Beginner Ski Tips | How to Ski for the First Time

Are you planning you first ski trip? Want to know all the important tips for skiing as a beginner?

Before I became the Abundant Traveler, I spent many seasons teaching people how to ski in ski resorts, so I’ve got a lot of experience teaching folks how to ski and how to get the most out of their skit vacations. In this video tutorial, I’ll cover all the information you need before your first skiing trip, including suggestions for what to wear when skiing, helpful tips for first time skiers, navigating the ski stores, to navigating the ski slopes. 

I’ve got you covered with all the travel tips to make your first trip skiing your best!

Click to watch my full video on skiing for beginners below!

I’m Kim the Abundant Traveler and this video is all about skiing for the first time i am going to make your first trip and your first date on skis absolutely epic right now i’m in deer valley standing on the mountain right outside the stein erickson which is one of my favorite places to ski so let’s start with making your trip and your first day skiing absolutely epic let’s start with what to do before you go skiing first and foremost skiing is an expensive sport so be prepared everything on the mountain and everything that you do is relatively expensive there are ways to get around and go on the cheap a little bit but it is not worth going cheap cheap cheap because it just doesn’t work out reasons for that one you have to have the right ski clothing there is nothing worse than being freezing on top of the mountain so if you don’t have good ski clothes call one of your friends find them on facebook who was actually skiing in the past few weeks give them a call and ask to borrow their ski clothes it’s extremely important to have good pants long underwear good ski socks fantastic gloves or your hands will freeze all of the time you want to have a beanie and you definitely want to have a helmet when you are wearing a helmet i always recommend that you get a beanie super important the beanie goes on one to keep your head warm because there are vents in your helmet so this is great and when it’s cold outside additionally this space right here on your beanie will go between your helmet and your goggles like this here and it will help you from getting an ice cream headache across your forehead so always make sure that you get good quality equipment great jacket great under underwear or base layer good quality ski socks the whole gamut i also recommend don’t ski in sunglasses sunglasses are for oprah ski afterwards sitting out on the mountain having a cocktail when you are skiing you really need to be having good quality ski goggles and i don’t mean the 1999 version i mean barrier friends who paid 120 to 200 for their goggles also when it comes to goggles make sure that the goggles that you are wearing are good for bright light like today when it’s sunny bluebird day and also when it is flat light flat light means there you cannot see the train at all and you are skiing basically blind just like skiing in the clouds so you definitely want either sort of pink orange or yellow for when you’re skiing in flat light make sure to go to the description below and get your ultimate ski clothes packing guide just go to the description and click free guide in addition to great quality ski clothes you want to have great quality equipment basically poles are the same no matter what you just want to get the right size but you want to have a high quality boot one that fits you well one that works well and works well for the level of skiing that you are and i’m making the assumption the people watching this video are first time skiers so you don’t want it too loose but you don’t want your boots too tight additionally you want to have some fantastic skis again don’t go skimping on the cost don’t do bargain basement when you’re renting skis and boots go to a high quality company and rent those skis and those boots like if you’re looking at the back of your ski and you see a bunch of white that means they haven’t been waxed in a while you definitely don’t want to rent those skis you’ll be pulling all day long on the flat so good quality clothes and good quality equipment something that you definitely want to bring on your ski trip is high quality sunscreen and when i mean high quality it’s for your face and you need i don’t know 50 spf it is so bright out here it is so easy to get wind burned it is so easy to get sunburned out here so make sure you are wearing sunscreen you may be with a helmet and goggles here and you may be having a mask up to here or a um gator but still it’s very easy to get sunburned in winter so i know it’s so much fun to come to the mountains and party all night long there are lots of bars lots of restaurants lots of i’ll pray ski and lots of people out here having a massive vacation i do recommend you especially your first night in the mountains one you get a good night’s sleep and it is very easy to not sleep well the first night at altitude so be prepared for that if you need to bring melatonin with you additionally my recommendation is don’t drink too much that first night you’re going to be in the mountains and your first day skiing there is nothing worse than skiing when you haven’t slept well and you’re hungover so now that you are prepared for going skiing these are some of the things that i recommend you do the morning of your first ski so when you go skiing for the first time or anytime i do recommend staying as close to the speed lifts as you can you do not want to be walking in ski boots more than about five minutes they’re not comfy they’re not fun and it is a lot to handle when you’re carrying your skis here and by the way i have a video about carrying your skis that you can watch carry your poles have all your equipment for the first time you don’t know where you’re going and you don’t know what you’re doing so i recommend staying as close as possible to the ski lift if you can afford because it’s typically more expensive closer to the ski lift if you can afford ski and ski out or right there at the lift that is definitely the way to go if you’re staying far away from the lifts make sure that your hotel has a bus or shuttle that takes you to the lifts and back there most of the hotels if they’re not right at the left do have a concierge service so next i recommend that if you are going to be a little bit further away that you decide to take your skis and boots up to the lift and you store your skis and boots up there make it easier on you in the morning where you’re wearing regular shoes i also suggest that if you’re going to store your skis in your boots make sure that that boot storage has a heater it is extremely important when you’re putting on your boots in the morning to make sure one they’re warm and two when they’re warm that hard plastic is very easy to open and get your feet in the boots also when the boots are warm your feet are basically warm all day long i’m not sure what your schedule is and how you eat at home normally but when you’re skiing you are expending several thousand calories more than you normally would you’re also using muscles that you didn’t even know you had i definitely recommend having a hearty breakfast make sure that you have a good amount of fat a good amount of protein and a little bit of carb that will get you through to a delicious lunch i also recommend at breakfast that you have some electrolytes or drink some gatorade