless pursuit... Link to post Share on other sites
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