Winter sports are not nearly as dangerous as many people think. On the contrary, with the right instruction, skiing is a sport anyone from 7 to 70 can easily enjoy. Children can start skiing at 4–5, and it is a sport you can keep doing for the rest of your life. Just think about it: how can a sport that even a 4-year-old can do be dangerous or difficult?
Why do accidents happen?
The reason behind accidents and injuries in winter sports is simple: lack of training, the wrong choice of equipment and the wrong choice of slope. People new to skiing or snowboarding are usually in a hurry; they want to head straight to the top and start skiing right away. Intermediate skiers, on the other hand, push themselves onto steep slopes beyond their technical level. When that happens, they put both themselves and everyone else on that slope at risk.
Learning a winter sport is a long process. It covers not only developing basic technical skills but also learning the rules to follow on the ski slopes.
What age should you start?
Although 4 is generally accepted as the age to start skiing, we recommend age 5 for effective learning. It is also possible to start snowboarding at a younger age, but we recommend ages 9–10. This can vary depending on a person’s physical development and previous athletic training.
How many hours of lessons do you need?
On average, 6–8 hours of instruction is enough to get started in skiing or snowboarding. During this time, our instructors teach you the basic stances, gliding and stopping, simple turning techniques and how to use the easy lifts. By the end, you will be able to ski safely on gentle, easy slopes.
At the next stage, you should practice on your own for a while. When you feel ready, you can take more lessons, learn new techniques and move on to more challenging slopes. Our advice is to keep taking lessons until you are at least an intermediate skier or snowboarder; this level gives you the comfort of skiing safely on intermediate and difficult slopes.
How should you prepare?
As with any sport, getting your body in shape with a variety of exercises before you start skiing will help you learn more easily.
Life is too short; do yourself a favor and learn to ski.