or something like that it’s very easy out here to get dehydrated for your muscles to cramp because these poor muscles don’t even know what hit them skiing is like nothing else in the world so good food good breakfast and a little bit of gatorade so having been a ski instructor in my 20s i am a little bit biased but my recommendation is if you’re new to skis then definitely take ski lessons it is well worth taking about three days worth of lessons please do not let your brother your sister your husband your wife your girlfriend your boyfriend or your kids try and teach you how to ski unless they are certified it is a different sport it is like throwing yourself in a swimming pool never having swung before and good luck i hope you make it through so i having ski lessons is extremely important it’s a little bit slower pace but it is way more fun to go on a group lesson meet a bunch of people that you could potentially be lifelong friends with so when you’re headed up for your first day of skiing yes go take your lessons but i also recommend that you have everything organized in advance for example i recommend that you go ahead and get your lift tickets you go ahead and know you get your trail map you’ve already talked to information you have all the details because once you are carrying those skis and poles and your hat and your helmet and wearing those boots you definitely don’t want to be wandering around the base of the mountain you want to get in get on and get on that lift and get up the mountain so definitely organize everything in advance if you are in the mountain and you’ve decided not to get a ski instructor make sure to stick to those green runs those are the ones that are the easiest way down the mountain so as far as the runs are concerned it’s green is the easiest blue is the middle and black is the hardest and the blacks are called black diamonds so if you’re new to skein don’t head down a black diamond and definitely don’t head down a double black diamond when you get to the the base of the resort in the morning you can check the grooming map so if you’re relatively new to skiing you can see which runs are groomed it’s called corduroy and it looks like corduroy and it makes it much easier to ski on wind runs are not groomed they get bumpy there’s fresh powder then it’s slick and so when you’re a new skier you definitely don’t want to go down those so head towards the green runs that are on the grooming map for the day i recommend that you take short little breaks i recommend that you don’t eat too much during lunch as well and also limit the amount of amount of alcohol that you are drinking on the mountain it’s just safer i have fallen quite a few times after a couple of beers at the top of the mountain and it’s not pretty when you’re coming down the mountain because you think that you are fearless and that is definitely not the way to be when you are on the mountain for the first time also when you are taking breaks it is so much fun to sit outside and sit in the sun on a beautiful day like today but i do suggest that you don’t stay outside too long one your fingers get cold and two your feet get cold once you’re cold it’s almost impossible to warm your body back up so i suggest having your bigger breaks inside and go ahead and get a table i also suggest that you get a lower table and not a high top a high top is harder on your legs and your feet because you have those heavy boots on so get a get a shorter table sit there take a short break and then go outside to get a little bit of sun but only stay out there 15 or 20 minutes unless it’s the end of the day and you’re headed home my suggestion is if you’re going to take a little bit of a challenge and take a couple of runs that are more challenging for your ability i suggest doing it approximately mid morning once your legs have gotten warmed up and you’ve sort of gotten your feet under you and then before you go to lunch that is the best time before you’re exhausted but you are ready to go that’s the best time to take a little bit of a challenging run couple of tips to make your life easier while you are skiing do take chair lifts that actually have foot rests if they don’t have a foot rest your legs don’t get the chance to rest so i recommend taking chairlifts with foot rest and here in um i’m staying in park city i’m actually in deer valley right now but in park city they have a lot of chairlifts that don’t have foot rest which for me being five foot eleven means that my legs hang off the edge and they’re dragging with the extra weight of the ski boot and it wears out my legs it makes it for a shorter day on the mountain for me so definitely watch out for those ski lifts there also you can take gondolas which you can open up your ski boots set your skis to the side and go inside that gondola and keep yourself warm speaking of keeping yourself warm make sure that if you’re going to take off your gloves during the day for lunch or to film or to take pictures i recommend tucking your gloves inside your ski coat or at lunch i recommend sitting on your ski gloves your ski gloves are really easy to get very cold sitting out on a table or just on the snow so never put them on the snow tuck them in your jacket when you take your gloves off or sit on them during lunch and the final tip as you come down the mountain and you are headed to apres ski when you are walking around in your boots your feet are sore and your legs are sore my suggestion to you is to open the ski boots but keep the buckles a little bit uh open where you are not flopping around it’s really bad on your boots and it’s really bad on your feet to have your ski boots completely open once you sit down and you are having your cocktail maybe you’re having a hot chocolate with frangelico which is my favorite thing to have for oprah ski that is the time you can open up your boots hopefully also you’ve taken one of my prior tips and you have decided to keep your skis and boots at the lift so you have actually changed back into your regular shoes and your feet are up and you are enjoying your i pray ski for the afternoon so i hope that you have enjoyed these tips i would love to hear if you have any tips for your first trip and your first day on the mountain i love hearing what other people have to say and all these years of skiing i want everybody to have a wonderful time and enjoy it because this is one of my favorite things in the world to do is to go skiing i am kim the abundant traveler and i look forward to seeing you on a ski slope somewhere soon and see you on the next adventure mountains or beach mountains or beach i want both but i do love being in the mountains this air it feels amazing the light the snow the cold being in the right clothes there’s nothing like it i love being in the mountains let’s go skiing

Want to read this post or watch this video later? Save it on Pinterest!

Send Me A Message

Do you have questions about my YouTube channel or specific places I’ve been? Even if you just want to say hello, go ahead and fill out this form!
Contact Form - Contact Page

Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means that, at no extra cost to you, The Abundant Traveler may earn a small commission. Using these links is a huge way to support me, and these small commissions will help keep the blog running for your enjoyment.

All my reviews and opinions are based on my own experience which may not be the same for everyone. If you choose to use them, thank you for your support.