Tips for Late (In Years) Arrivers

I'm probably not your typical skier or ski site blogger for that matter. I grew up surrounded by corn fields. I'm more than a little embarrassed to admit that one of my favorite movies is Field of Dreams. I don't really like baseball or Kevin Costner all that much, but we gravitate to that which we know...or want to know.

The deal is I somehow ended up on east coast near Washington, DC where we somehow ended up being able to afford a mountain cabin in Canaan Valley, WV in the Allegheny Mountains. With two alpine resorts, and one Nordic ski venue within minutes of our house, I was kinda obligated to learn to ski. Exceptin' how I was already 49 years old, female, and of the stockier persuasion. This should be sufficient disincentive, but not for me. First off, I'm married to an expert telemark skier. Second off, I hate being left behind. But at 49, I kept my goals modest. As is true with most female skiers, I wanted to ski in control and with grace. I was not interested in speed or gettin' air (I was decidedly anti-air).

My goal for Year One was to flawlessly ski our local 2 mile green from top to bottom. I exceeded that even having lost several weeks to a knee injury that was slow to heal. Goals should be attainable.

Year One: For gear, I started out with a quality season rental package from the local ski shop. Before the end of the first year, I made my first big commitment to being a skier: I bought my own boots. The difference was nothing short of dramatic. I could finally feel what my instructor was telling me. Poorly sized, sloppy boots are the equivalent of trying to thread a needle with mittens on. With a good, snug, personalized boot fit, I could finally feel the skis and sense what they were (or weren't doing). But I stuck with my upgraded K2 demo rental skis as I was able to upgrade the size as I got better. Short skis = easy to turn but unstable as speed. I went from 136s to 153s in one year.

Bottom line, there's no escaping being a beginner and I went through all the predictable developmental stages: rigid and fearful, robot zombie, injured, and skidder. But I skied, every weekend, open to close, and every holiday and vacation we could scrape up. I skied. There is no substitute for time on skis. Lessons can help if you're stuck in your progression, but THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE for time on skis. Watching a video isn't like sitting under a plant grow light. You don't grow as a skier just by being nearby. And gear really DOES matter. If you're going to ski more than a few times a year, you owe it to yourself to, at the very least, get your own boots. Properly sized and fitted. This is not the time for buying online. (That comes later when you have gained the capacity for discernment.)

Year Two: Way better. My goal was to ski groomed blacks. My investment in that goal was my first purchase of skis, K2 True Luvs. Nice ski for intermediate skiers, very predictable and while still easy to turn, they definitely offered more finesse and maneuverability than my rental skis. With my knee 100% back, I was skiing all the groomers, blacks in a matter of days, and double blacks by season's end. I was still sliding more than carving turns, but I finally considered myself a skier--just not one who would ever ski glades, terrain parks, or ungroomed blacks. I was satisfied.

Year Three: My goals was to carve consistently and confidently in order to be able ski a wide variety of terrain. I upgraded to some sweet Roxy Phoenix 168's, watched (and actually understood) a few ski technique DVD's (because they now made sense) and suddenly I'm skiing (well, surviving) glades, humps, jumps, and bumps, and ungroomed double blacks with giant whales bumps. And now, every once in awhile, I'm the one waiting at the bottom for my husband instead of the other way around.

Time, the right gear, and learning that fallin' isn't failure allowed me to achieve a Dream I Never Even Had. My Field of Dreams is now covered in snow.