5 things you want to know before you hit the slopes as a ski newbie
I can't ski. The closest I've ever come to a ski resort is my Acton music box, which I've given the surname Aus Tirol. I've never done it, so I think I can't do it at all. That might be very un-Pippi-like of me, but not being able to do something absolutely doesn't hold me back. Give me a white horse and I'll try to lift it. And I'll keep trying until I'm the very best horse lifter in the whole city. So when an invitation from Colmar landed on my digital mat for a ski trip, I didn't hesitate for a moment. I put on my long socks and hit the slopes to give you five wise ski lessons before you meet your first ski instructor in the snow.
1. Put on your best ski clothes
Yes, I'm going to poke your eye out. I was dressed in an amazing suit by that Italian brand Colmar for this trip, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. I'd even want to wear it to the pub, I'm so crazy about it. I had already peeked online at the collection (everything is beautiful) and I hit the jackpot when I got to dive into the boxes that arrived from Italy at the PR agency. A high-waisted pair of pants with suspenders that fit like a glove and a jacket with a belt – so thickly wrapped up with a waist – and ninja-like details such as tight sleeves with thumb holes and a mysterious face shield. Once you have such an outfit, the anticipation really begins. I couldn't wait to put my new warrior outfit into practice, clumsy or not.
2. Go to an area with baby slopes
Safety above all (and socially considerate towards your fellow skiers with experience). My trip went to the Italian Dolomites, ridiculously beautiful due to enormous rock formations that rise vertically above the white landscape and sunrises and sunsets in colors that Bob Ross couldn't even find in his palette. The winding route through the winter landscape of Alta Badia felt like a ride in the Dream Flight of the Efteling, and in the village of La Villa, there were more ski rental shops than greengrocers ready to provide first aid for startup problems.
There, I was expertly fitted with a pair of skis, super tight shoes, poles, and a helmet without having to use a single brain cell. Across the street, a little pancake lift was waiting to haul me up to the baby slope to perform my first pizza points (that's how you brake, by the way) instead of eating them. Two hours of practice, with a ski instructor of course, and you already feel like a different person.
3. Book a hotel with a spa
Only two hours? That's what I thought when my first lesson was explained, feeling like a ski pole. Nah, you think differently when you're actually on them. And you have to do it again the next day. My accommodation, Hotel La Majun, was a huge reward after a day on the slopes, with or without kilometers on the clock. Sore calves call for a spa, a swimming pool, and a massage team that binds you back together like a true Olympian.
4. Pride comes before the fall
After one day among mini kids who ski faster than you, you've seen enough on the green slope; I had spotted a nice blue one opposite my hotel and wanted to give it a try. So I put on the daring and super tight shoes on day two and went for the next color, only to find a sunrise on a sort of Mount Everest further down the schedule. My dear ski teacher was waiting for me up there at another blue descent. For convenience, I had forgotten that I had a fear of heights until I saw the two thousand meters of slope beneath me.
Yes, I survived, but I was terrified. All the technique I had learned during the first lesson vanished like snow before the sun from my mind, and if it had been up to me, I would have sped straight down – on or off the slope. I still hear the ‘make turns, Sophie, slow down, Sophie!’ of the teacher in my dreams. So don't act tough, but definitely take a little longer to mess around in a ski hall or on the practice field before you jump into the deep end. At least then you can enjoy the view.
5. Start thinking about your next ski trip
Because it's going to happen. I've been home for exactly one day and I miss the view over the mountains, I would still like to give the slope another try, I want to put my ski suit on again, and I want a subscription to Alta Badia.
