Beginners Guide To Going Skiing

Are you thinking about a skiing holiday for the first time? If you still need some convincing then read on as we suggest some great reasons why we think you should go.

Firstly, skiing is quite a unique sport, all ages, shapes and sizes (within reason) can do it. Also, as long as you have good tuition, it is perfectly feasible for you to be skiing down a slope at the end of a week.

Also, you get to spend time amidst breathtaking scenery, fresh air and amazing sunshine. If 'partying' is your bag you will love the 'après ski' (which is the name given to all the activities that go on off the slopes). Many of the bars and clubs in resort are amazing and if you are going with a crowd of friends you will undoubtedly have a great time.

Skiing is also great for a pure adrenaline rush as you speed across the snow. It’s also an amazing stress reliever! You will be so busy concentrating on what you are doing that you will switch off from all the worries that you have.

But finally, if you have children and are thinking of going skiing with them - just do it! You will have such fun and who knows, they may still want to holiday with you as teenagers!

The main ski season in the Northern Hemisphere (Europe and Scandinavia) runs from the end of November through to Easter depending on weather conditions. Generally speaking the best conditions for snow will be in the Jan - March window. Bear in mind the weather can also be very cold during this period - especially if you choose a resort that has only North facing slopes where you get no sun!

If this is your first foray into the snow, then try to avoid New Year and any school half term / end of term holidays. This is when prices go sky high. We also suggest that you avoid the last 2 weeks in February also as that's when European half term holidays happen, which means resorts can become very crowded.

Don't under-estimate late into the season, nearer Easter. If you do go this late, you will need to consider a resort/ski area that's classed as 'high altitude', above 1800m for the resort and up to 3,500m for the slopes, in order to be pretty much assured of good snow. But good snow is possible and in Saas-Fee the past few years there's been up to 1m of snow in early and mid April along with blue skies to follow.

Another often asked question by newbies. Which one should I choose?

In essence they have some things in common, like both involve travelling downhill and both will give you huge adrenaline rushes. But there are some profound differences which we will attempt to highlight briefly here so you don't get bored and switch off.

There's quite a steep learning curve for snowboarding that, depending on your core strength, balance and fitness, can be disheartening for a day or two. Once you find your balance moving down the slope becomes simpler and using your edges for turning and stopping also helps! Snowboarding is easier on your knees than skiing, but snowboarding *can* be brutal on your wrists. In snowboarding you have no poles so you will need to work hard on flats and when trying to stand sometimes. In terms of pure speed the science proves that skiing is faster than snowboarding.

If you a complete novice on snow, we think it's best to try both on taster sessions (usually held on the Sunday by ski schools) and see which one you get on better with. Seriously, this could actually be the best way to do it. Not all people take to skiing or vice versa for snowboarding, but a taster sessions might help you decided which one you feel best about and therefore want to learn.

In the end you will probably want to join the ever-growing numbers who learn how to do both!

How long is a piece of string? This is such a difficult question to answer without knowing who you are, number of people going and roughly what your budget is! Answering it depends on so many different factors. But let’s give it a go and try and explain where the costs will come from and therefore a rough idea.

If you go for a package deal, which we think is a great idea as a newbie, then a really cheap budget skiing holiday could cost as little as £300 per person (excluding drinks and going out money). What you would get for this is basic accommodation; bus transfers to and from the airport; lift pass for the week if you look for that to be included; and to stay in a resort in Bulgaria, Slovakia or maybe even Andorra.

For about £600 pp you could book a reasonable quality package holiday with transfers, lift passes and maybe even an hour of lessons a day.

If you're willing to pay more than £500 pp/pw then you can also put into the equation "independent" holidays where you book and arrange everything yourself. Bear in mind you need to think about flights, transfers, accommodation, food, lift passes and then lessons and après-ski on top, but it is possible in Eastern Europe and some cheaper European resorts.

Finally, anything £750 pp upwards (excluding lift pass and après-ski) and you start to get into the realm of good hotels, catered chalets and even private transfers.

All estimations are based on one week skiing for at least two people going together. As said though, these really are very very rough costs and you may want to do your own research either on GoSKi.co.uk or elsewhere to get a better idea of the costs for you.

This links nicely in to the question above.

If you opt for a package holiday then many of the 'getting to' and 'being in' resort costs are included (excluding après-ski, ski equipment and maybe ski lessons), but if you want to go it alone and book everything independently then you need to factor in :

• Flights
• Transfers to and from resort
• Accommodation
• Food
• Ski Equipment
• Ski Lift Passes
• On Slope Drinks
• Ski Tuition

It seems like a lot, so if you're a newbie, why not check out our comprehensive checklist to ensure you know exactly what you need to sort out before you leave.

We've talked about package holidays or being independent above, but unlike sun holidays, as a newbie there are some big advantages of package deals for skiing.

If you are a complete novice our advice would be to book a package deal rather than organising it all yourself. The beauty of this is that the tour operator will organise your flights, accommodation, transfers, lift passes, ski equipment and even your ski lessons (although you may have to pay extra for this).

As a first timer, this checklist of 'things to do' can be a bit confusing so having it all done for you can be really helpful. It also means that all you need do is get to the airport and buy suitable winter sports insurance!

As a novice we would suggest you look for resorts that have good nursery slopes, ski schools that have English speaking instructors and finally you need a resort with slopes that you can progress to e.g. easy blues.

Check out what we believe are the best resorts for beginners.

When you finally decide this is the holiday for you, you have chosen which type of holiday whether that's organised for you or do it all yourself, then the final step is a checklist to make sure you think of everything! You'd be surprised how easy it is to forget something along the way and it's an expensive mistake if you need to buy things in resort.

Package Ski Holiday Checklist

If you decide to go on a package holiday the key decisions you now need to make is what your budget is and what country and resort you want to visit.

Independent Holiday Checklist

If you do want to organise the whole holiday yourself then on top of these decisions you will need to organise flights, accommodation, ski transfers, lift passes, book ski schools and book equipment hire including skis, boots, helmets and poles. One big piece of advice is not to forget to organise winter sports ski insurance.