Why do you need a ski or snowboard instructor?

I often see people being taken to the top of a mountain with no prior training, and then after the first fall, they walk down with their skis or snowboard in hand, and head straight back to the equipment rental. This is sad, because absolutely everyone has the capability to learn how to ski or snowboard and to navigate on the mountain safely.

If we compare learning to ski and snowboard to learning to drive a car, we can draw many parallels. No one has ever expected a person who has never been behind the wheel, to suddenly go downtown, sit in a car and start figuring out how to drive. It would help a lot if someone initially explained and demonstrated how to drive, and then you could do the first test drives in a safe area. If the student is fearful or simply takes longer to learn, they might practice several hours in the same parking lot before going into traffic. We would never recommend anyone to dive straight into traffic alone, instead we expect them to start out with a companion who is patient, who can explain things and has proper training. The same is true for skiing and snowboarding. Trying to figure thing out on the mountain alone or with a friend can be extremely dangerous for the learner, as well as other people. You should start from a very gentle slope and then gradually move higher as you acquire new skills, all at your own pace. Just like with driving, there are certain steps and rules in mountain sports that need to be understood before going "into traffic."

The most common mistake

You can't teach yourself skiing or snowboarding, even though it may seem simple – the snow is soft, and gliding on skis or a snowboard is easy. In reality, mountain sports are quite complex and somewhat contradictory to common logic. For example, the most common mistake people make is leaning their body towards the mountain (uphill) because psychologically it feels like they are closer to the ground if they fall. But this way they don't control their equipment, it starts to act unpredictably, and that’s when they fall.

Learning independently leads to several minor mistakes, which later make it more difficult to perform better, more safely, and faster in bigger mountains. One simple reason is efficiency… If your running technique is way off, you probably can't run for long. The same goes for the mountain – if the technique is weak or you’re following incorrect habits, you may not enjoy spending a week in bigger mountains. However, we all want to enjoy this sport, and the better the technique, the more, and in higher altitudes we can enjoy it.

Why shouldn't a friend or companion teach you skiing/snowboarding?

Learning to ski or snowboard independently or with the help of friends can cause psychological trauma to the learner, and it can easily happen that they never want to put on skis again. There's a saying among instructors: "If you want to break up with your partner, try teaching them to ski."

Many of my clients come to me because their friend or partner tried to teach them to ski or snowboard. In such cases, the first hour is largely spent on dealing with their psychological block. If they had come to the instructor first, we could have started with incremental steps right away. Instructors have undergone training and learned specific methods that are proven in practice, enabling people to acquire new skills or refine existing ones quickly and safely.

Teaching the basics to an absolute beginner usually takes anywhere between half a day to a full day. During this, we learn to stand, glide, brake, and turn on skis/snowboard. Precisely in that order and all on very flat ground. From there, we start moving higher and proceed with different turns and varying slopes according to the learner's progress.

There’s always something to learn!

Skiing and snowboarding are very progressive sports with many subtypes such as slalom, giant slalom, off-piste in powder, park skiing, snowboard cross, heli skiing, etc. Basically, it is possible to keep on learning these sports throughout one's life, and there is always something left to learn. This means that with an instructor, you can explore new exciting things no matter what level you are already at. My own motto for learning anything is always to assume that I still have a lot to learn, even if it seems that I have already mastered something at an expert level.

When should you start?

It is never too early or too late to start skiing and snowboarding. I have taught 1-year-olds who don’t speak yet but are able to stand upright. At the same time, I have taught people aged 80+ who’ve discovered this sport in their later years. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!!!

Ott Hang

Basic Stoke Founder/Instructor